Enhancing Cultural Sensitivity For All
KidsAction Coaching strives to help all people become more inclusive towards other cultures. We aim to provide whatever is needed to support cultural inclusion, whether it’s a coach brushing up on their Indigenous cultural knowledge or an organization having more resources to offer to Indigenous members, we want to help make that a reality. Our coaching approach seeks to achieve this goal in a few ways: training, resources, and activities.
Being aware of cultural differences allows us to better understand and support Indigenous families. This sensitivity allows us to develop empathy and trust as we work together to help provide access to all the benefits of physical activity.
Training
If you are an Indigenous person, you may already be familiar with the content included in our training. If you are not an Indigenous person, or are not very familiar with Indigenous culture and history, this training will help you understand how KidsAction can be adapted in an Indigenous context. Additionally, you will learn from the teachings of Indigenous culture, especially the holistic view of health.
Resources
Our Resource Library contains a section dedicated to Indigenous inclusivity, among other helpful materials. These resources can help Indigenous families to find useful information on sports and recreation with special cultural relevance.
Activities
Our Activity Bank has been specially made to include many activities from Indigenous cultures, which allows for an inclusive approach to physical activity. We offer families the opportunity to partake in activities closer to their own cultures that reflect sport and recreation that has been a part of their history, rather than only activities based on sport and recreation from other cultures.
About the artist
Jamin Zuroski is an award-winning artist, teacher and consultant, residing in Victoria, BC. Jamin holds mixed ancestry from Ukraine and Poland on his father’s side and Namgis First Nation on his mother’s side. For the past 26 years, Jamin has practiced and worked with a variety of artists, community members, organizations, businesses, schools, Friendship Centres, and governments on a variety of projects, initiatives, workshops, events, and conferences.
This logo’s design symbolizes gratitude, strength, honour, respect, trust, partnership, hard work, and optimism. Through the early mornings and late nights, we strive to push ourselves, to reach and surpass personal and professional milestones. Together, through the sharing of stories and resources, let’s continue to equip the tool belts of our future generations.
Our Approach
We have chosen the term “holistic” in our work to align with the Aboriginal Sport Circle’s Holistic Model, which informs our research and approach. We recognize and celebrate the importance of inclusive language and recognize that “wholistic” is an integrative term that aligns with Indigenous perspectives that value physical, spiritual, emotional, and mental well-being. For further reading, refer to “Wholistic versus Holistic: Words Matter for Indigenous Peoples” by Miles et al., 2023 (Health and Fitness Journal of Canada).
If you have issues in accessing the article, please contact us.
More information about the Aboriginal Sport Circle’s Holistic Model can be found on our “External Resources” page under “Indigenous Resources”.