Indigenous Health & Wellness

Indigenous Patient Navigators (IPNs) are important members of our care teams. They work in hospitals and health centres throughout Interior Health and are available to support Indigenous peoples and their families during their care. Having an IPN as part of the patient care team creates a safe space for Indigenous peoples to interact with the health system.

Whether or not you wish to self-identify as Indigenous, IPNs are here for you. The goal of an IPN is to help make your hospital care and journey to wellness safe, comfortable and less confusing.

Learn more about Indigenous Patient Navigators

We are IH blog post: Deb Donald, IPN

Traditional ceremonies are essential to a respectful holistic approach to Indigenous health and wellness. The Traditional Indigenous Healing Practices policy strengthens IH’s commitment to culturally safe and inclusive care for Indigenous clients.

Under the policy, Indigenous clients are supported to access and practice traditional Indigenous healing practices such as smudging and pipe ceremonies not only in designated Sacred Spaces within IH facilities but also at a clients’ bedside (some exceptions may apply e.g.: operating rooms, procedural suites, and hyperbaric environments). The policy focuses on smoke-producing ceremonies to mitigate various challenges within IH facilities (e.g.: smoke detectors, allergies, etc.)

“As Indigenous peoples we know that we have a reciprocal relationship with the medicines that we have been gifted. The medicines will always look after us, so long as we look after them. There are teachings that stem back thousands of years to the time of Creation that outline how we were gifted medicines from Bear. These teachings have been handed down to us for thousands of years through our oral history," says Lenora Starr, Indigenous Cultural Safety Practice Lead, Indigenous Partnerships, Interior Health.

"The gift of understanding the connection between the land, our foods, our medicines, and ourselves is something that we have been given from Bear and those teachings come with responsibilities. Uplifting and upholding the sacred ceremonies is part of that responsibility, not modifying and accommodating for others but holding on to the authentic ceremonies that we were taught is our responsibility”. ~

• Learn more about traditional indigenous healing practices at IH
  • Read this document
  • Watch this video
  • Listen to Interior Voices: Season 7 Episode 1: Smudging guidelines at Interior Health
• Read this We are IH blog post on Lenora Starr

Planning and coordinating safe discharges from Royal Inland Hospital

The Indigenous Discharge Toolkit was developed to assist clinicians with discharge planning for Indigenous patients from Royal Inland Hospital to their home communities within the Thompson Cariboo Region of Interior Health.

The toolkit's resource document helps the care team connect with appropriate community members and resources based on the patient's needs and wishes. The toolkit is also informative for many clinicians within the Thompson-Cariboo region.

Much gratitude to all of the Indigenous partners, First Nations Health Authority Community Health Practice Consultants, Nation Health Managers, First Nations Health Directors, Métis Health System Advocates, Nation Community Engagement Coordinators, Indigenous Patient Navigators, and the many more who contributed to the toolkit development.

If you have any queries about the department, program or project identity, or if there is any missing/updated information you would like to provide, please email us.

Access the Indigenous Discharge Toolkit: Thompson Cariboo

Getting Discharged From Hospital | Interior Health

Interior Voices is our Indigenous health and wellness podcast series that explores the intersection of health and culture in the workplace, our everyday lives and patient care.

Learn more about the podcast

Initial reports

In June 2020, an investigation into Indigenous-specific racism in the provincial health-care system was launched by the B.C. Minister of Health. The investigation found extensive examples of racism and discrimination against Indigenous patients, culminating in the report In Plain Sight: Addressing Indigenous-specific Racism and Discrimination in B.C. Health Care, and a subsequent data report.

These were published in November 2020 and February 2021, respectively, and resulted in 24 recommendations to be implemented across the B.C. health-care system in response to Indigenous racism.

• Read the summary report released on November 30, 2020
• Read the full report released on November 30, 2020 report
• Read the data report released on February 4, 2021

Response from B.C. health authorities and Interior Health

On Dec. 1, 2020 a statement was released on behalf of B.C. health authorities

As part of our commitment to accountability and transparency, IH has publicly reported on progress toward implementing these recommendations. These reports reflect actions taken to change systems, behaviours, and beliefs that contribute to Indigenous-specific racism.

• November 2025 In Plain Sight Response
• November 2024 In Plain Sight Response
• June 2023 In Plain Sight Response
• November 2022 In Plain Sight Response
• June 2022 In Plain Sight Response

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC) informed Canadians about residential schools, documented the truth of Survivors, their families and communities, and prepared several reports, including 94 calls to action.

The federal and provincial governments committed to implementing the report’s calls to action and to establishing a renewed nation-to-nation relationship with Indigenous Peoples based on recognition of rights, respect, and partnership.

• Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action
• Truth and Reconciliation Commission Reports

In 2019, B.C. passed the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act (Declaration Act) into law. The Declaration Act establishes the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration) as the Province’s framework for reconciliation, as called for by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action.

The Declaration Act mandates government to bring provincial laws into alignment with the UN Declaration and to develop and implement an action plan to achieve the objectives of the UN Declaration in consultation and co-operation with Indigenous Peoples.

• B.C. Declaration Act website
• B.C. Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
• B.C. Declaration Act Action Plan
• United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

The National Inquiry’s final report reveals that persistent and deliberate human and Indigenous rights violations and abuses are the root cause behind Canada’s staggering rates of violence against Indigenous women, girls, and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, transsexual, two-spirit, queer, questioning, intersex, and (2SLGBTQQIA) people. Colonial violence directed toward cultural practice, family, and community creates conditions that increase the likelihood of other forms of violence, including interpersonal violence, through its distinct impacts on the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples.

In sharing stories about the health issues they or their missing or murdered loved ones faced and the experiences they had in seeking health services, family members and survivors illustrated how addressing violence against Indigenous women, girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA people must also address their right to health.

• Reclaiming Power and Place: The Final Report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls
• Calls for Justice: Health and Wellness Service Providers

The HSO 75000:2022 British Columbia Cultural Safety and Humility Standard provides a comprehensive framework to help health authorities and health and social service organizations create culturally safe, anti-racist systems and services for First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples.

This Ministry of Health mandate letter communicates the government’s priorities and provides specific direction and expectations including:

• Comply with the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act, including implementing existing commitments made under it
• Work in partnership with First Nations rights­holders to advance shared interests
• Proactively advance culturally safe, anti-racist and trauma-informed, coordinated service pathways and prevention efforts for families
• Focus on promoting the use of a health equity lens for the design and delivery of health-care services and programs to embed cultural safety, anti-racism, and equity for populations facing systemic inequities, including Indigenous Peoples
• Work collaboratively with Indigenous communities and leadership to improve health outcomes for Indigenous peoples in our province, including continuing to act on the recommendations of the In Plain Sight Report and continuing to implement policy, practices, and standards, to address gaps in health and mental health and substance use care services experienced by Indigenous people by improving access, cultural safety and humility, and eliminating Indigenous-specific racism

IH Ministry of Health mandate letter to IH Board

The IHWS is a guiding framework and accountability mechanism for IH’s 30,000+ staff and physicians. It outlines the standards and actions needed to ensure care is high quality, culturally safe, and effective for Indigenous Peoples and families in the Interior Region.

The strategy is informed by and supports commitments to Indigenous partners through signed agreements, including Letters of Understanding (LOUs), the Partnership Accord, and the Cultural Safety Declaration, as well as IH’s strategic priorities and Ministry of Health (MOH) mandate.

Looking ahead

IH is renewing the IHWS for release in 2027. The voices of clients, patients, families, communities, health service providers, and Indigenous IH staff are integral to informing the refreshed strategy. EngageIH has been implemented as an engagement platform to gather feedback through surveys and quick polls, and to share updates on the strategy’s development.

Indigenous Health & Wellness Strategy (IHWS) 2022-2026

Visit EngageIH.ca/IHWS to learn more

The strategic priority Advancing Indigenous Health and Wellness focuses on:

• Continued implementation of the 2022-2026 Indigenous Health and Wellness Strategy
• Implementing actions to advance Indigenous health and wellness across all of the IH Strategic Priorities
• Promoting and maintaining sustainable, respectful and responsive partnerships between Indigenous Peoples and IH
• IH services are free from racism and discrimination
• Indigenous Peoples and Communities have equitable access to culturally safe care

Interior Health Strategic Direction 2024-2027

Grounded in voice and experience, the Indigenous Employee Experience Strategy was developed to enhance the overall employment experience for Indigenous Peoples within IH, and addresses the recommendations in foundational documents such as the In Plain Sight Report, weaving external calls for change with internal strategies to build organizational capacity and create a positive employment experience for Indigenous job seekers, candidates, and employees.

Indigenous Employee Experience Strategy

Métis Nation British Columbia (MNBC) and IH launched the Métis Health and Wellness Plan in 2024. This initiative is aimed at enhancing Métis health and wellness outcomes through collaboration and cultural integration.
IH Métis Health and Wellness Plan 2024-2028

The Partnership Accord Work Plan sets out annual, practical actions in priority areas identified by First Nations Communities and Nations to strengthen health service access, cultural safety, and health outcomes. Approved by PALT, it guides collaborative work by IH, First Nations Health Authority (FNHA), and the seven Interior First Nations, strengthens coordination across partnership tables, and ensures community voices inform regional planning, with progress shared regularly through status reports and updates.