Indigenous Wellness and Reconciliation
Your support transforms care
Across the country, Canadians are changing the way we think about our shared history on these Indigenous lands.
Today, we have the responsibility to help make things right.
We can support health care that’s free of racism.
We can support the work of care teams who integrate Indigenous wellness and cultural safety in their relationships with every Indigenous patient we serve.
We can provide staff with training and resources so Indigenous patients and families feel safe accessing care.
And we can invest in a health care system in which Indigenous patients know they’ll be treated with dignity and respect.
When you support St. Paul’s Foundation, you support Indigenous patients across Providence Health Care so they can access the care practices they need to heal in comfort and safety.
A friendly face and so much more
Helper. Advocate. Ally.
Just walking through the doors of a hospital can be difficult for Indigenous people who have experienced stereotyping or racism when seeking health care.
In the case of St. Paul’s, even the old brick façade can be triggering: it looks very much like a residential school.
We are embracing the opportunity to make things right. One of the ways we’re doing this is with the support of Indigenous Wellness Liaisons (IWLs).
IWLs bring a powerful combination of lived experience, knowledge, and compassion to patients and their families. Often, just getting a visit from a staff member who is also Indigenous can transform a health care experience.
“I didn’t feel alone anymore. It’s simple.…I wish you could hire more compassionate employees.”
Such is the trust and rapport that IWLs bring to culturally-safe care.
The IWL team is small and mighty. But there are simply not enough IWLs to support all of patients throughout their stay. There’s an especially urgent need for IWLs to help patients in palliative care, intensive care, emergency, and maternity.
Your support brings the IWL program to life. Your support transforms care.
Reconciliation
Medicine for the body and the soul
An Indigenous man was dying of lung cancer at St. Paul’s Hospital. The Indigenous Wellness team arranged a cedar brushing ceremony for him. He calmed and his struggle to breathe eased. When the man had passed, his traditional medicines were placed with him and he was wrapped in the blanket he had been given. His family was grateful.
“I cannot tell you how powerful it was to witness that in a Catholic hospital.” – Neil Fowler, manager of Indigenous Wellness & Reconciliation, Providence Health Care (PHC).
Thanks to donors like you, St. Paul’s has a team of IWLs bringing comfort, compassion, and culturally-safe services to patients and their families. Now, we need to ensure that all Indigenous patients – right across PHC – have access to these services at any time in their stay including in the Teck Emergency Centre (ED) where many Indigenous patients first encounter care at St. Paul’s.
Your support brings this to life.
Elders and Knowledge Keepers are key to our care teams
Indigenous patients have a common refrain. They need more access to Indigenous Elders and Knowledge Keepers: members of Indigenous communities who carry traditional knowledge of cultural and spiritual teachings and practices.
Some patients said the presence of an Elder or a Knowledge Keeper would have helped to ground them in their own traditions and break their isolation.
“I wish I would have been able to see an Elder or someone who could help calm and reassure me. I felt so alone. Not a medical person. Someone cultural that could give me additional support.”
Elders do so much to help patients feel spiritually grounded and respected. They can offer smudging and song, talking circles, prayers, and end-of-life comfort. And they play a key role within the Indigenous Wellness and Liaison team by providing cultural guidance and leadership.
Elders are an essential part of holistic wellness for Indigenous patients, families, and caregivers. Your gift brings this compassionate care to life.
St. Paul’s Foundation (SPF) is blessed with some of the most compassionate, generous donors in the world. Thanks to you, Indigenous patients have access to the cultural, spiritual, and emotional supports that promote healing and wellness. Here are just a few examples of your generosity in action.
Medicine and healing take many forms
-
Almost 10 years ago, SPF donors helped create BC’s first hospital-based All Nations Sacred Space for patients, families, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and caregivers to promote healing with traditional medicines, cultural ceremonies, and spiritual practices.
-
In many Indigenous cultures, holding or smudging healing items can have powerful, medicinal benefits. These may include healing medicines including cedar, sweet grass, sage, tobacco, bear root, and lavender. Your support ensures patients have access to these medicines.
-
There’s a reason we use the phrase “comfort food.” Your donation will help Indigenous patients draw comfort and healing from traditional foods while they are in hospital including bison, elk, salmon, and fresh berries.
With your support, PHC can add more cultural services including access to cultural ceremonies, talking circles, smudging, drumming, singing, learning, and counselling.
Your support is essential
Training. Coaching. Mentoring.
Transforming patient care means training staff members to approach Indigenous patients with humility and respect. Donor support is essential to creating an environment where Indigenous patients and their families feel safe. An environment free of racism and discrimination. An environment that supports every staff member with the tools and training they need to perform at their best. After all, when we’re at our best, we can change the world.
A place of healing and so much more
The new St. Paul’s Hospital
The new St. Paul’s Hospital – and the entire health campus – will reflect the spirit of the land and cultures of the sovereign Host Nations. As the new hospital takes shape, we are partnering with sovereign host Nations, community organizations, and Indigenous Peoples to improve care, facilities, research, and experiences.
When the doors open, healing will become a holistic journey that includes an All Nations Sacred Space, Elders, Knowledge Keepers, and traditional foods, medicines, and ceremonies.
Importantly, Indigenous patients and their families will be welcomed into a safe, inviting place of wellness.
We’re not just raising funds to change and improve health outcomes. We’re raising funds to change and improve people’s lives. Your donation helps Indigenous patients and families across BC.
“I was 19 when I received my kidney transplant. St. Paul’s and my donor, Sxelaltenaat Charlie, gave me the gifts of a family and to raise a son with our culture, language, and traditional ways of knowing. It’s super important for St. Paul’s to continue doing the work of cultural safety training. Staff have done an excellent job turning their training into action. I’m excited for the launch of the new St. Paul’s and for what that means: better, safer care.”
– Alissa Assu, Wet’suwet’en First Nation, Laksamshu clan, Burns Lake, BC