Family medicine opens new Indigenous Health Space and announces Chair in Indigenous Health
This September 30 — Orange Shirt Day and the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation — was both sombre and celebratory at the department of family and community medicine (DFCM).
In honour of this important day, the Indigenous leadership circle (ILC) at the department held a special event to open the new Indigenous Health Space in the department’s office. In addition to the opening, the ILC shared a surprise announcement: the DFCM received a $5 million gift from an anonymous donor to create an endowed Chair in Indigenous Health.
“I am overjoyed and deeply humbled,” said ILC member and Professor Joel Voth, as he shared the news. “The chair will be permanently tied to the role of Indigenous Health Lead, sitting at the heart of our Indigenous Leadership Circle.”
In addition to strengthening the ILC, the new chair will help the department to continue advancing the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action. They will also expand Indigenous health training for faculty and learners and deepen relationships with elders and community.
These commitments were celebrated in the day’s events, which began with faculty, staff and University of Toronto leaders donning orange shirts and gathering in the DFCM lobby.
Grandmother Alita Sauve, an Indigenous elder of two nations — Tahltan from British Columbia and Cree from Saskatchewan — greeted the attendees with a welcoming ceremony, smudging and deep reflections on the importance of September 30.
Indigenous health lead Professor Suzanne Shoush, Vice Dean Lisa Richardson and DFCM chair Danielle Martin also shared reflections on the continued impacts of residential schools and the department’s and university’s commitments to continue efforts toward reconciliation.
“We have set concrete goals to ensure that every one of our sites is actively engaged in closing access and quality gaps in primary care for Indigenous peoples,” said Martin of the department’s teaching sites. “At the DFCM, we strive to ensure that reconciliation is not just a value — it is a commitment.”
As part of said commitments, ILC member Professor Sarah Park introduced Shawn Howe, an Indigenous artist who created four beautiful murals throughout the DFCM office, including two in the new Indigenous Health Space.
“Health care, traditional medicines, family, community: this is the work of my heart,” said Howe. “As a disabled person, I’ve been in and out of medical systems my whole life. And it was traditional medicines and Western medicines that really helped me. So, I feel really honoured and grateful to be here.”
Howe led guests through the DFCM office, introducing the murals and sharing the inspiration behind each.
“The story I came up with and saw was a family of different types of animals,” says Howe, explaining the murals collectively. “They represent the family and community here, the leadership, wisdom and knowledge you all carry, and the blend of Western and traditional Indigenous health and healing in medicine.”
The new Indigenous Health Space will embody these qualities.
Once it’s complete with furnishings from Indigenous businesses, the new space will serve as a place for First Nations, Inuit and Metis faculty members, learners, staff and community from the university and beyond to gather to advance work and nurture relations.
Together with the newly established Chair in Indigenous Health and the continued guidance of the ILC, the DFCM reaffirms its enduring commitment to truth, learning and meaningful, sustained action. This commitment lives not only on September 30, but every day, as we continue walking the path toward reconciliation.
The DFCM lobby
The DFCM lobby before
Integrity, 2025 by Shawn Howe (Red Cedar Tree)
Mural assistants: Anna Jacobs, Andrea Manica, Shannon Howe, Shayla Howe Colarossi, Emilia Fazilova
In my culture, the wolf symbolizes leadership, initiative, integrity and humility. The wolf’s role is often seen as the protector of family and community, much like the work that is done here. Placing the wolf in the front was a statement and commitment to show people that this is an Indigenous-supportive space and all are welcome. The wolf’s integrity is bound in truth, and so it teaches us to walk our walk, and follow through with our words so they line up with our actions. To have integrity is to stand up, be brave, speak up for the truth and advocate for better for all. Placing the wolf in the front was intentional to ensure the space honours that commitment to Indigenous health care and traditional ways of healing and wellness within Western medicine. But most importantly, the wolf asks us to be humble, to know that it’s OK not to know everything and to trust openly as we are always guided in a good way.
DFCM hallway before
“What Is My Truth?”, 2025 by Shawn Howe (Red Cedar Tree)
Mural assistants: Anna Jacobs, Andrea Manica, Shannon Howe, Shayla Howe Colarossi, Emilia Fazilova
As you walk down the hallway, you are met with this beautiful bird, surrounded and held in a nest of traditional medicines: elderberries, red clover, sage, blueberries, strawberries and sweetgrass. The raven is being held in a sweetgrass braided nest, as sweetgrass offers us kindness and joy along our journeys. A raven's journey is not always easy; they bring the truth and knowledge, and with truth and knowledge come responsibilities. To ground the raven on its path, I surrounded it in medicines, to help it remember who it is, where it comes from and how to use its gifts. To be a changemaker in community is hard work, so this piece honours the people who use medicines—maybe a mix of both Western and traditional—and all helpers who work in health care. The raven teaches us about self-love too: how to honour ourselves, check in with what we need and ask ourselves, “What is my truth, what do I need, and how do I get there?”
Indigenous Health space before
Use Your Voice, 2025 by Shawn Howe (Red Cedar Tree)
Mural assistants: Shannon Howe, Anna Jacobs, Shayla Howe Colarossi, Emilia Fazilova
This scenic nature setting is a tribute to our ceremonies, our clans, and the ancestral knowledge that is gifted to us from the spirit world and animals. The crane symbolizes this profound role in our clan system. Many of the clans look to the crane for wisdom and leadership. They work with others and teach us about communication and how to use our voice in a good way. They are fierce and strong. They are the ones we look up to and guide us toward community change.
Indigenous Health space before
Use Your Intuition, 2025 by Shawn Howe (Red Cedar Tree)
Mural assistants: Shannon Howe, Shayla Howe Colarossi, Emilia Fazilova
The loon was chosen for its ability to help us honour our intuition, help us get to our full potential and follow our dreams in life. The loon is surrounded by the four sacred medicines: sweetgrass, cedar, sage and tobacco leaf. These medicines root the loon into purpose and softness within. Because they can swim and dive underneath water, they teach us about possibilities and nuance, helping us see in complex ways that can shape our understanding and learning of the world. They lead us in how we work within the community and show us how to work through hardship with each other in good ways. They are the ones who teach us about peace.
