Today, we commemorate National Indigenous Peoples Day, as well as National Indigenous History Month which we celebrate throughout the month of June.
We take this opportunity to recognize, honour, and celebrate the history, traditions, culture, and contributions of Indigenous Peoples throughout Turtle Island in what is now colonially known as North America.
As leaders in the settler healthcare system, we remain committed to being an inclusive regulator and to continue our work to dismantle Indigenous-specific racism within pharmacy practice and decolonize processes inherent to pharmacy regulation.
One of the foundational pieces in our work to dismantle Indigenous-specific racism is the Indigenous Cultural Safety, Humility and Anti-Racism Practice Standard, which we adopted in September 2022. Having this standard in place enables us to set and uphold clear expectations for registered pharmacy professionals on how they are to provide culturally safe and anti-racist care for Indigenous clients.
In order to build on the foundation set by the Standard, CPBC is dedicated to creating a regulatory environment that prioritizes Indigenous needs, values and perspectives. Over the past few years, we have worked to cultivate vital relationships with Indigenous Elders, Knowledge Keepers and community members to guide our efforts in decolonizing regulatory frameworks such as our complaints and investigations processes and board policies in creating safer spaces for Indigenous Peoples. Beyond these strategic efforts, we believe that education and self-reflection are critical components in addressing and ultimately eliminating Indigenous-specific racism from the practice of pharmacy and the delivery of pharmacy services.
In 2023, two educational courses were launched as a collective effort by the First Nations Health Authority and the University of British Columbia. These courses are available at no cost and aim to provide pharmacy professionals with essential tools to recognize and combat systemic Indigenous racism and barriers to healthcare access.
We strongly encourage all pharmacy team members to participate in these transformative learning opportunities and to take some time to reflect on the ways that you can contribute to providing culturally safer care for Indigenous clients in your everyday practice.