Camosun College introduced the Indigenous cultural safety training to its sport and exercise programs, one of the first post-secondary institutions in British Columbia to do so.
Twenty-three faculty members and staff with the Centre for Sport and Exercise Education at the school partnered with the Indigenous Sport Physical Activity and Recreation Council to participate in Indigenous Cultural Safety training on from May 13 to 14.
The sessions provided training and team-building opportunities that were meant to increase confidence and competence when building sport and physical activity opportunities with Indigenous peoples.
“We are so grateful to Camosun for their courage, openness and willingness to, as we say, ‘disrupt the system’," said Robynne Edgar, the director of healthy living at ISPARC, in a news release. “The dream is for the faculty and staff to empower the young people in these sport and exercise programs to enter into a workforce or career in sport, physical activity and recreation with new knowledge and experiences that translates, in a good way, when working with Indigenous peoples and communities.”
The training covered topics like the impact and inequities created by the residential school system and systemic racism, power and privilege, and activities specific to racism with the sports system today. As well, there were teachings that shared Indigenous sport history and current system.
