Indigenous Health Promotion

  1. It is crucial to recognize the diversity of Indigenous communities, their culture, traditions, language, and ways of knowing especially within health promotion practice.

Health promotion strategies need to be locally situated so that supports are culturally relevant.

The effects of colonization may have different manifestations both between and within Inuit, Metis, and First Nations communities which need to be recognized and taken into account.

We need to acknowledge the health inequities that Indigenous communities face, however, too much research has focused on their deficits and over exploited Indigenous communities for data.

Emphasis on holistic health which comprises health domains and families, communities, nations and the environment.

Medicine Wheel

Instead a dichotomy of Western Knowledge vs Indigenous Knowledge, a Two-Eyed seeing approach posed by Elder Albert Marshall can combine the strengths of both.

Community engagement

Need to ensure research work involves the communities interest and benefit.

  1. Qualitative research methods such as documentary film making can be valuable in highlighting the lived experiences of the population of interest.

Qualitative research can serve as a reminder that people are more than just a data point and should be recognized as credible as traditional quantitative research

Indigenous knowledge and history has been passed on through oral tradition, which has traditionally not been a "credible" or "academic" form of research.

Perhaps ethnography/ documentary films can better represent the knowledge that is shared Indigenous communities as it is not as intimidating, and will better represent their experiences compared to qualitative research

  1. Planetary health needs to be recognized as important within the health promotion sphere because environmental impacts have long term effects on health and thus required preventative efforts.

Adopting an ecological view of health recognizes the range of factors the affect health and wellbeing of populations, and especially for many Indigenous communities because of the depletion of traditional resources

Indigenous knowledge has recognized that that the actions we make today will affect the next seven generations

We need to move towards actions that contribute to sustainable development and Indigenous ways of being can help us advance towards a holistic approach to health that addresses planetary health.

Indigenous knowledge is crucial for improving planetary health as it can create environments that recognizes individual and collective potential to make a difference.

Environmental sustainability and access to ancestral lands is critical for Indigenous health promotion

Global environmental issues are rooted
in colonization and injustice.

  1. Indigenous health promotion must have cultural safety at the forefront because traditional public health interventions have further exacerbated social inequities for the BIPOC community.

COVID-19 pandemic characterized as syndemic

There are serious implications of culturally blind public health measures that create more harm than good.

Cultural context is important to understand and recognize the impacts of colonization and systemic racism on Indigenous health and wellbeing

Paternalism

  1. Effective Indigenous health promotion requires a shift from Western paternalistic efforts to Indigenous leadership.

The Western approach of "improving health" for Indigenous communities which are not culturally safe has its roots in colonialism and discredits the credibility of Indigenous knowledge

Indigenous health promotion challenges the biomedical approach as it acknowledges the connection between health and and health of the land

This requires acknowledgement of the validity and importance of relational connections which underpins Indigenous

Indigenous youth are vital in health promotion both in research and in practice because of the connection they have with their communities and the opportunity to empower youth to build their skillset and further their careers.