Jared Basil, a Yaqan Nukiy community member of the Ktunaxa Nation, is a leader in cultural safety education and healthcare transformation.

As a steering committee member of the Curiosity, Frailty & Palliative Care project and Ktunaxa Cultural Framework Ambassador with the East Kootenay Primary Care Network, Basil is dedicated to healthcare that is trauma-informed, culturally aware, and responsive to the needs of Indigenous patients.

His work focuses on creating safe spaces, fostering cross-cultural dialogue, and encouraging healthcare providers and patients to approach care with compassion and respect.

Born and raised in Creston, Basil’s career path has taken him from Kelowna to Calgary, focusing on education, governance, and economic development. Returning to his home community in 2014, he became involved in Ktunaxa Nation initiatives and served as an elected official for six years. During this time, he integrated his passion for social health and cultural safety into his work, advocating for the inclusion of Indigenous values in broader frameworks.

“Education, social health, governance, economic development—it’s all important to me, because we have a responsibility to impact and benefit future generations,” said Basil. “I believe if we, as people and as human beings, focus on where we align as opposed to our differences, the conversations get easier, relationships grow stronger, and we make progress, organically.”

Since 2019, Basil has been facilitating cultural safety and humility sessions that foster dialogue about Indigenous and non-Indigenous values and beliefs. He emphasizes that cultural safety goes beyond Indigenous perspectives—it’s about humanizing the conversation for all involved, particularly in the healthcare space.

“It’s about empowering individuals on all sides of the conversation,” he says. “This isn’t tied to Indigenous ways of knowing or anyone’s skin colour or culture—it’s about shared purpose in healthcare: we’re here because we care, and we want to do right by the people we serve.

“I was intrigued by the Curiosity, Frailty & Palliative Care project because in our Indigenous communities, we aren’t often granted windows of palliation. We’re frequently in positions that are very reactionary, requiring us to quickly adapt to crises. There’s a lot of culture around passing—ceremony, songs, prayer—and a deep need to care for family, community, and nationhood.

“The healthcare sector hasn’t had the cross-cultural education to fully understand these aspects. This project could be a way to integrate Indigenous ways of knowing and doing, while also fostering reciprocity. What can we learn and bring back to our communities to modernize our practices,  improve access to services and treatments, and strengthen care?”

Basil adds that it’s important to acknowledge the difference between treatment and care—treatment is clinical, but care is deeply personal, shaped by individual values, culture, and beliefs. And providing good care  means, for both patients and providers, being empowered to “show up” effectively ready to listen, learn, and create safe spaces for conversations.

“Asking the ‘What Matters to You?’ question is key to showing up as our authentic selves,” said Basil. “We need to be sincere and genuine in both asking and answering this question, and in how we record the responses. By doing this, we humanize the conversation.”

Basil also hopes that through this work he can equip the Ktunaxa community with the tools needed to navigate these difficult conversations so that culturally safe care becomes standard practice, and future generations benefit from the shift.

“To the Ktunaxa community, I would say, ‘Don’t be afraid. I understand that it’s end of life, and I understand that it’s a difficult transition in our culture, but let’s set ourselves, our families, and our communities up for success by continuing to do the work and continuing to learn so we can equip future generations with the tools on how to navigate the hard conversations.’”

Basil believes that projects like the Curiosity, Frailty & Palliative Care project are more than just initiatives—they’re opportunities to inspire meaningful change in healthcare and build a system that reflects our shared humanity as we navigate life’s most challenging moments.

“As leaders in this field, because I genuinely believe we are, we have a responsibility to carry the weight of progress. Leadership, at its core, is about empowering others. So, how do we do that? By leading the conversations that matter, by guiding discussions that help people grow, and by fostering a space where we’re comfortable confronting uncomfortable topics.”

To be part of the conversation visit Curiosity, Frailty & Palliative Care Project.

Photo submitted

EK Division of Family Practice Society

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