Resources for decolonizing occupational therapy
TRC Call to Action 22.
"We call upon those who can effect change within the Canadian health-care system to recognize the value of Aboriginal healing practices and use them in the treatment of Aboriginal patients in collaboration with Aboriginal healers and Elders where requested by Aboriginal patients".
BACKGROUND
This resource collection was created by the MSc occupational therapy students in the University of Alberta Indigenous Focus in 2018 as a way to share important resources from their journey with others in the OT community.
As a group we identified the key criteria for selecting resources to post on the website:
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created by/with Indigenous stakeholders
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in the public domain and/or contact information is provided
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helps the reader understand the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization on Indigenous Peoples’ health and wellbeing
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action oriented towards decolonization and reconciliation
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respects and reflects Indigenous people’s worldviews (such as land-based healing, self determination and socio-cultural determinants of health)
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evidence-based and includes Indigenous ways of knowing
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contextualized and does not perpetuate stereotyping and generalization
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supports self-reflection for occupational therapists’ on their own Eurocentric bias and ongoing participation in systemic racism
The collection is not exhaustive and new ideas of what to add are always welcome. Also, if you have a concern about any of the resources we would like to hear from you. Please contact cary.brown@ualberta.ca with comments.
The Department of Occupational Therapy, University of Alberta, respectfully acknowledges that we are situated on Treaty 6 and 7 territory (Calgary satellite), traditional lands of First Nations and Métis people.
