On behalf of: On Behalf of Cultural Safety and Humility, Indigenous Health
Across generations, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples have experienced systemic racism and the enduring harms of colonial policies and practices that have disrupted families, communities, cultures, and relationships with institutions, including the health-care system. Residential schools, the Sixties Scoop, forced relocations, the Indian Act, the suppression of languages and ceremonies, and the ongoing impacts of Indigenous-specific racism have affected individuals, families, and communities in ways that continue to be experienced today.
This is what we refer to as intergenerational trauma, the ways trauma can be carried across generations through lived experiences, family relationships, food and water systems, community systems, and the lasting effects of colonialism. It is important to recognize that these experiences are not historical events that ended in the past; many Survivors are still with us today, and many Indigenous families continue to navigate the impacts of these policies.
Intergenerational trauma may influence physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual well-being. It can shape relationships with institutions and contribute to understandable feelings of mistrust based on lived experiences of discrimination and harm.
Understanding this context is essential for anyone working in health care. It helps us move beyond asking, "What's wrong with this person?" to asking, "What has this person, their family, or their community experienced?"
Equally Important: Intergenerational Healing
While it is essential to understand trauma, it is equally important that we do not allow trauma to become the only story we tell about Indigenous Peoples.
Every day, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities demonstrate extraordinary resilience, strength, leadership, and love. Across the country, communities are reclaiming languages, revitalizing ceremonies, restoring traditional governance systems, strengthening cultural practices, and reconnecting younger generations with the knowledge of Elders and Knowledge Keepers.
Healing is happening in many ways, including:
- Revitalizing Indigenous languages and traditional teachings.
- Returning to ceremony, land-based learning, and cultural practices.
- Reconnecting families and communities with their histories and identities.
- Supporting Indigenous-led health, wellness, and healing initiatives.
- Celebrating Indigenous arts, music, storytelling, and cultural expression.
- Creating spaces where Indigenous children and youth can grow up with pride in who they are.
These acts of reclamation are not simply cultural activities they are powerful expressions of healing, self-determination, and community wellness.
What This Means for Health Care
Providing culturally safe care means recognizing both truth and strength.
It means acknowledging that historical and ongoing colonial harms continue to influence health experiences while also recognizing that Indigenous Peoples are not defined by trauma. Every person brings their own strengths, family connections, cultural knowledge, and lived experiences.
As health-care providers and staff, we can contribute to healing by:
- Listening with humility and curiosity.
- Building trusting, respectful relationships.
- Recognizing the strengths and resilience each person brings.
- Supporting Indigenous Peoples' rights to cultural practices and self-determined care.
- Reflecting on our own assumptions and committing to ongoing learning.
- Creating environments where Indigenous patients, families, and colleagues feel respected, welcomed, and safe.
Sometimes the most meaningful contribution we can make is creating a space where people feel heard, believed, and treated with dignity.
Walking Together
Truth and healing are not opposites, they exist together.
Understanding intergenerational trauma helps us recognize why culturally safe care matters. Recognizing intergenerational healing reminds us that Indigenous communities have always carried immense strength, knowledge, and resilience.
As we continue our own learning journeys, let us honour both truths: the lasting impacts of colonialism and the enduring brilliance of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples.
When we approach our work with humility, respect, and a willingness to learn, we each have a role to play in supporting healing, not by leading it, but by helping create the conditions where healing, belonging, and culturally safe care can flourish.
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