Indigenous Care & Services

We are proud to offer Indigenous Patient Navigator services to support Indigenous patients and their families through their health care journey. These Patient Navigators are staff of De dwa da dehs nye>s Aboriginal Health Centre, which provides services to First Nations, Metis and Inuit individuals and families in the Hamilton, Niagara, Haldimand-Norfolk and Brant region. The Indigenous Patient Navigators support our patients by:

• Supporting individuals and family members to understand and participate in their plan of care
• Providing service care navigation across the health-care system
• Assisting on a patient’s journey to health and healing through traditional healing, traditional practitioners, medicines and cultural practices as well as assistance with western models of care that can be foreign and complex
• Assisting and collaborating with discharge plans and with service providers about the needs of Indigenous people based on a number of factors including intergenerational trauma and the legacies of colonization
• Providing culturally appropriate resources for health care providers & individuals from hospital and to home

Hamilton Region: Hamilton DAHC Offices – 905-379-4320
Brantford/Halidmand: Brantford Sattelite Office – 519-750-4323
Niagara Region: 905-358-4320

Support for families at Juravinski Cancer Centre

There is also an Indigenous Cancer Care Team consisting of an Indigenous Patient Navigator and Indigenous Patient Coordinator at the Juravinski Cancer Centre (JCC) to support Indigenous patients and their families through their cancer journey.

The JCC Indigenous Cancer Care Team is available Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.  For a referral or for more information about this service, please call 905-521-2100 ext. 63312.

Learn more about the Indigenous Cancer Care Team by viewing the brochure or vising the webpage.

In consultation with our partners from surrounding Indigenous communities, we have developed and are proud to share the following land statement:

We are privileged to provide care on lands that Indigenous peoples have called home for thousands of years. We recognize and respect the presence and stewardship of all Indigenous peoples as keepers of this land.

Hamilton Health Sciences is working to have a dedicated space at each of our five hospital sites for Indigenous Peoples to gather, take respite, and engage in traditional healing practices.

Makayla’s Room opened at McMaster Children’s Hospital in 2018. The Indigenous Healing Space at Juravinski Hospital and Cancer Centre developed earlier in 2025, had its opening celebrated on October 1, 2025. West Lincoln Memorial Hospital’s space will open later in Fall 2025. Planning is underway at Hamilton General Hospital and St. Peter’s Hospital. 

HHS has collaborated with Indigenous leaders and artists to create Signs of Welcome displayed at our sites. Each sign features an image from a local Indigenous artist and includes the opening sentence of HHS’ land acknowledgement statement.

Elder with Smudge Bowl

The image of an Elder with a smudge bowl and eagle feather has been adapted by artist Jay Havens from the mural he created for Makayla’s Room at McMaster Children’s Hospital. Jay Havens is a multi-disciplinary artist of Haudenosaunee-Mohawk and Scottish-Canadian ancestry and a proud member of the Six Nations of the Grand River, Mohawk Bear Clan.

Moccasin Images

The image of three moccasins is adapted from artwork created by Philip Cote for the Moccasin Identifier Project, founded by Carolyn King, former elected Chief of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. The project aims to create a visual reminder to recognize and honour traditional territory of Indigenous Peoples. Some of these images have been engraved into stone walls at Trillium Park (Ontario Place).

Philip Cote is Shawnee, Lakota, Potawatomi and Ojibway from Moose Deer Point First Nation and a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design.

Turtle and Seven Generations

Created by Tracey Anthony, Turtle and Seven Generations includes the image of a turtle. The feather on its back has seven segments, reflecting the Seven Generations principle that the decisions we make today should result in a sustainable world seven generations into the future. The four legs represent the “Four Directions” such as those found in the Medicine Wheel.

Tracey Anthony’s mother is Mississauga (Ojibway) from the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nations reserve. His father was Delaware (Lenni Lenape) from the Six Nations reserve. In his artwork, Tracey incorporates Ojibway, Delaware, and Iroquoian influences.

Deliverance of Sky Woman

This image by Arnold Jacobs depicts Sky Woman, the mother goddess, descending to earth. Waterbirds carry her down to the sea and set her on the back of a turtle (Turtle Island) which becomes her home. Arnold Jacobs is an Onondaga artist raised within the traditional culture and language of Six Nations of the Grand River territory, where he resides with his family.

His works are an expression of his connection to his spirituality. His symbols of the earth and sky, water, wind, thunder, moon and sun, along with other related themes depicts the traditional ways of the Haudenosaunee, their clans and culture.

Hamilton Health Sciences supports smudging in our hospitals for spiritual and ceremonial purposes. With the input and guidance of interest holders and rights holders from Indigenous communities and organizations, we have developed a smudging policy to guide this practice within the hospital. We continue to revisit this policy on regularly in partnership with Indigenous communities.

If you or a loved one wishes to hold a smudging ceremony during your stay at one of our hospitals or centres, please speak with a member of your health-care team who will connect you to our Psycho-Spiritual Care team for support.