Evolving Unlearning & Undoing Project Tools

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Unlearning 

Unlearning Club

Towards the first part of learning and naming racism, we have established a voluntary monthly Unlearning Club. It is a space for dialogue where we read / watch / listen to a resource created by Indigenous, Black, and People of Colour who have shared their expertise on the topic, and discuss its relevance to our work in the OPHO. 

• Unlearning Club Evolving Schedule (PDF, 505KB)

Rights, Reconciliation, and Anti-racism Library 

We wanted a way to keep the Foundational Commitments to Indigenous Peoples at our fingertips. Now we have two libraries – one digital and one hard-copy in a central spot in our office – containing all foundational documents with commitments to Indigenous Peoples, as well as resources for anti-racism. 

• Rights, Reconciliation, and Anti-racism Library

Foundational Commitments Series

The PHO Foundational Commitments to Indigenous Peoples Series includes five mandatory presentations on UNDRIP, TRC, MMIWG, In Plain Sight, and the BC Cultural Safety and Humility Standard for Health Organizations, and related accountability. The Foundational Commitments Series aims to ensure all OPHO team members are familiar with each of these sets of instructions, are able to identify the instructions within their sphere of influence, and have the required tools and direction to uphold them in their day-to-day work. 

• Overview of OPHO Foundational Commitments Series - OPHO U&U project (PDF, 395KB)

Monitoring

Action on Foundational Commitments Self-assessment

Our “Action on Foundational Commitments Self-assessment” allows us to check in on our progress every six months. It is a short survey that asks team members to rank, reflect, and strategize on their engagement with Foundational Commitments to Indigenous Peoples. (Available on request to daniele.behnsmith@gov.bc.ca).

Knot Log

A “colonial knot” is a shorthand to speak about instances of systemic racism and white supremacy that we identify in our professional day-to-day. The Knot Log is a document to record observations about colonial knots that arise within the OPHO and its sphere of influence, as well as relevant related context (size of the knot, location of the knot, considerations for untying the knot, reflecting on the response, etc.). The Knot Log allows us to begin to identify patterns related to colonial knots within the OPHO, and to adopt a more strategic approach to dealing with colonial knots moving forward. 

• Towards untying colonial knots in Canadian health systems: A net metaphor for settler-colonialism

Undoing

Rapid Colonial Knot Review Tool

This checklist seeks to assess accountability to the inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples, Foundational Commitments made to Indigenous Peoples, and Indigenous-specific racism within OPHO materials.

• Rapid Colonial Knot Review tool - OPHO U&U project (DOCX, 313KB)

Quick Reconciliation Checklist for Indigenous Recruitment

This checklist outlines the requirements of each OPHO job posting for Indigenous recruitment and retention. It includes the following: stated preference for candidates who self-identify as Indigenous, a plan in place to enact Indigenous preference, inclusion of an Indigenous advisory contact in the job posting, inclusion of Indigenous relations behavioural competencies, and sharing the posting with Indigenous networks.

• Quick Reconciliation Checklist - Indigenous Recruitment Retention - OPHO U&U project (PDF, 332KB)

Hardwiring

OPHO Indigenous Rights and Reconciliation Vision

B.C.’s Office of the Provincial Health Officer: 

1. Recognizes the inherent rights and title of BC First Nations and the inherent rights of all First Nations, Métis, and Inuit living in BC. 
2. Acknowledges that these rights can only be fully exercised when the ecosystems in which they are embedded are vibrant, biodiverse, and loved and cared for, and that we therefore share a collective responsibility to the health and wellness of these territories.
3. Recognizes the truth that Indigenous-specific racism is perpetuated through white supremacist policies and practices that remain hardwired into our systems and processes, and that impede the health and wellness of Indigenous Peoples.
4. Actively works to uphold the inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples by taking action on specific Foundational Commitments made to Indigenous Peoples (e.g., UNDRIP, TRC, MMIWG & In Plain Sight), being trustworthy in relationships with Indigenous partners, and taking anti-racist actions in all aspects of OPHO work.