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Saskatchewan Health Authority Enacts Indigenous Hair-Cutting Consent Policy

Effective August 1, health-care workers must obtain approval before handling cultural hair outside medical emergencies after publicized unauthorized incidents.

Ruben St. Charles, left, stands next to his patient advocate Bonnie Marwood in Saskatoon in a Dec. 25, 2024, handout photo, months after his ponytail was cut off without his consent at a Saskatoon hospital. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Handout - Bonnie Marwood (Mandatory Credit)
Eve Adams, wife of the late Dexter Adams holds a picture that shows Dexter's braided hair and his niece Kathleen Crowe holds a photo of him taken after the Indigenous man's braids were cut off without consent while he was a patient at the Royal Alexandra Hospital. Eve is also holding a container of bear grease that was thrown in the garbage by hospital staff. The grease was used in his hair and is considered to be an important Indigenous medicine. Taken on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024 in Edmonton.

Overview

  • The SHA’s Indigenous Hair Cutting Policy requires explicit consent from patients, families or decision-makers before cutting hair except for medically essential procedures such as head trauma treatment or neurosurgery.
  • The policy responds to cases like Ruben St. Charles’s ponytail removal before hip surgery in Saskatoon and the unauthorized cutting and disposal of Dexter Adams’s braids at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital.
  • More than 90 percent of SHA staff and physicians have completed mandatory cultural-responsiveness training designed to honor the spiritual and cultural importance of hair in First Nations and Métis communities.
  • Advocates such as Bonnie Marwood and Métis Nation–Saskatchewan leaders are calling for formal apologies for past hair-cutting incidents and for Indigenous participation in monitoring and shaping health-care practices.
  • An SHA spokesperson described the new rules as a key step toward reconciliation and the delivery of equitable, culturally safe care in line with Truth and Reconciliation Commission recommendations.