Nykole King
Regina Leader-Post
The sister of Dexter Adams still finds it “difficult” thinking back to how his braid was cut and discarded last year in the garbage of an Edmonton hospital room.
Kathy Charette says the ordeal has “diminished” her trust in the health-care system.
The 84-year-old man from Pasqua First Nation died a few weeks after his family discovered the cut hair, which had been disposed of along with an eagle feather and some medicine.
“It leaves no trust,” says Charette, speaking over a year after the “distressing” experience. “You can’t trust what they’re doing. You have to be very mindful. You have to have someone there to speak for you.”
Hair has spiritual meaning for men as a “source of their strength,” says Charette, adding that Adams had dementia and the nurse did not consult his family before she cut his hair during a routine hygiene cleaning.
The Saskatchewan Health Authority (SHA) introduced a new policy, effective Aug. 1, that requires consent before cutting the hair of Indigenous patients. The SHA says staff must not cut hair without permission from the patient, family or decision-maker involving their health.
The policy states hair should only be cut when medically necessary, such as for head trauma and brain or head surgery.
The Indigenous Hair Cutting Policy is “important in our ongoing journey toward reconciliation and the delivery of equitable and culturally-safe care,” an SHA spokesperson wrote in a statement Wednesday to the Regina Leader-Post.
“We acknowledge the deep cultural and spiritual significance of hair and braids in First Nations and Métis cultures, and recognize that cutting hair without permission can cause emotional and spiritual harm, evoking past cultural trauma.”
Charette worries that the policy, although a step in the right direction, might be “lacking” if there is not proper oversight to ensure health-care workers follow the rules.
“Who oversees what kind of information the nurses are getting with regards to other patients?” says Charette. “Not only Indigenous patients but other cultures as well.”
Charette adds that health-care workers need proper cultural training to understand their First Nation and Métis patients, but also to be aware of other cultures and religions where hair holds significance.
The SHA says it has created mandatory cultural responsiveness training for all of its staff and physicians, with more than 90 per cent having already completed the program.
“Our priority is to provide high-quality, compassionate care that respects each patient’s cultural background and lived experience,” adds the SHA.
— with files from The Canadian Press.
