Learning Together: Indigenous Cultural Awareness in Animal Welfare

Strong animal welfare begins with strong relationships - with animals, with people, and with the communities we serve.

Learning Together: Indigenous Cultural Awareness in Animal Welfare is a community-focused initiative to strengthen partnerships with Indigenous and First Nations communities across Alberta and support the well-being of animals and the people who care for them. Guided by Indigenous partners, the program will connect cultural awareness directly to animal welfare, helping those delivering services better understand community priorities, build trust and respond to local needs.

This exciting initiative will help hundreds of staff, volunteers and foster families deepen their understanding of the Indigenous and First Nations communities. The idea is to work with an Indigenous consultant or Indigenous-led organization to develop a training program, including online modules and recorded educational content. It will become part of AARCS’ mandatory staff and volunteer onboarding process, making this learning a lasting foundation for community work available to all current and future staff and volunteers.

Providing animal welfare services requires more than knowledge of just animal care. Understanding community histories, cultures, priorities and experiences is essential to building trust and addressing barriers to support. The training will explore Indigenous history, respectful protocols, relationships with animals, cultural safety, unconscious bias, and barriers to accessing veterinary and animal welfare services. 

Support for this project will create a lasting investment in people, partnerships and animal welfare. As staff, volunteers and foster families carry this learning into their work, it will help strengthen community relationships and support better outcomes for animals and their families.

This project will benefit Indigenous and First Nations community members, pet owners and their animals by supporting more culturally aware, respectful and responsive animal welfare services. Greater understanding among those delivering services can strengthen trust, improve communication and support partnerships that reflect community priorities.

AARCS staff, volunteers and foster families will benefit directly from practical training that connects Indigenous history, cultures and lived experiences to their animal welfare work. The program will provide a foundation for understanding barriers to veterinary care and animal services, recognizing unconscious bias, and approaching community relationships with greater awareness and respect.

A single training cannot capture the diversity or unique experiences of every Indigenous community. Instead, this program will lay the groundwork for ongoing learning, listening and relationship-building, encouraging participants to seek guidance and work alongside community members.

Animals will also benefit as stronger relationships and better-informed services support access to care and assistance for the people who care for them.

Integrating the training into AARCS’ onboarding process will extend these benefits to future staff, volunteers and foster families. This lasting educational resource will help make cultural awareness a consistent part of organizational culture, community partnerships and animal welfare service delivery.