Résumé
This project aimed to co-develop an Indigenous Health Certificate for students in Health & Exercise Sciences through a collaborative partnership between Indigenous community members. An Indigenous Advisory Committee was created with over 30 members including Elders, Knowledge Keepers, Indigenous leaders, individuals working within Indigenous focused organizations, as well as Indigenous students and faculty members. The Advisory Committee has and will continue to guide all decisions regarding the learning outcomes, structure, development, and implementation of the certificate. To date, an environmental scan of Indigenous learning activities at UBC has completed, the learning outcomes have been finalized, and a certificate framework has been developed. It is proposed that students will begin the process of obtaining the certificate by completing introductory Indigenous courses. These courses are then followed by learning activities focused on Indigenous health and cultural safety grounded in Indigenous approaches and land-based learning. As a final step, students will engage in a community or project-based circle learning initiative to complete the certificate. Overall, the development of the Indigenous Health Certificate will advance several actions of UBC’s Indigenous Strategic Plan, actions from Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and will foster the ability for students to engage with Indigenous individuals and communities in a culturally-safe and respectful manner. The project will also contribute to broader strategic actions including Indigenization of programming, increased experiential learning opportunities, and strengthened partnerships with the Indigenous community. Secondary outputs included an inventory of existing Indigenous learning activities and a replicable blueprint for other institutions.
