Indigenous cultural competency calls for increased knowledge and understanding of Indigenous contexts, the development of culturally-grounded skills and values, a willingness to challenge personal biases and assumptions, strengthening self-awareness and responsibility, and commitment to change in order to support and center Indigenous peoples.

Cultural competency can include learnings around stereotypes and terminology, traditional knowledge systems and worldviews, historical and ongoing impacts of colonialism, strategies around strengthening good relations, nation-specific protocols, and principles with the goal of building meaningful relationships with Indigenous people.

Cultural safety acknowledges that Indigenous people deserve to feel safe when accessing services, resources, or care, and it is the responsibility of service providers to deconstruct systems of power, privilege, discrimination, and colonialism to support self-defined safety for Indigenous communities.

Cultural safety as a concept was created by Maori peoples in response to experiences of ongoing institutional racism in the healthcare field. While the term was established in the context of health institutions, the concept stretches beyond spaces and institutions as a reminder to non-Indigenous peoples to engage critically in the systems they work within while always centering the experiences of Indigenous communities.

Trauma-informed practice (TIP) is less about facilitating specific activities or lessons, and more about a way of being in relationship with students that foregrounds an attention and responsiveness to their needs. TIP requires consistent observation and reflection on what may work for particular students or groups of students.