Advancing culturally competent medical education: decolonizing approaches to Indigenous health as a human rights imperative

This paper advances decolonization within medical education, contextualized by the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). We discuss, describe, and analyze the history of settler colonialism and its relevance for healthcare and education today. We analyze how Indigeneity is interpreted in an international context based on the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. We situate the current health context in medical education based on data from global sources and the World Health Assembly’s advocacy for advancing Indigenous health equity internationally. As each university is responsible for engaging meaningfully with the First Nations upon whose traditional lands they occupy and using a case-based example of a university–tribal authority partnership, we describe models of culturally informed and community-driven medical education based on our experience. We conclude with promising directions grounded in international Indigenous human rights documents, such as the UNDRIP, and reconciliation efforts from national medical associations that can drive local practice in meaningful directions. We emphasize the need to continue to share experiences through international journals, conferences, and other venues; collaborate on research initiatives aimed at improving health outcomes for Indigenous peoples worldwide and locally; and promote culturally competent education.