Viviane Laniel
This Spoken Letter is to denounce the Indigenous-specific discrimination and racism that Indigenous Peoples continue to experience in the Canadian health care system, especially Indigenous women and girls. I have chosen to honour two Indigenous artists from the visual and musical art forms. I have selected pictures that represent Indigenous ways of knowing and of doing to honour Indigenous Peoples as well as photographs from my own collections. I have also gathered Indigenous truth telling and stories of discrimination and racism in the health care system from Indigenous women who have trusted me with their testimonies. My Spoken Letter speaks to the importance of raising awareness in all Canadians of the importance of promoting social justice for Indigenous Peoples, supporting the TRC Calls to Action report, acknowledging Indigenous resurgence, and to the urgency to decolonize the social work profession and the health care system.
