04/15/2026
Many people and organizations claim to be safe spaces and preach decolonization, but not many translate these buzzwords into embodied practice. This is a snippet of what sets us apart.
This offers insight into why we have affinity groups and communities of practice that center , fostering and resulting in cultural safety!
We have another student of African descent who just completed her practicum hours with us, with access to both one-on-one and group supervision.
When asked about her highlights, she shared:
“It’s okay not to know everything, as long as I remain teachable and culturally humble.”
“I now know what cultural humility, competency, and safety look like in practice.”
I know first-hand how hard it is to secure a practicum site. I got mine through a friend’s recommendation, so I do not take these opportunities lightly.
After 10 years without a supervisor who looked like me or understood me culturally, I decided in 2022 to become the supervisor I never had.
When she began her placement, she did not leave her culture at home. She came embracing her Indigenous African Igbo culture, which teaches her not to address elders by their first name.
She asked:
“My mom calls you Sima, not Shayla… what should I call you?”
I said she could use either.
She called me:
AUNTY SIMA.
More than a name.
Continuity. Respect. Relationship.
The foundation of relational and communal care.
This is cultural competency in practice.
Not correction. Not assimilation.
Cultural safety is making space for ways of being that carry meaning across generations.
We are creating an Indigenous African legacy!
