The relevance of indigenous knowledge for nursing curriculum

Indigenous knowledge (IK) has the potential to complement the dominant epistemologies central to nursing curricula. Acknowledging IK as a thriving set of worldviews, we discuss how nursing educators might access and integrate IK in ways that are respectful and sustainable. IK is highlighted as an entry point for understanding concepts such as cultural safety, ethical space, and relational practice and as a strength-based approach to learning about Aboriginal people's health. As with any use of knowledge, consideration must be given to issues of ownership, misappropriation, institutional responsibility, Indigenous protocol, and the creation of partnerships. Recommendations are provided for educators wishing to explore how to incorporate IK into nursing curriculum. With appropriate partnerships, protocols, and processes in place, the incorporation of IK may provide educators and students an opportunity to explore divergent epistemologies, philosophies, and worldviews, thereby encouraging broader perspectives about the world, ways of being, various types of knowledge, and nursing care.