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Ecosystem Approaches to Indigenous Health

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Ecosystems and Human Health

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Abstract

Many Indigenous communities around the world have strong ties with the biophysical environment. As expressed in the opening chapter of this book, Indigenous communities see the forests as: “their food bank, drugstore, meat market, bakery, fruit and vegetable stand, building material centre, beverage supply, and the habitat for all of the creator’s creatures.”1 These close ties with the natural environment is reflected in many aspects of the Aboriginal culture, including how health is conceptualized and experienced. Many Indigenous peoples conceptualize health from a holistic perspective and see individual and community well-being to be intricately linked to the health of the “country.” Similarly, many Indigenous populations rely on traditional forms of healing. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 80% of Indigenous population in developing countries relies on traditional healing systems as the primary source of care (World Health Organization 1999).

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Notes

  1. 1.

    A quote by an Aboriginal person. http://www.envirowatch.org/gndvst.htm. Accessed May 01, 2010.

  2. 2.

    Jose R. Martinez Cobo was the Special Rapporteur of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, and is famously known for his Study on the Problem of Discrimination against Indigenous Populations.

  3. 3.

    UN Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/1986/7 and Add. 1–4. The conclusions and recommendations of the study, in Addendum 4, are also available as a United Nations sales publication (U.N. Sales No. E.86.XIV.3).

  4. 4.

    United Nations. The concept of indigenous peoples: background paper prepared by the Secretariat of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Document PFII/2004/WS.1/3, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Workshop on Data Collection and Disaggregation for Indigenous Peoples, New York, 2004.

  5. 5.

    Grassy Narrows Environmental Group http://www.envirowatch.org/gndvst.htm Accessed April 30th, 2010.

  6. 6.

    Quote from Canadian Broadcasting Corporation News, April 2010 Mercury Poisoning in Grassy Narrows First Nation, Canada. Accessed April 12, 2010 http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/04/07/tor-grassy-narrows.html

  7. 7.

    http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/04/07/tor-grassy-narrows.html Accessed April 10th, 2010.

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  1. Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada

    Crescenti Y. Dakubo Ph.D

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Correspondence to Crescenti Y. Dakubo Ph.D .

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Dakubo, C.Y. (2011). Ecosystem Approaches to Indigenous Health. In: Ecosystems and Human Health. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0206-1_9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-0206-1_9

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