Gum yan asing Kaangas giidaay han hll guudang gas ga. I Will Never Again Feel That I Am Less Than: Indigenous Health Care Providers’ Perspectives on Ending Racism in Health Care

Abstract

Racism toward Indigenous Peoples continues to permeate throughout the health care system, a reality the authors know all too well in their shared and yet unique personal and professional experiences. Although acknowledging and speaking up against racial injustice is daunting, and is often met with disregard or inaction, the authors contend that this is a necessary undertaking to redress the ongoing harms of colonialism. Correspondingly, those who do not speak up must not have their voices silenced. Instead, the perspectives that Indigenous Peoples have regarding their own experiences of racism must be heeded seriously and produce real and tangible solutions. In narrating their own encounters of confronting and challenging racism, the authors juxtapose activism and resistance with the preservation of Indigenous Knowledge as a catalyst for propelling the necessary changes forward within health care to end racism. To be truly impactful, all efforts taken to address racism must occur alongside advancing equity of care and human rights for and by Indigenous Peoples at individual, community, and systemic levels. Changes are not needed after more evidence. The time to act is now.