The Ordre des infirmières et infirmiers du Québec (OIIQ) announced Tuesday that April 10th has been recognized as Indigenous Nurses Day. This initiative aims to highlight the contribution of Indigenous nurses and raise awareness among staff about the importance of adopting a culturally safe approach within the healthcare system.
The date of April 10th was chosen because it is celebrated elsewhere in Canada in honour of Charlotte Edith Anderson Monture, born April 10, 1890, the first Indigenous woman to become a registered nurse in Canada.
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April 10th was given official status following a recommendation from the OIIQ’s Consultative Group on Improving Care for First Nations and Inuit (which includes members from Indigenous communities).
This initiative is in line with the OIIQ’s commitments to promote care free from discrimination. The Order adopted a position against systemic racism in 2021, about a year after the tragic death of Joyce Echaquan, an Atikamekw mother who died amid racist insults from healthcare staff at the Joliette Hospital.
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Since then, there have been some improvements, but there is still mistrust among Indigenous people toward the healthcare system, admits Luc Mathieu, President of the OIIQ. “We must be sensitive to this mistrust that can develop, and accommodate requests that may be made by people in the communities […] based on the constraints we have,” he says, citing, for example, infection prevention restrictions that would prevent large numbers of visitors.
“It’s all well and good to say, yes, we recognize systemic racism, or to issue a position statement, but then what do we do?” So, the establishment of this working group, and what comes from it, such as here with the recognition of Indigenous Nurses Day, are part of that,” he explains.
Reconciliation doesn’t rely solely on the OIIQ
Mathieu emphasizes that there are still many myths to debunk among healthcare professionals. “The example I often give—and I hope this happens less and less and that it won’t happen again at some point—if we see a person from an Indigenous community who arrives in an emergency room and is a little unsteady, don’t immediately assume that this person is under the influence of certain substances. Maybe it’s because they have neurological problems that they’re losing their balance,” says Mathieu.
For him, the priority must be to debunk these myths. Cultural safety practices are more about hospitality, he says, for example, allowing an Indigenous person to have food that corresponds to their culture if there are no medical contraindications. “We have to be open to these things,” he comments.
Mathieu emphasizes that reconciliation is everyone’s business, not just nurses. “It’s not just the Order’s mandate. All of society, people upstream in the education system, in healthcare facilities, we really need to work together to ensure that Indigenous communities feel welcome, that they are well cared for, and that their culture is taken into account,” he concludes.
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