Link to the Land and Mino-Pimatisiwin (Comprehensive Health) of Indigenous People Living in Urban Areas in Eastern Canada.

Landry Landry,Asselin Asselin,Lévesque Lévesque

doi:10.3390/ijerph16234782

Abstract

Mino-pimatisiwin is a comprehensive health philosophy shared by several Indigenous peoples in North America. As the link to the land is a key element of mino-pimatisiwin, our aim was to determine if Indigenous people living in urban areas can reach mino-pimatisiwin. We show that Indigenous people living in urban areas develop particular ways to maintain their link to the land, notably by embracing broader views of “land” (including urban areas) and “community” (including members of different Indigenous peoples). Access to the bush and relations with family and friends are necessary to fully experience mino-pimatisiwin. Culturally safe places are needed in urban areas, where knowledge and practices can be shared, contributing to identity safeguarding. There is a three-way equilibrium between bush, community, and city; and mobility between these places is key to maintaining the balance at the heart of mino-pimatisiwin.

Highlights

Indigenous culture, identity, knowledge, and practices are intimately linked to the land [1,2,3].Relatedness to the land has even been said to be a determinant of Indigenous health and well-being [4].Health of the land is directly related to health of the people [5,6,7,8]
We show that there is a three-way equilibrium between bush, community, and city; and that Indigenous people in urban areas have various ways to maintain their link to the land, notably by accessing culturally safe sites and embracing broader views of “land”
We considered three overarching themes to explore the importance of the link to the land to the mino-pimatisiwin of Indigenous people living in urban areas: (i) the land, (ii) urban environments, and (iii) support from family and friends

Summary

Introduction

Indigenous culture, identity, knowledge, and practices are intimately linked to the land [1,2,3].Relatedness to the land has even been said to be a determinant of Indigenous health and well-being [4].Health of the land is directly related to health of the people [5,6,7,8]. Indigenous culture, identity, knowledge, and practices are intimately linked to the land [1,2,3]. Relatedness to the land has even been said to be a determinant of Indigenous health and well-being [4]. Health of the land is directly related to health of the people [5,6,7,8]. The intersection of people and land is reflected in cultural landscapes and cultural keystone places, which are tied to well-being [9,10]. There have been repeated governmental attempts to cut off Indigenous peoples from their lands and cultures [4,11,12]. An increasing proportion of Indigenous people move to urban areas, either temporarily or permanently, for various reasons, including greater access to education, work, and services [13,14,15]

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