The Royal College’s commitment to reconciliation is embedded not only in our strategic plan, but in the everyday work of our Office of Indigenous Health (OIH). Guided by Indigenous knowledge, governance and community partnerships, the OIH is leading initiatives across the organization to embed Indigenous perspectives into postgraduate medical education and specialist practice.

The OIH’s work directly answers Call to Action #24, embedding education on residential schools, treaties, Indigenous rights and anti-racism into medical training. Indigenous health is now a core theme in the Royal College’s 2023–2027 strategic plan and is being integrated across the organization.

Embedding cultural safety in learning and practice

One of the most visible achievements of the OIH this year is the launch of Walking Together: Understanding Indigenous Health, a four-hour online, self-paced continuing professional development (CPD) module available in English and French. Designed to help learners critically examine how colonization continues to shape health systems in Canada, the module covers:

• historical and ongoing impacts on social determinants of health and health outcomes;
• systemic barriers to care and the effects of colonial policies such as forced displacement and family displacement;
• family disruption and the impacts of residential schools; and
• the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls, and 2SLGBTQQIA+ people.

It also invites participants to reflect on their personal role in contributing to equity and trust in clinical relationships and personal lives.

A second module focused on forced and coerced sterilization is in development, with expected release in late 2025 or early 2026. The OIH has also developed the Indigenous Health Foundations workshop and presenter guide, delivered both internally and at national conferences, and continues to support staff learning through onboarding initiatives and commemorative events.

Upcoming work will focus on creating specialty-specific educational tools and supporting international medical graduates, ensuring that all physicians — regardless of discipline or training pathway — are equipped to provide culturally safe care.

Accreditation with accountability

Recognizing the role of institutions in shaping physician learning environments, the OIH has played a leading role in revising the General Standards of Accreditation (GSAs) in partnership with the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Collège des médecins du Québec, and with guidance from the National Consortium for Indigenous Medical Education and Indigenous communities. This has resulted in updated standards that now require anti-racism policies and safe reporting mechanisms.

The revised standards were approved by the Canadian Residency Accreditation Consortium (CanRAC) in May 2025 and will come into effect mid-2026. In the meantime, the OIH will be co-developing operational toolkits and best practice guidelines to help institutions implement the changes. Training for accreditors is also in development.

In parallel, updates to CPD accreditation standards are underway, with input from trusted Indigenous partners. These efforts aim to ensure accountability not only in learning objectives, but also in the systems that uphold them.

Assessing what matters

The OIH is also working with the Royal College’s assessment and examination leads to develop a national Indigenous health assessment strategy. An environmental scan has been done. The goal is to focus on developing exam questions and training tools — beginning with priority specialties such as Psychiatry and Pediatrics.

The work includes:

• developing education for staff and volunteers to develop and conduct culturally safe Royal College examinations;
• establishing credentialing and examination practices that affirm members to have knowledge about, and competence in, Indigenous health and culturally safe care; and
• identifying workplace-based assessment strategies for Indigenous health competencies for both physicians and physicians in training.

This work aligns with the growing understanding that equitable care begins with appropriate assessment — that cultural safety, Indigenous knowledge and anti-racist practice must be valued in learning and in evaluation.

Supporting Indigenous-led research

An emerging area of work for the OIH is the development of an Indigenous health research grant program. The focus of this program is to support Indigenous researchers with protected time, access to resources and mentorship.

The revised program aims to build capacity, support self-determination and ensure that research funding serves the long-term needs of Indigenous scholars and communities.

A culture of learning and allyship

The OIH supports Truth and Reconciliation at the Royal College. The Truth and Reconciliation team, created in early 2024 and guided by the OIH, takes the lead on commemorative events and ongoing staff learning that fosters allyship and promotes a culturally safe work environment.

The OIH has also helped establish the Elders Circle, with Algonquin Traditional Knowledge Keepers currently in place and additional Elders from across the country being recruited. The Circle’s guidance helps ensure that the OIH operates in alignment to its Indigenous governance system and higher accountability, grounded in spirit and Indigenous ways of knowing, doing and seeing.

This foundation of self-determination and accountability is reflected in all of the OIH’s collaborations, from its role in the revised CanMEDS framework to its partnerships with other national organizations.

Looking ahead

The Royal College’s work in Indigenous health is not confined to a single objective or department — and that is exactly the point. Through the leadership of the OIH, Indigenous perspectives are becoming embedded across education, systems, governance and practice.

There is still much to do. But by walking together — through partnership, humility and respect — the path forward is being made clearer, and stronger, every day.