Definitions
Cultural awareness: A reflective practice in which the clinician recognizes their own culture, positional power, and the colonial context of the health care system (Caxaj & Schill, 2019; Campina-Bacote, 2002).
Cultural sensitivity: A clinician’s recognition of and respect for other cultures and backgrounds (Campina-Bacote, 2002).
Cultural competency: A clinician’s awareness, knowledge, and skill as applied to interactions with patients whose cultures differ from their own (Caxaj & Schill, 2019).
Cultural safety: A patient determined that the care received demonstrates respect for their identity and values, and has made them feel safe (Caxaj & Schill, 2019; Connor & McEldowney, 2011).
Cultural unsafety: Any action that diminishes, demeans, or disempowers the cultural identity or wellbeing of an individual (Nursing Council of New Zealand, 2015).
Decolonization: A process of dismantling both physical and ideological colonial structures and rebuilding new systems that reflect a balanced power dynamic, equal representation, and non-Western ideology (Iseke-Barnes, 2008; Antoine et. al., 2018)
End-of-life care: Physical, emotional, social, and spiritual support provided to patients and families when a patient is nearing the end of their life and has declined further treatment for a disease or condition (National Cancer Institute, 2020; Fowler & Hammer, 2013). End-of-life care may include palliative care, supportive care, or hospice (National Cancer Institute, 2020). MAiD could be considered an end-of-life care treatment option.
First Nations: A term used to describe Aboriginal peoples of Canada who are ethnically neither Métis nor Inuit. In plural form, First Nations refers to ethnicity, while in singular form, First Nation may refer to a specific community (UBC First Nations Study Program, 2009).
Indigenous: An umbrella term used in this paper to refer to First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples in BC. It is essential to understand that within each demographic there exist a wide variety of cultural values and practices (UBC First Nations Study Program, 2009).
Indigenous paradigm/worldview: An Indigenous way of being with and seeing the world (Wilson, 2008).
Inuit: People who generally live in the far north who are not legally First Nations under Canadian law (UBC First Nations Study Program, 2009).
Métis: A collective culture and identity that arose from unions between Indigenous peoples and European settlers (UBC First Nations Study Program, 2009). Legally, Metis refers to the decedents of specific communities. The Metis Nation BC represents 38 chartered communities (MNBC, 2021).
Palliative care: One end-of-life care option, which seeks to improve the quality of life of a dying patient without either hastening or preventing their demise (National Cancer Institute, 2020; Fowler & Hammer, 2013).
Reconciliation: A process by which wrongs are addressed by restoring what can be restored, returning what can be returned, and repairing what can be repaired (TRC, Craft & Fontaine, 2016).