Developed in partnership with Indigenous communities to address health disparities with cultural humility.
The Temerty Faculty of Medicine has officially launched a new Indigenous Health Curriculum Stream, a comprehensive educational pathway designed to prepare medical students to address the significant health disparities faced by Indigenous peoples in Canada. Developed over three years in close partnership with First Nations, Inuit, and Métis communities, Elders, and Indigenous health professionals, the curriculum represents a fundamental commitment to reconciliation within medical education.
The new stream is woven throughout all four years of the undergraduate medical program, beginning with foundational courses on the history and legacy of colonialism in Canadian healthcare, the social determinants of Indigenous health, and the principles of Two-Eyed Seeing, which integrates Indigenous and Western approaches to knowledge and healing. In the clinical years, students participate in community-based placements in Indigenous health centres, northern nursing stations, and Indigenous-led primary care practices.
"This curriculum was not created for Indigenous communities; it was created with them," said Dr. Sarah Beardy, an Anishinaabe physician and the lead architect of the curriculum stream. "Every module, every case study, every learning objective was developed through a process of genuine co-creation with Indigenous partners. The result is a curriculum that centres Indigenous voices, perspectives, and ways of knowing in a way that has never been done before at this institution."
Key components of the stream include a mandatory land-based learning experience in which students spend time on the traditional territory of a partnering First Nation community, learning about Indigenous healing practices, food sovereignty, and the connections between land, culture, and health. The curriculum also addresses the specific clinical needs of Indigenous populations, including the management of conditions that disproportionately affect Indigenous communities, culturally safe approaches to patient care, and the navigation of jurisdictional complexities in Indigenous healthcare delivery.
The launch has been supported by a $3-million investment from the Faculty, including the creation of three new faculty positions in Indigenous health and the establishment of an Indigenous Health Education Advisory Circle composed of community members, Elders, alumni, students, and faculty. The first cohort of 259 medical students began the stream in September 2025, and early feedback from students and community partners has been overwhelmingly positive. The Faculty hopes the initiative will serve as a model for other Canadian medical schools working to integrate Indigenous health education into their curricula.
