The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) provides specific direction for how to improve access to culturally safe, responsive, and equitable healthcare services for Indigenous Peoples. These actions are rooted in recognizing the rights of Indigenous Peoples as a framework for reconciliation. This introductory chapter of the NCCIH’s Indigenous cultural safety: An environmental scan of cultural safety initiatives in Canada introduces the concept of cultural safety and its role in addressing anti-Indigenous racism within health care. It also provides an overview of the methods used to identify relevant cultural safety strategies, initiatives, tools, and resources in the healthcare system, the criteria for inclusion/exclusion, and the organization of the environmental scan, which is based on Greenwood’s (2019) change model for cultural safety, demanding simultaneous action across structural, systemic, and service delivery levels.

Note to reader: While all resources in the Indigenous cultural safety chapters were freely accessible on the Internet when they were included, the NCCIH assumes no responsibility for any links that are broken or changes in free access. The resources listed are, in large part, resources that are external to the NCCIH. They are intended for general information only on an "as is" and “as available” basis. Please refer to the NCCIH’s disclaimer on its Privacy policy.

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Indigenous cultural safety chapters

These publications are available in PDF format only as they feature links to online resources.