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.