Advancing Indigenous culture and knowledge within nursing and education

On Indigenous Nurses Day, we honour the remarkable contributions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis nurses who play a vital role in healthcare across Canada. These dedicated professionals serve as a bridge between traditional healing practices and Western medicine, applying a holistic approach to their care delivery.

McMaster University’s School of Nursing would like to highlight three leaders that are consistently supporting and advancing Indigenous culture and knowledge within nursing and education.

Bernice Downey, associate dean of Indigenous Health at the Faculty of Health Sciences and assistant professor at the School of Nursing, Amber Skye, the unit manager for health services at Six Nations Polytechnic (SNP) and Sandra Carroll, vice-dean at the Faculty of Health Sciences and executive director of the School of Nursing.

While it is important that we celebrate how far we have come in healthcare and academia regarding Indigenous culture and education, it is crucial to remember there is still much to be done.

What does Indigenous nursing mean to you?

Downey: Indigenous nursing to me means to provide an opportunity for nurses of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis heritage to be able to harmonize their own indigeneity. To be able to apply their cultural practices, world views, and approaches to healing to the care that they are providing and to the education that they are providing for their policy and research work. It’s essentially an opportunity to bring their indigeneity forward in the various realms that they participate in as healthcare professionals.

How do Indigenous teachings and cultural practices influence nursing care?

Skye: Indigenous nurses are in roles that require them to walk in two worlds, in systems where Indigenous knowledge and practice are not necessarily valued but are very much part of who we are as Indigenous professionals. We cannot leave who we are at the door, and neither can Indigenous patients. Bringing Indigenous knowledge of health and healing to nursing care is providing culturally safe care to Indigenous patients, acknowledging who they are and what they need to be healthy. This is why Indigenous nurses are so critically important to addressing the gaps in our current health care system to meet the unique health care needs of Indigenous people.

Downey: You don’t only check the patients surgical wound and their blood pressure and make sure they’re hydrated, but you pause to connect with them as another human being. I remember I used to ask my patients “how’s your spirit today?” because it is part of a holistic framework. We don’t just look at the physical aspects of illness. We look at the mental, emotional, spiritual and the physical aspects of illness.

How can non-Indigenous nurses be better allies and support Indigenous colleagues?

Skye: To be an ally is to be part of the solution. It requires taking active steps to disrupt oppressive spaces and practices, but this also requires an awareness of the ways in which structural racism exists in the policies and practices of the Canadian health care system. Often, I find this the biggest challenge, many people think they are allies but don’t recognize the entrenched racism in their education and profession well enough to act on it. Education and awareness are key to understanding and acting on racism, but education is a first step and continued active steps are needed to facilitate the change needed in the systems we work in.

During your time with McMaster, what has changed the most when it comes to Indigenous health education at McMaster?

Carroll: An important development is the commitment to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s: Calls to Action (2015) across the Faculty of Health Sciences and within nursing education in McMaster’s School of Nursing. In 2017, when Dr. Bernice Downey, a medical anthropologist and former nurse, joined the School of Nursing and Faculty of Health Sciences, her immediate impact was felt and endured. I have such respect for the work Bernice has led and it is a privilege to work side by side.

What do you hope is in store for the future of Indigenous nurses/nursing?

Skye: Continued growth and curriculum advancements. While nurses are in high demand in Canada and there is much effort to train more nurses, this growth is happening faster than changes to the curriculum and health care system are happening. We need to simultaneously advance the TRC calls to action in the health care system. We need more Indigenous nurses, but we also need the curriculum and system to reflect the needed changes to foster cultural safety and needs of the Indigenous population. As an Indigenous Institute, Six Nations Polytechnic is in a position to be able to support this growth and change in the system. With support and partnerships from other institutions like Mohawk College and McMaster University, I think the opportunities to make significant progress are promising.

Carroll: It is my hope that we build significant Indigenous nursing capacity with increased enrolment and graduation of BScN, Masters, PhD, and Nurse Practitioner students. Growth in graduate education could also lead to future Indigenous faculty, much needed across Canada. With recent changes to scope of practice for registered nurses and NPs, Indigenous nurses practicing with expanded scope and Indigenous knowledge could positively impact the health of communities and beyond.

What is one piece of advice you would give to Indigenous nurses?

Downey: Continue to celebrate yourselves. The rich and diverse culture, as well as your own indigeneity. Continue to strive to bring that into your practice, your education, your research, whatever area you’re working in. At the Indigenous Health Learning Lodge, we’re piloting an Indigenous Health Leadership program where the overall purpose is to help Indigenous clinical practitioners and health administrators explore how they bring their indigeneity into their practice and into their leadership. There are lots of leadership courses out there, but there’s very few like this. You want the skills and knowledge of what it takes to be a leader in your environment and in your field, but you don’t often get to explore how to bring your own indigeneity into that. My overall advice is to celebrate your indigeneity in your in your work as a nurse and seek out your peers to support you when you need it. We hope everyone continues to recognize the advancement that we’ve achieved collectively and individually.

In celebration and acknowledgement of Indigenous Nurses Day, the Indigenous Health Learning Lodge (IHLL) is holding its first inaugural Edith Monture Guest Lecture, with co-host Six Nations Polytechnic (SNP). Edith Monture, who was from Six Nations, was the first Indigenous woman to become a registered nurse in Canada.

The lecture is taking place in room 3020 in the Michael DeGroote Centre for Learning and Discovery building at McMaster University from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. It will commemorate the legacy of Edith Monture, with the purpose of fostering connections and recognizing achievements in education, health, and community networks that contribute to the advancement of Indigenous health. We honour the courage and unwavering commitment while envisioning the future of Indigenous nursing education.