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VANCOUVER — Seeing a painting of two Indigenous women standing at the foot of a mountain and gazing at the moon instantly made Johnna Sparrow feel supported as she dealt with breast cancer.

“I thought, ‘That’s just beautiful.’ Because when you go through cancer, you need someone standing beside you. There’s no way you can walk that road alone.”

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Sparrow, a member of the Musqueam Nation, saw the painting last year at the BC Cancer Agency during an unveiling of Indigenous artwork, part of a project aimed at welcoming Indigenous patients and their families, who often feel their culture is ignored.

The painting, called “Tipiskawi Pisim,” or “We are Moon,” hangs in the lobby of the BC Cancer Agency in Abbotsford, B.C., and is among artwork prominently displayed at six cancer centres around the province, with funding from the Canadian Partnership Against Cancer.

Now, after a decade of consultations with Indigenous leaders, the non-profit group has provided $24 million in funding for similar projects and services for cancer agencies across the country, with one goal in mind: to bolster respect for Indigenous culture as a way to provide dignity and improve outcomes for Metis, First Nations and Inuit patients.