In this episode of Primary Focus, host Dr. Tara Kiran tours the Lu’ma Medical Centre, an urban Indigenous primary care clinic located on the unceded territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil-Waututh nations in Vancouver. Guided by Dr. Michael Dumont (an Anishinaabe physician from Shawanaga First Nation), she sees a space deliberately designed to strip away clinical sterility, featuring cedar-wrapped interiors, a traditional medicine pharmacy, and an on-site sweat lodge.
We hear how Lu’ma puts "two-eyed seeing" into practice, operating a dual pharmacy that pairs conventional pharmaceuticals with 38 traditional plant medicines, many harvested in ceremony, and employing "social navigators" to tackle housing, identification, and the social determinants of health. And Dr. Dumont shares how clinicians anywhere can create cultural safety in small ways, from how we introduce ourselves to resisting the urge to interrupt when a patient is telling a story.
Explore the Resources & System Data
Learn more about the Lu’ma Group of Companies
Reflect on how we can address the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Health-Related Calls to Action
See photos of my tour of the Lu’ma Medical Centre
Listen to our related episode with Dr. Mandy Buss on culturally inclusive care for Indigenous People
Mainpro+ Credits
Family doctors in Canada can now earn Mainpro+ credits by listening to Primary Focus Podcast episodes published after May 1, 2026.
This self-learning Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada and the Ontario Chapter for up to 30 Mainpro+ credits, with 1 credit available per eligible episode. To claim your credit, listen to the episode, review the show notes and complete the self-learning survey. Your certificate will be emailed to you. Find more information at OurCare.ca/podcast
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