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Introduction to Unlearning & Undoing White Supremacy and Racism in the Office of the Provincial Health Officer

Last updated on February 14, 2024

At the Office of the Provincial Health Officer (OPHO), we are committed to upholding the inherent rights of Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) in BC, as well as anti-racist approaches, and truth and reconciliation. We are committed to seeing the ways that anti-Indigenous racism and white supremacy show up in our day-to-day work (i.e., policies, practices, processes), and deliberately taking anti-racist approaches to arrest white supremacy and racism. We are also beginning work to pay particular attention to the rights and needs of Indigenous elders, women, 2SLGBTQIA+, youth, children and persons with disabilities throughout this work.

The Unlearning and Undoing White Supremacy Project began a two-year initiative that has transitioned to ongoing efforts to embed Indigenous rights, truth, and reconciliation across the OPHO.

Unlearning & undoing systemic white supremacy & Indigenous-specific racism within the BC OPH Officer

Land Acknowledgement

We acknowledge with great respect the territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən peoples which the Office of the Provincial Health Officer stands, and the Songhees, Esquimalt (Xwsepsum) and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day. We recognize and express our gratitude for the medicines within these territories, and the First Nations territories that stretch across every inch of the province of British Columbia.

Rights Acknowledgement

We acknowledge with respect the inherent rights of the First Nations whose ancestral territories cover every inch of the province now known as British Columbia, including their unextinguished land rights and rights to self-determination, health, and wellness within these territories. Laws and governance systems rooted in the land have upheld the sovereignty of these diverse Nations for thousands of years. The rights and responsibilities of First Nations to their ancestral territories have never been ceded or surrendered, and are upheld in provincial, national, and international law. 

We also recognize that many Indigenous Peoples (First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) from elsewhere in what is now known as Canada and beyond also call these lands and waters home, and they too have inherent Indigenous rights to self-determination, health, and wellness. This includes Métis Nation British Columbia and its Chartered Communities across BC, as well as those whose ancestral territories are outside of BC.

Introducing Ourselves

Headshot of Dr. Bonnie Henry who is BC's Provincial Health Officer. She is a white woman with blonde hair reaching her chin and bangs. She is wearing a dark coloured blazer, a pink blouse, and a necklace of round blue and brown glass beads with white dots. Bonnie Henry, MD, MPH, FRCPC

 I am a 5th generation Canadian settler of Scottish Highland and Welsh ancestry, born and raised on Mi’kmaq territory (PEI/NB). I acknowledge with gratitude that I live, work, and play on lək̓ʷəŋən territory (Songhees and Esquimalt Nations). I have the privilege of working as BC’s Provincial Health Officer. Our office is learning how to better honour Indigenous Peoples and ways of knowing in our work. We have committed to disrupting anti-Indigenous racism in the health-care system with the guidance of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit teachers.

Headshot of Dr. Daniele Behn Smith who is Deputy Provincial Health Officer of Indigenous Health in British Columbia. Adult woman with dark brown bob haircut and bangs smiling slightly and wearing matching pink purple and light blue earings and necklace made of hide, seed beads, and feathers. Her jacket is black with beaded motifs.Danièle Behn Smith, MD, CCFP, MPH (she/her)

Taanshi, Dágǫndı́h, Greetings with gratitude on the territories of the lək̓ʷəŋən (Lekwungen) peoples of the Songhees and Esquimalt Nations! I’m Métis from the Red River Valley and Eh Cho Dene from Fort Nelson First Nation. I am a mama to two beautiful kids and one little black dog. I have the honour and privilege of working as the Deputy Provincial Health Officer, Indigenous Health. At the BC OPHO, we are working towards an environment of cultural safety, anti-racism, and trustworthiness. Mussi cho/Maarsi.

Headshot of Dr. Kate Jongbloed who is a post doc in the BC Office of the Provincial Health Officer. She is a white woman with dark hair in a low pony tail wearing black rimmed glasses and a black sweatshirt. Behind her is an otomi embroidery wall hanging with vibrant colours.

Kate Jongbloed, PhD (she/her)

I am a white occupier living on the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish), and Səl̓ílwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations. I am an epidemiologist and mixed methods health researcher with 12+ years of experience working in the field of Indigenous health and wellness. I am lucky to be working with Danièle and the OPHO team during a two-year CIHR Health Systems Impact Post-Doctoral Fellowship (2021-2023).

We recognize with tremendous gratitude the other staff, leaders, and trainees within the OPHO who contribute their hands, hearts, and minds to this work.

OPHO Vision on Indigenous Rights, Truth, and Reconciliation

We envision an OPHO that:

  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., United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Calls to Action, the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, and the In Plain Sight report), being trustworthy in relationships with Indigenous partners, and taking anti-racist actions in all aspects of OPHO work.

Title says Foundational Commitments to Indigenous Peoples. Four boxes from left to right. First box says why (obligations): treaties; canadian constitution section 35; federal and provincial UNDRIP laws; stated commitments by governments. Second box says what (framework): UNDRIP is the framework for reconciliation. Third box says how (instructions): TRC (94 Calls to Action); MMIWG (231 Calls for Justice); BC In Plain Sight (24 Recommendations); Joyce’s Principle (6 recommendations); BC Declaration Act Action Plan (89 actions). Fourth box says action (implementation): What homework have I and my team done to LEARN the various foundational obligations that relate to our work/sphere of influence? What homework have and I my team done to UNDERSTAND what must be done in our sphere of obligations to meet these foundational obligations? How have I and my team begun to ACT and hardwire accountability and sustained action towards meeting these foundational obligations? BC Cultural Safety & Humility Standard (92 criteria). The first three boxes have a big checkmark but the fourth box has a note that says "incomplete: our attention, accountability, and action needed!"

WHY are we doing this work? 

Our obligation to uphold inherent Indigenous rights, anti-racist approaches, and truth and reconciliation is articulated in provincial, federal, and international laws and initiatives:

WHAT framework guides our reconciliation work?

The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) has been established as the province’s guide for reconciliation with the BC Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples Act. Principles for reconciliation are provided within the 10 Draft Principles that Guide the Province’s Relationship with Indigenous Peoples.

HOW will we meet our obligations? 

The solutions have been provided. Indigenous Peoples have provided nearly 1000 clear and detailed instructions on how to uphold inherent rights, anti-racist approaches, and truth and reconciliation in the following foundational documents:

ACTION: So, what do we do? 

We have a responsibility to act on the instructions provided by Indigenous Peoples within the foundational commitments. Despite having clear obligations and frameworks, our accountabilities and actions are incomplete. We must ask ourselves:

  • LEARN: What homework have I (and my team) done to LEARN from the original inhabitants of these lands and waters about their laws and teachings, as well as the truths of settler colonial harms and how they continue to manifest in the present day?
  • UNDERSTAND: What homework have I (and my team) done to UNDERSTAND what must be done in our sphere of obligations to meet these foundational obligations?
  • ACT: How have I (and my team) begun to ACT in ways that challenge, elevate and advance true reconciliation, including hardwiring accountability and marathon actions towards meeting these foundational obligations?