Defining strategies and techniques for culturally-safe learning settings

“Culturally safe” education and methods of learning and knowing engage learners whose pedagogical frameworks are being celebrated in the process, such as experientially and through expressive arts. Moreover, in cross-cultural settings, the methods utilized allow for teachable and transformative moments for participants accustomed to the privileging of Eurocentric knowledge and approaches. My first experiences with mixed learning environments that incorporated cultural relevancy and anti-oppression was facilitating workshops on anti-racism education with youth. As a facilitator, I often encountered taken-for-granted truths, misconceptions and misinformation. This provided real barriers to relationship-building, an appreciation of the impacts of colonialism and stopping the cycle of racism. The most shocking and powerful moment came when one youth wrote to me: “I will no longer think of Indians as savages.” I pursued this topic further for my Masters with regards to transformative education and the Residential School Truth and Reconciliation Commission public education mandate. The theme of cultural-competency, historically accurate education and respectful relationships became the topic of conference presentations, two published articles and guided my work in addictions education and research. What this translated to was working from an inclusive framework, privileging Indigenous methods and knowledge keepers whenever possible. Within the realm of commercial tobacco cessation, I helped develop Indigenous-specific cessation resource that celebrates culturally-relevant art, protocol and teachings, in addition to evidence-based tools like motivational interviewing. Furthermore, I coordinated the second iteration of an Indigenous-focused applied commercial tobacco counselling course, where I incorporated required readings on colonization and common-held misconceptions. The significance of such initiatives is a potential increase in cultural safety and competency in mental health and addictions treatment practice and delivery. Research shows that cultural relevancy in health education contributes to positive outcomes, but how do we begin to measure if something is culturally-safe and the one to counsel or facilitate is culturally-competent? Through a knowledge translation project, I plan to explore the relationship between knowledge of our history of Indigenous-settler relations and cultural safety at the material and practice levels. Guided by the deliberations of frontline workers practicing in Indigenous and cross-cultural contexts, I wish to generate concrete self-awareness and self-questioning techniques to be utilized by counsellors and educators working with First Nations, Métis and Inuit learners who in turn would be more confident in providing safe and anti-oppressive atmospheres for holistic education, healing and recovery. Through the use of pre-, post-learning assessments and follow-up surveys completed by practitioners as part of the aforementioned course requirements, in addition to interviews with key frontline workers, I will collaborate with a qualitative research expert to translate knowledge that is representative and practical. Previous surveys have indicated that our knowledge translation and holistic training in commercial tobacco cessation delivery with Indigenous clients is effective – an education that incorporates the complexities of normalization and contraband, the social determinants of health, as well as traditional tobacco teachings, dancing and drumming. These skills, tools and perspectives permit informed and culturally-relevant health education and harm reduction delivery. Identifying the type of factors and strategies for improving the quality, safety and empowering nature of motivational relationships could have an impact on education beyond the applied cessation counselling and harm reduction education specific to this project, and benefit educators in various learning settings.