Objectives: The Aboriginal Cultural Safety Initiative (ACSI) created at Anishnawbe Health Toronto offers an innovative curriculum to address gaps in postsecondary health sciences curricula in this area for future healthcare providers. Participants: Evaluations were collected from 1,275 students in health sciences programs in colleges and universities in Ontario. Setting: Trained volunteer Aboriginal instructors were invited as guest speakers to college and university classes in various health science disciplines. Intervention: Our instructors offered a 2-to 3-hour teaching session to health sciences students that included 3 modules on the health of Aboriginal peoples: (a) The impact of colonial and postcolonial policies on social determinants of health, (b) Contemporary health determinants and health outcomes, and (c) Aboriginal concepts of health and healing practices. Outcomes: The ACSI was able to impart the intended learning objectives to a wide array of students across health sciences disciplines, as demonstrated in the student evaluations. A significant number of students reported that their knowledge of, and interest in, Aboriginal health increased substantially when compared to their prior knowledge and interest. Conclusion: The success of this program suggests that, in the absence of Aboriginal faculty members in postsecondary health sciences departments, a committed cadre of volunteer Aboriginal instructors can improve student knowledge around issues related to Aboriginal health and can influence student attitudes through the inclusion of personal experiences in the teaching session. A lack of availability in curriculum time continues to be the largest obstacle to including content on Aboriginal cultural safety in health sciences programs.

Colonial policies in Canada have led to social disruption and intergenerational trauma across Indigenous nations, contributing to high rates of sexualized violence within many communities. While mental health and social science discourse has identified the harmful impacts of violence against Indigenous women in Canada, there continues to be a lack of focus on the unique mental health needs of Indigenous men in this regard. This article reviews the results of a nationally funded research study which looked at the mental health and healing needs of Indigenous men in Toronto who have experienced sexualized trauma. This study followed Indigenous protocols for research and was conducted in partnership with Anishnawbe Health Toronto, a culture-based community health center. The methodology utilized a narrative inquiry and interviewed six community men about their recovery journeys and ten community healers and counselors about recovery through a gendered lens. The results explore the discourses that contribute to the social construction of masculinity(ies) and the impacts of these social norms on help-seeking behaviors. These results inform culturally appropriate and gender-relevant mental health service provision for Indigenous male clients recovering from sexualized trauma.

Of the 1,172,785 persons of Aboriginal ancestry in Canada in * Selection of multiple categories was accepted and hence results do not add up to 100%. † Includes 18 (81.8%) as Yes and 4 (18.2%) as Maybe. ‡ Includes: Yes (71.4%) and Maybe (19.0%).

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