National Day for Truth and Reconciliation: Reflect, Learn and Take Action
On September 30, Nurses Specialized in Wound, Ostomy and Continence Canada (NSWOCC®) joins people across Canada in observing the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation and Orange Shirt Day.
This day honours the children who never returned home from residential schools, the Survivors, their families, and the First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities that continue to experience the lasting impacts of colonialism and the residential school system.
Orange Shirt Day, an Indigenous-led grassroots movement, reminds us of the loss of culture, freedom and identity experienced by generations of Indigenous children. Its message remains clear and important: Every Child Matters.
As we mark this day, NSWOCC® reaffirms our commitment to Truth and Reconciliation and to supporting equitable access to culturally safe wound, ostomy and continence (WOC) care for Indigenous Peoples across Canada. Reflection and awareness are important, but reconciliation also requires continued learning, listening, relationship-building and action.
Watch and reflect on the History of Truth and Reconciliation | a video by the 2026 Indigenous WOC Health Core Program:
Advancing Indigenous Wound, Ostomy and Continence Health through the Sharing Circle
Through the NSWOCC Indigenous Wound, Ostomy and Continence Health Core Program, we continue to work alongside Indigenous leaders, healthcare professionals and community members to identify opportunities to improve WOC care for Indigenous Peoples.
Among the Core Program's ongoing priorities is supporting the integration of cultural safety into NSWOCC's National Standards of Practice. This work seeks to ensure our standards better recognize and respect Indigenous knowledge, experiences and ways of knowing while helping healthcare professionals provide more equitable, culturally responsive and person-centred care.
The Indigenous WOC Health Core Program meets monthly, and we welcome those interested in contributing to this work to get involved. By bringing together different perspectives and experiences, we can continue identifying gaps, sharing knowledge and advancing better wound, ostomy and continence care with and for Indigenous Peoples.
Interested in getting involved? Email office@nswoc.ca to learn more about joining the Indigenous WOC Health Core Program.
New: Skin Tear Assessment and Classification Toolkit for Indigenous Skin Tones
This year, we are also proud to share an important new resource developed to help address inequities in skin tear assessment and care.
NSWOCC®, in collaboration with the International Skin Tear Advisory Panel (ISTAP™), has launched the Evidence-Based Skin Tear Assessment and Classification Toolkit for Indigenous Skin Tones.
Developed with support from Indigenous Services Canada, this initiative brought together an expert panel of Indigenous nurses and wound, ostomy and continence specialists working closely with Indigenous communities. The toolkit was developed to support culturally safe, equitable and person-centred skin tear assessment and management for Indigenous Peoples across Canada.
The toolkit includes three complementary clinical resources:
ISTAP™ Indigenous Skin Tear Decision Algorithm
ISTAP™ Skin Tear Risk Assessment Pathway for Indigenous People
ISTAP™ Assessment and Treatment Pathway for Indigenous People with Skin Tears
We encourage healthcare professionals and organizations to explore these resources and consider how they can support more equitable assessment and care in their own practice settings.
Continue Your Learning Journey
Truth and Reconciliation is not the work of a single day. This September 30, we encourage members of the NSWOCC® community and our wider healthcare network to make time for continued learning and reflection.
The Sharing Circle, developed through the Indigenous Wound, Ostomy and Continence Health Core Program, provides an evolving online directory of resources, education and support for patients, NSWOCs and healthcare professionals seeking to improve care for Indigenous Peoples.
A number of additional learning opportunities are also available to healthcare professionals and others seeking to deepen their understanding:
The Path: Your Journey Through Indigenous Canada
Developed by NVision Insight Group, a majority Indigenous-owned consulting firm, The Path: Your Journey Through Indigenous Canada is a six-module online learning experience that supports greater understanding of the historical and ongoing impacts of colonization, Indigenous-specific racism, reconciliation and culturally safe healthcare.
The approximately seven-hour, self-paced program includes interactive learning, opportunities for reflection and a certificate of completion.
Sa̲n'yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training
The Sa̲n'yas Indigenous Cultural Safety Training Program provides education designed to help individuals and organizations develop the knowledge, skills and tools needed to address Indigenous-specific racism and foster culturally safe services and systems.
Courses are available for several sectors, including healthcare, justice and public service.
Indigenous Canada – University of Alberta
Indigenous Canada is a 12-lesson Massive Open Online Course offered through the University of Alberta's Faculty of Native Studies. The course explores Indigenous histories and contemporary perspectives in Canada, including the complex historical and present-day relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
The Sharing Circle: Help Us Continue to Build This Resource
The Sharing Circle is intended to continue growing alongside the needs and knowledge of the communities it serves.
If you know of a resource, educational opportunity, article, tool or other material that could contribute to the Sharing Circle, we welcome your suggestions. Please contact office@nswoc.ca, and our team can explore obtaining permission to include it within the directory.
Visit the Sharing Circle: https://sharingcircle.online/
On the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, we encourage everyone within our community to take time to listen, learn and reflect — and to consider how each of us can contribute to meaningful action throughout the year.
NSWOCC® and the NSWOCC Indigenous Wound, Ostomy and Continence Health Core Program respect and affirm the inherent and Treaty Rights of Indigenous Peoples across this land. We continue to honour commitments to self-determination and sovereignty made to Indigenous Nations and Peoples.
We acknowledge the historical oppression of Indigenous lands, cultures and Peoples in what we now know as Canada, and believe that meaningful collaboration toward more equitablehealthcare can contribute to the shared work of healing, reconciliation and decolonization.
