Building structures of environmental repossession to reclaim land, self-determination and Indigenous wellness.

In Canada, Indigenous health inequalities are sustained by colonial structures that create social disadvantage and limit Indigenous self-determination to Land. Drawing on the concept of environmental repossession, this study explores how Indigenous communities are building local structures to reclaim their territories and renew the values, responsibilities and knowledges tied to these places for wellness. Specifically, this study examines the meanings of the everyday work of the Department of Sustainable Development in Biigtigong Nishnaabeg and shares lessons for other communities seeking to foster self-determination over Land, identity and wellness.

Reclaiming Mountain Lake: Applying environmental repossession in Biigtigong Nishnaabeg territory, Canada.

The concept of environmental repossession responds to a global movement led by Indigenous peoples to reclaim their territories and ways of life. As Indigenous wellness is intimately tied to relationships to land, processes of environmental repossession are a means to revitalize knowledge systems, identities and relationships that foster strong and healthy communities. Due to historic and ongoing forces of dispossession, the Anishinaabe community of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg has experienced limited access to Mountain Lake, a culturally and historically significant place in their ancestral territory.

Creating conditions for Canadian aboriginal health equity: the promise of healthy public policy.

In the Canadian context, the persistence and growth of Aboriginal health and social inequity signals that we are at a critical public health policy juncture; current policy reflects an historic relationship between Aboriginal people and Canada that fails the contemporary health needs of Canada's Aboriginal peoples. In this review, we highlight the need for healthy public policy that recognizes and prioritizes the rights of Canada's Aboriginal people to achieve health equity. Drawing from a structural approach, we examine the historical scope and comprehensive breadth of the Indian Act in shaping modern Aboriginal health and social inequities.

"That land means everything to us as Anishinaabe….": Environmental dispossession and resilience on the North Shore of Lake Superior.

This article shares results of a community-based (CBR) study that qualitatively examined the perceived health impacts of environmental dispossession among Elders in two Anishinaabe communities in Ontario, Canada. Through in-depth interviews, Elders (n=46) recounted changes in health and well-being, specifically that related to reduced access to traditional foods and decreased capacity to participate in, and share knowledge of, land-based practices. Elders discussed the ways in which they have remained resilient to these changes in their ways of living.

Anishinabe youth perceptions about community health: toward environmental repossession.

This community-based research applied environmental dispossession as a theoretical framework for understanding Anishinabe youth perceptions about health, social relationships and contemporary Anishinabe way of life in Northern Ontario, Canada. Qualitative interviews with 19 youth reveal considerable worry about their community's health. Youth perceive changes in the Anishinabe way of life, including decreased access to their traditional lands, to be central to poor health at the community level.

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) with indigenous communities: producing respectful and reciprocal research.

The health disparities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Canada continue to grow despite an expanding body of research that attempts to address these inequalities, including increased attention from the field of health geography. Here, we draw upon a case study of our own community-based approach to health research with Anishinabe communities in northern Ontario as a means of advocating the growth of such participatory approaches. Using our own case as an example, we demonstrate how a collaborative approach to respectful and reciprocal research can be achieved, including some of the challenges we faced in adopting this approach.

Formal dementia care among first nations in southwestern Ontario.

This article explores how dementia care is provided to First Nations communities in southwestern Ontario. Data were collected through in-depth interviews with health care providers and analysed using a constructivist grounded-theory methodology. Two interrelated frameworks for understanding dementia care were identified: a care delivery framework and a knowledge framework.

The social determinants of Inuit health: a focus on social support in the Canadian Arctic.

Objectives: Societies that foster socially supportive networks produce healthier populations. Social support is a significant determinant of health among Canada's Inuit population; however, little is known about the characteristics that provide access to social support among Inuit. This exploratory analysis describes how 4 types of social support (namely, positive social interaction, emotional support, tangible support and affection and intimacy) differ in relation to various determinants of health.

The determinants of First Nation and Inuit health: a critical population health approach.

Environmental dispossession disproportionately affects the health of Canada's Aboriginal population, yet little is known about how its effects are sustained over time. We use a critical population health approach to explore the determinants of health in rural and remote First Nation and Inuit communities, and to conceptualize the pathways by which environmental dispossession affects these health determinants. We draw from narrative analysis of interviews with 26 Community Health Representatives (CHRs) from First Nation and Inuit communities across Canada.

Social support, material circumstance and health behaviour: influences on health in First Nation and Inuit communities of Canada.

An expansive literature describes the links between social support and health. Though the bulk of this evidence emphasizes the health-enhancing effect of social support, certain aspects can have negative consequences for health (e.g.

Narratives of social support and health in Aboriginal communities.

Objective: Societies that foster high-quality social relationships and social support seemingly produce healthier populations. Existing research identifies social support as a significant dimension and determinant of Canadian Aboriginal health, yet patterns of morbidity and mortality overwhelmingly reflect social causes (e.g.

Social support and thriving health: a new approach to understanding the health of indigenous Canadians.

Objectives: We examined the importance of social support in promoting thriving health among indigenous Canadians, a disadvantaged population.

Methods: We categorized the self-reported health status of 31625 adult indigenous Canadians as thriving (excellent, very good) or nonthriving (good, fair, poor). We measured social support with indices of positive interaction, emotional support, tangible support, and affection and intimacy.