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MGRRE_Geolog_Collections LUTHER 1-2 21139562030000

As a collective of Indigenous occupational therapists, we write this letter not only in response to McColl et al.\u27s (2024) Letter to the Editor, but as a call to action for the profession, to enhance its ability to apply decoloniality and Indigenous human rights via strengths-based approaches

Gibson, Chontel

Emery-Whittington, Isla

Fox, LaVonne

Ritchie, Tirritpa

Valavaara, Kaarina

Phenix, Angela

Pride, Tara

The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy 
Volume 13 
Issue 3 Summer 2025 Article 15 
July 2025 
Letter to the Editor: Embedding Indigenous Knowledges in 
Occupational Therapy: ‘Nothing about us without us.’ 
Chontel Gibson 
IFC- UWA - Australia, c.gibson@neura.edu.au 
Isla Emery-Whittington 
Massey University - Aotearoa/New Zealand, isla@whittington.nz 
LaVonne Fox 
University of North Dakota - USA, lavonnefox2@gmail.com 
Tirritpa Ritchie 
Flinders University - Australia, tirritpa.ritchie@flinders.edu.au 
Kaarina Valavaara 
Dalhousie University - Canada, kaarina.valavaara@dal.ca 
See next page for additional authors 
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Recommended Citation 
Gibson, C., Emery-Whittington, I., Fox, L., Ritchie, T., Valavaara, K., Phenix, A., & Pride, T. (2025). Letter to 
the Editor: Embedding Indigenous Knowledges in Occupational Therapy: ‘Nothing about us without us.’. 
The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy, 13(3), 1-3. https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.2458 
This document has been accepted for inclusion in The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy by the editors. Free, 
open access is provided by ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact wmu-scholarworks@wmich.edu. 
Letter to the Editor: Embedding Indigenous Knowledges in Occupational Therapy: 
‘Nothing about us without us.’ 
Abstract 
As a collective of Indigenous occupational therapists, we write this letter not only in response to McColl 
et al.'s (2024) Letter to the Editor, but as a call to action for the profession, to enhance its ability to apply 
decoloniality and Indigenous human rights via strengths-based approaches. 
Comments 
The authors declare that they have no competing financial, professional, or personal interest that might 
have influenced the performance or presentation of the work described in this manuscript. 
Keywords 
indigenous peoples, strengths-based approaches, decoloniality, indigenous knowledges, occupational 
therapy 
Complete Author List 
Chontel Gibson, Isla Emery-Whittington, LaVonne Fox, Tirritpa Ritchie, Kaarina Valavaara, Angela Phenix, 
and Tara Pride 
Copyright transfer agreements are not obtained by The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy 
(OJOT). Reprint permission for this Letters to the Editor should be obtained from the 
corresponding author(s). Click here to view our open access statement regarding user rights 
and distribution of this Letters to the Editor. 
DOI: 10.15453/2168-6408.2458 
This letters to the editor is available in The Open Journal of Occupational Therapy: https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/
ojot/vol13/iss3/15 
Dear Editors, 
As a collective of Indigenous peoples committed to LandBack, we honor our relationships with 
one another and with Earth. We are guided by our ancestors and Indigenous knowledges and move 
forward together as a united community.    
McColl et al.’s (2024) Letter to Editor: Culturally Sensitive by Design is, in some ways, a call 
to action, although perhaps not in the way McColl and colleagues had intended. As Indigenous peers, 
we have decades of experience supporting the profession to reckon with and move beyond the yet 
unevidenced promise of cultural sensitivity. We observed that McColl et al. 2024 expressed feeling 
“criticized” by Price and Pride’s (2022) The Canadian Occupational Performance Measure (COPM): 
Critiquing its Applicability With Indigenous Peoples and Communities. While it is important to 
acknowledge that feeling, we did not see Price and Pride’s (2022) critique as criticism. Instead, we 
perceived it as thoughtful, comprehensive, and a role model for respectfully engaging with both 
Indigenous knowledges and occupational therapy practice. 
Indigenous Knowledges, Occupational Therapy, and Colonization 
Indigenous knowledges are embedded in Indigenous sciences, where millennia of observed 
learnings have guided practices of living in deep relationship with family, kin, spirituality, and culture. 
Crucially, lands are central to such relationalities, promoting a flourishing life for all creation. In 
comparison, occupational therapy, a profession created just over a century ago, is embedded in Western 
science, a human-centric approach. By the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, Western science 
theories and methods supported and justified imperial, religious, and capitalist theft of Indigenous 
lands. The occupational therapy profession, during its formative years, actively facilitated the colonial 
systems and infrastructures of occupation of Indigenous Peoples’ lands, structures, systems, and 
everyday lives. Settler-colonial occupational therapy, in line with its origins, often dismisses, denies, 
and dehumanises Indigenous Peoples’ everyday occupations, knowledges, and kinships.  
Indigenous knowledges have already proven their potential to advance and transform 
occupational therapy beyond the myth of “modernity.” Indigenous occupational therapy research and 
scholarly work are growing within the global context of Indigenous peoples reclaiming, restoring, and 
reconstituting Indigenous knowledges (Dudgeon et al., 2024). That reclamation occurs in resistance to 
settler-colonial disruptions to Indigenous peoples’ land, spirit, body, and mind. Indigenous 
occupational therapists and the broader Indigenous community are central to leading the “Indigenous 
turn” in occupational therapy.   
Indigenous Knowledges and Place-Based Approaches 
As the Indigenous turn grows, it is vital to recognize that while Indigenous knowledges across 
the globe embody similar principles, like relationality, they also embody differences. These differences 
are based on local cultural connections to land. This necessitates a consideration of place-based 
