Honouring National Indigenous Peoples Day – June 21, 2025

On June 21, the Niagara Ontario Health Team – Équipe Santé Ontario Niagara (NOHT-ÉSON) proudly joins communities across the country in honouring National Indigenous Peoples Day—a time to celebrate the vibrant cultures, enduring languages, and diverse traditions of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis Peoples. This is also a time to reflect on our relationships with each other, the Treaties between our peoples such as the Two Row Wampum and commitment to respecting them.

Taking place on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, this day holds deep cultural and spiritual meaning for many Indigenous Peoples. For generations, the solstice has marked a period of renewal, connection, and celebration—a sacred time to gather, reflect, and honour ancestors, teachings, and the enduring strength of Indigenous identities.

This year, we mark National Indigenous Peoples Day with both celebration and genuine reflection.

As devastating wildfires continue to sweep across regions of Canada, we extend our thoughts and solidarity to the thousands of Indigenous evacuees who have been displaced and are now in Niagara Falls and other parts of Canada, away from their home communities. Their forced displacement, due to the climate crisis and compounded by historical and systemic inequities, reminds us of the urgency of culturally responsive emergency response, trauma-informed care, and environmental stewardship grounded in Indigenous knowledge. We also recognize how important it is for Niagara partners to come together in a coordinated fashion to offer support, which has happened in many ways since early May.

We are committed to continue working together across Niagara to ensure that those who have been displaced feel supported, respected, and cared for in ways that recognize their dignity, traditions, and autonomy.

Here in Niagara, the NOHT-ÉSON is committed to actively supporting the health and well-being of Indigenous Peoples through relationship-building, community-led engagement, and sustained efforts to decolonize health and social services. Since the inception of Niagara’s OHT, Indigenous Peoples have been identified as a priority population, and our work continues to evolve with humility, guided by the knowledge and voices of Indigenous community members and leaders.

Over the course of 2023 and 2024, the NOHT-ÉSON was privileged to support the development of a community-led Indigenous Health pillar—now a cornerstone of our Strategic Plan. This process, guided entirely by Indigenous voices, culminated in a strategic goal and set of objectives that reinforce our shared commitment:

Strategic Goal

To ensure that our health and social care services reflect Indigenous values, prioritize Indigenous voices in decision-making, and integrate Community perspectives into all levels of planning.

Among the key priorities are:

• Ensuring care is identity-affirming and culturally safe;
• Eliminating mistreatment and premature death;
• Prioritizing holistic care aligned with Indigenous values and traditions;
• Upholding Indigenous data sovereignty; and
• Creating integrated community services that honour language, land, and culture.

We acknowledge that truth must come before reconciliation, and that reconciliation is a long-term, ongoing responsibility. It begins with listening deeply, acting with accountability, and standing in solidarity—not only in moments of celebration, but especially in times of adversity.

On this National Indigenous Peoples Day, we renew our pledge to centre Indigenous voices in everything we do—from governance and planning to service delivery and evaluation. We raise our hands in respect and gratitude to the Knowledge Keepers, Elders, youth, and leaders who continue to guide this work.

May this day be a reminder of the resilience, brilliance, and beauty of Indigenous Peoples and the work ahead of us to ensure there is cultural safety across our systems and improved health outcomes for all.