Recap of BPSO Indigenous-focused Symposium (July 8-10, 2025)

RNAO hosted its second Best Practice Spotlight Organization® (BPSO®) Indigenous-focused Symposium in Thunder Bay from July 8–10, 2025. The three-day gathering welcomed Elders, health leaders, BPSO teams, nurses, students and community members to share experiences and deepen culturally grounded practices in health and wellness.

Developed by the symposium’s BPSO planning committee, the event celebrated the theme: bridging Indigenous and western perspectives in health care. The event focused on improving Indigenous health priorities using a Two-Eyed Seeing approach. This guided Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing with the implementation of best practice guidelines (BPG) in the Indigenous-focused BPSO program. The symposium opened each day with smudging, a traditional welcome, traditional drumming and teachings from Elder Theresa Redsky Fiddler and Elder Aaron Therriault. Melissa Deleary of Ontario Health provided opening remarks, and an update of RNAO activities was provided by our CEO. Dr. Doris Grinspun said, “I have a lot to learn from Indigenous people and admire their patience.”

Participants engaged in panel discussions on health care in northern and urban Indigenous communities strength-based approaches in BPG implementation. Speakers included: BPSO leads, Dr. Chris Mushquash, Canada Research Chair in Indigenous Mental Health and Addiction at Thunder Bay Regional Health Research Institute; and Natalie Hache, Traditional Wellness Navigator from Anishnawbe Mushkiki in Thunder Bay.

Indigenous ceremony, including hands-on activities, was interwoven into the program: traditional teachings on spirit names and grief, and quilt square making. On the final day, Dr. Mushquash led a session on evaluation, followed by implementation examples shared by BPSO leads and a closing keynote address by Elder Theresa Redsky Fiddler on the Sundance Ceremony.

Media coverage from the event included CBC’s Superior Morning, 91.5 CKPR and tbnewswatch.com.

To explore more highlights, read RNAO’s thread of posts on X and visit RNAO in the news.