approaches in occupational therapy. Simplified strategies to address universal approaches, like 
translating Western occupational therapy tools into Indigenous languages, risk irrelevance and often 
fail to respectfully engage Indigenous knowledges. Instead, strength-based applications are required 
to ensure Indigenous epistemological and ontological relationalities are honored.  
Shifting Relationships and Expectations 
The Indigenous turn mandates a shift in how we conduct ourselves, establish and maintain 
relationships, and build shared expectations and respectful ways of being with all of nature. Western 
ways of seeking and holding knowledge and how we then feel about knowledge must be held lightly, 
while new approaches and regard for new knowing occurs. How one feels about new knowledge, 
especially antiracism and decoloniality, may initially feel different, and even challenging, but it need 
not be approached as a threat (Prince, 2024). Therefore, it is crucial for settler-colonial/Western-trained 
occupational therapists to reflect on how these strong emotional responses reveal insights into their 
own values, beliefs, and worldviews.  
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Role of Indigenous and Settler-Colonial Occupational Therapists 
Indigenous occupational therapists play a key leadership role in the Indigenous turn in our 
profession, because of their inseparable relationships with Indigenous knowledges, cultures, and 
practices. Settler-colonial occupational therapists also play a critical role by expanding and 
strengthening culturally responsive practices. This can be achieved by applying strengths-based 
approaches. Strengths-based approaches are founded on listening respectfully, communicating 
appropriately, and honoring partnership arrangements (Gibson et al., 2020). They encompass 
Indigenous human rights, anti-racist, and decolonial strategies. Strengths-based approaches require 
critical reflections on the current oppressive systems, processes, and practices, along with the 
application of affirmative actions that are of benefit to Indigenous peoples (Gibson et al., 2020). These 
approaches involve evaluating both the process and outcomes, ensuring they are inclusive of 
Indigenous peoples’ ways of being, knowing, and doing. Settler-colonial occupational therapists at the 
beginning of their journeys can contribute to strengths-based approaches in the following ways:  
1. Acknowledge and eliminate power imbalances – Power imbalances permeate occupational 
therapy, from patient-carer relationships to supremacist ideologies that favour Western values, 
while simultaneously marginalising Indigenous peoples and knowledges. Applying decolonial and 
anti-racist strategies in a strength-based approach, at all levels, is possible. Emery-Whittington 
(2025) Undoing Coloniality: An Indigenous Occupation-Based Perspective is an excellent starting 
point for unravelling some of the colonial and racist ideologies.  
2. Critique claims of cultural relevance – Many Western occupational therapy tools claim cultural 
relevance. However, these claims overlook the unique cultural perspectives of Indigenous peoples, 
which center holistic perspectives of life, including health, well-being, and occupations. It is 
essential to be aware of and modify data practices, such as numerical scoring in the COPM, to 
avoid disadvantaging or oppressing Indigenous peoples. As such, numerical and categorical 
scoring processes often fail to capture the complexities of diverse populations. Furthermore, the 
tendency to essentialize Western concepts for specific populations raises concerns about their 
universal applicability, which do not reflect the unique realities and needs of Indigenous 
communities. 
3. Use both evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence - Western occupational therapy 
models, frameworks, and practices have rarely needed to prove relevance and utility with 
Indigenous communities, nor have they needed to demonstrate a lack of coloniality, supremacy, or 
oppression.  Indeed, just stating “this is culturally sensitive” has been enough. This author circle 
of Indigenous peers believes that the profession’s credibility is strengthened when we use both 
evidence-based practice and practice-based evidence. Critical reflections, such as Price and Pride’s 
(2022) reflections on COPM, are important steps toward ensuring relevance and support for 
Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing.  
4. Reset relationships between Indigenous and settler-colonial occupational therapists – The 
Indigenous turn in colonial contexts will continue to reshape relationships in occupational therapy 
and society. Acknowledging, examining, and working to remove the colonial dynamics that have 
historically shaped these relationships is past due. As outlined in the Truth and Reconciliation 
Commission of Canada’s Final Report published in 2015, acknowledging and honoring multiple 
truths, including critiques of past and ongoing coloniality in society, is essential to reconciliation 
efforts. This requires listening with curiosity and humility in and among trusting relationships. 
Conclusion 
A call to action, which is then followed by tangible and affirmative actions that are of benefit to 
Indigenous people, is crucial for the growth of culturally responsive practices in the profession and for 
ensuring that Indigenous knowledges are not merely acknowledged but actively and respectfully 
integrated into all aspects of occupational therapy. 
2
THE OPEN JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL THERAPY – OJOT.ORG
https://scholarworks.wmich.edu/ojot/vol13/iss3/15
DOI: 10.15453/2168-6408.2458
In unity,  
Chontel Gibson, Isla-Emery-Whittington, LaVonne Fox, Tirritpa Ritchie, Angie Phoenix, Kaarina 
Valavaara, and Tara Pride 
Chontel Gibson - Gamilaraay woman, Postdoctoral Fellow, Indigenous Futures Centre, University of Western Australia.  
Isla-Emery-Whittington - Rereahu, Ngāti Kauwhata, Starship Children’s Hospital, Auckland 
LaVonne Fox - Ojibwe, University of North Dakota 
Tirritpa Ritchie - Kaurna man, Lecturer, Flinders University 
Angie Phoenix - Métis, Phoenix OT Consulting  
Kaarina Valavaara- Métis, Dalhousie University 
Tara Pride - Member of Sipekne’katik First Nation, Western University 
 
