“The Land Nurtures Our Spirit”: Understanding the Role of the Land in Labrador Innu Wellbeing

Leonor Mercedes Ward, Mary Janet Hill, Nikashant Antane, Samia Chreim, Anita Olsen Harper and Samantha Wells
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Leonor Mercedes Ward: Population Health Ph.D. Program, Faculty of Health Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
Mary Janet Hill: Sheshatshiu Innu First Nation, Innu Nation of Labrador, Sheshatshiu, NL A0P 1M0, Canada
Nikashant Antane: Innu Round Table, Innu Nation of Labrador, Sheshatshiu, NL A0P 1M0, Canada
Samia Chreim: Population Health Ph.D. Program, Faculty of Health Science, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
Anita Olsen Harper: National Aboriginal Circle against Family Violence, Kahnawake, QC J0L 1B0, Canada
Samantha Wells: Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Institute for Mental Health Policy Research, Toronto, ON M5S 2S1, Canada

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-13

Abstract: We examined Indigenous views of wellbeing, aiming to understand how the Labrador Innu view influence of land on their health. The Innu live in two First Nation communities (Sheshatshiu and Natuashish) in the subarctic portion of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. Their views on land and wellbeing are context specific and have not been studied; our research addresses this significant gap in literature. Findings highlight that the experience of being on the land with family and community, learning cultural knowledge, and gaining a sense of identity play a major role in enhancing wellbeing. Externally imposed policies and programs conceiving Indigenous land as a physical place only fail to understand that land sustains wellbeing by emplacing knowledge systems and cultural identity.

Keywords: Indigenous health and wellbeing; land; indigenous knowledge; cultural identity; self-determination in research; Labrador Innu; Canada (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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