In 2021 Community Living BC created an Indigenous Relations department and co-chaired the Indigenous Strategies for Community Inclusion working group as part of the Re-Imagining Community Inclusion process.
Indigenous people with diverse abilities face unique challenges when it comes to accessing our services. The long government history of institutionalization of Indigenous people and the resulting harms has led to a loss of trust in systems of care. While we recognize the desire and need for supports outside the community & home, the culture of removing individuals from the circle of family and community continues to perpetuate the social disintegration of Indigenous society and culture and affect the outcomes of individuals.
Despite the history of harm, Indigenous people demonstrate resilience as they work to protect and reclaim the cultural identity and community care that was lost because of historical and ongoing institutionalization.
All parts of government are working in tandem with Indigenous communities to resolve the historical impacts and address the ongoing barriers that exist between the government and Indigenous individuals seeking government services.
What does it mean to be culturally safe?
All people feel spiritually, socially, emotionally, and physically safe when interacting with us. We are aware of our own cultural beliefs and identities and recognize that we have much to learn. We strive to reflect the diversity of B.C. in our workforce. We support people to draw strengths from their identity, culture, and community. We acknowledge that only each person can determine if they feel safe.
Reconnecting and collaborating
Reconnecting Indigenous self advocates to families and communities is vital to improve health outcomes as well as building trust to share about the work that we do.
“The solution is found through our collective wisdom and our collective understanding of good practices and what works,” says Joanne Mills, Executive Director of Indigenous Relations “There’s not one knowledge or one path. I think it’s a coordinated, collaborative effort to resolve some of the long-standing issues. That’s where my team comes in and we’ve been looking at this in our services and in our sector while collaborating with the Indigenous partners to understand how we can work with them better.”
As a result of these conversations and partnerships, the team has currently identified 17 projects under the following four strategies:
- Develop meaningful and respectful connections to Indigenous people, including people with lived experience, their families, supporters, and communities.
- Shifting CLBC culture towards reconciliation
- Creating more cultural safety within CLBC operations and services
- Reframing service delivery to support the drafted principles
The Indigenous Relations teams works with CLBC staff to build relationships with Indigenous communities.
The overarching emphasis of many of these activities is developing and strengthening relationships with Indigenous people, families, supporters, communities, and partners in culturally safe ways.
This work will be carried out over the next three years as part of the 2022-2025 Strategic Plan. The partnerships that CLBC builds over the next three years will act as the foundation for the work that the Indigenous Relations team will do well into the future.