 
 
 
 
References 
Dudgeon, P., Milroy, H., Selkirk, B., Wright, A., Regan, K., 
Kashyap, S., Agung-Igusti, R., Alexi, J., Chan, J., Chang, 
E., Cheuk, G., Collova, J., Derry, K., & Gibson, C. (2024). 
Decolonisation, Indigenous health research and Indigenous 
authorship: Sharing our teams’ principles and practices. 
Medical Journal of Australia 
https://doi.org/10.5694/mja2.52509  
Emery-Whittington, I. (2025). Undoing coloniality: An 
Indigenous occupation-based perspective. In T. Brown, S. 
Isbel, L. Gustafsson, S. Gutman, D. P. Dirette, B. Collins, 
& T. Barlott (Eds.), Human occupations: Contemporary 
concepts and lifespan perspectives (18 pp.). Routledge.  
Gibson, C., Crockett, J., Dudgeon, P., Bernoth, M., & Lincoln, 
M. (2020). Sharing and valuing older Aboriginal peoples’ 
voices about social and emotional wellbeing services: A 
strength-based approach for service providers. Aging & 
Mental Health, 24(3), 481–488. 
https://doi.org/10.1080/13607863.2018.1544220  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Price, T., & Pride, T. (2023). The Canadian Occupational 
Performance Measure (COPM): Critiquing its applicability 
with Indigenous peoples and communities. The Open 
Journal of Occupational Therapy, 11(3), 1–10. 
https://doi.org/10.15453/2168-6408.2085  
Prince, C. (2024). Emotional reactions to concepts of racism 
and white privilege in non-Aboriginal professionals 
working in remote Aboriginal communities. Rural and 
Remote Health, 24(1). https://doi.org/10.22605/RRH7749    
Truth, & Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015). Final 
Report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of 
Canada, Volume One: Summary: Honouring the Truth, 
Reconciling for the Future. James Lorimer & Company. 
If you enjoyed this article and are able to give, please consider a contribution to 
support OJOT’s mission of providing open-access to high quality articles that focus 
on applied research, practice, education, and advocacy in the occupational therapy 
profession. https://secure.wmualumni.org/s/give?funds=POJO    
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