Centering First Voice in Indigenous Ways of Knowing in a Foundational Indigenous Health Course

In Fall 2024, the University of Calgary Faculty of Nursing launched its inaugural Indigenous health course within the new Bachelor of Science in Nursing curriculum. Rather than simply providing a stand-alone course, this first-year course provides the foundation for ongoing learning and transformation needed to prepare nursing students to provide culturally safe care to Indigenous peoples. In this article, we will share the curriculum design process and implementation of the first iterations of the course. We will highlight the long-standing relationships and trust built over years that made it possible for a group of women (a Mi'kmaw/Irish/English settler scholar, a Scottish/German settler nurse scholar, and a Lakota/Dakota Elder, and scholar) to work together from course design to implementation and validation. Through the embodied practice of "first voice" as eloquently articulated in the epilogue by Graveline, we are leading change through stories of lived experiences that enable us to forefront Indigenous ways of knowing, being, doing, and connecting from our unique locations.