Saturday, September 30th is the third National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and the tenth anniversary of Orange Shirt Day. We recognize the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization on Indigenous peoples, including the legacy of residential schools and the children who never returned home, and honour and celebrate the survivors, their families, and communities. More information on the history, events, and actions that can be taken to eradicate Indigenous-specific racism can be found by visiting the links below. 

Historical and ongoing colonialism and racism can affect and interrupt Indigenous people’s identities, and their ability to access gender affirming care. Trans Care BC has embedded Indigenous cultural safety into our program’s strategic objectives, and continuously evaluate our work to make sure we’re weaving in calls to action from recent frameworks and reports including The Declaration of Rights of Indigenous People and The National Inquiry Into Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women and Girls. An example of a call to action we’ve responded to comes from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: 

In 2022, Trans Care BC launched an online course on Indigenous gender diversity for people working in health and social service settings to increase their awareness, knowledge, and skills when improving service access for gender diverse Indigenous people across British Columbia. The course was developed in collaboration with various gender diverse Indigenous, Two-Spirit, and Indigenous community members, and providers, and emphasizes the importance of having Indigenous healing practices available within the Canadian health care system for Indigenous people who would like to access them. 

Another call to justice we’ve actioned is from the IMMIWG 2SLGBTQQIA+ National Action Plan:  

Our Indigenous Gender Diversity Course explores this topic, and we’ve developed guides for service providers on Creating Culturally Relevant and Gender-Affirming Services and; Making Culturally Relevant and Gender-Affirming Referrals. 

Resources for learning and taking action: