Catalyze intersectoral actions to build supportive, culturally safe systems, with particular attention given to connection to land

Recommendation 5: The PHWA illustrates that Western systems must be supportive and culturally safe in order to advance the health of First Nations. To do so, there is a need for unified, coordinated actions across diverse systems and organizations to remove systemic barriers to wellness. In particular, these collaborations must attend to First Nations connection to land, which is a foundation of wellness. We challenge health, social, and environmental sectors to work together in new and innovative ways.

Achieveing the targets set out within the PHWA requires both intra-organizational alignments and inter-organizational collaboration and partnership. First Nations organizations and collectives must continue to pursue alignment and support one another in collective efforts to nourish roots of wellness. BC’s Provincial Government must create internal mechanisms to collaborate effectively between ministries and make efforts to include ministries that influence First Nations’ connection to land.

• Federal and provincial governments must partner with First Nations organizations and collectives to collaborate efficiently across sectors with the goal of achieving the targets outlined in the PHWA.
• First Nations organizations and collectives and governmental bodies implicated in the following areas are key stakeholders in this intersectoral work: health, education, housing, justice, social development, poverty reduction, natural resources/climate change, economic development, and child welfare.

Advance the roots of health and wellness of the next generation: First Nations babies, children, and youth

Priority areas for collaboration across systems/organizations

Recommendation 7: Revitalize child- and youth-focused ceremonies and cultural practices (i.e., naming ceremonies, puberty rites, First Nations birthing).

Advance the roots of health and wellness of the next generation: First Nations babies, children, and youth

Priority areas for collaboration across systems/organizations

Recommendation 10: Increase land-based learning, healing, and stewardship opportunities for First Nations children and youth.

Commit to cultural safety and humility across systems

Recommendation 12: We call on all systems partners to make commitments and/or continue to act on commitments signed in the Cultural Safety and Humility Declarations by embedding cultural safety and humility throughout the system and to evaluate those actions.

Increase access and attachment to culturally safe primary health care

Recommendation 13: We call on the health system to expand on their initial primary care investments and make policy changes to equitably increase access and attachment to culturally safe primary health care services, moving towards team-based models of care that are wholistic and rooted in culture and traditions.