Our Land Acknowledgement

We recently posted our land acknowledgement on our about page. Part of acknowledging the land
involves taking an honest look at the harm psychology has done to Indigenous people, and
endeavouring to do better.

The Canadian Psychological Association published a response to the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission of Canada’s Report and calls to action. In the statement of accountability it states
that:

● Psychologists failed to acknowledge the injustice of federal policy aimed at the
eradication of Indigenous culture and peoples (e.g., residential schooling and forced
adoption initiatives) and the resultant impact on the mental health of Indigenous
Peoples.

● Much of the psychological care that has been provided to Indigenous Peoples in Canada
has not been grounded in appropriate cultural understandings. This could be
traumatizing. In addition, psychology has the ethical obligation to welcome research
that identifies culture and tradition as aspects of empowerment and treatment.

● Psychologists have not, as a profession, engaged in the essential cultural safety and
cultural competence training required to reflect on cultural values, implicit biases, and
ethnocentrism.

● Psychology as a whole, has not demonstrated enough respect for the social structures of
Indigenous communities in Canada. Our approaches have not been adequately
researched in partnership with Indigenous populations. This has caused disruption to
already marginalized family and community structures. Psychological tools that are
inappropriate have been used to support discriminatory policies that pathologize
Indigenous Peoples, as well as practices that are not beneficial to Indigenous
communities.

We at Insight apologize for the shortcomings of our profession, and are working to do
better. This is an ongoing journey, and we welcome feedback from our community as we
take responsibility for learning and practicing in a way that:

● Acknowledges the harm that federal policies have caused Indigenous peoples.

● Tries to ground our work with Indigenous clients in growing cultural understanding.

This involves careful listening to our clients and our community and putting their
feedback into action.

● Reflecting on our work and our own cultural values, biases, and ethnocentrism to
increase the sense of cultural safety for our clients and community.

● Respecting social and family structures in Indigenous communities.

● Being mindful of the tools we use with Indigenous clients and to do whatever we can
to ensure that the work we do benefits our Indigenous clients, and does not harm or
inappropriately pathologize our Indigenous clients.