THE EFFECTS OF OUR CHANGING CLIMATE ON THE HEALTH AND MENTAL HEALTH OF INDIGENOUS CHILDREN AND FAMILIES GLOBALLY: PSYCHOLOGICAL AND ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS

Abstract

The effects of climate change are disproportionately affecting Indigenous communities across the globe. According to a United Nations report, “Indigenous peoples are among the first to face the direct consequences of climate change, due to their dependence upon, and close relationship with, the environment and its resources. Climate change exacerbates the difficulties already faced by Indigenous communities including political and economic marginalization, loss of land, its resources, human rights violations, discrimination, and unemployment.” (https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/climate-change.html) However, Indigenous communities worldwide release much less carbon into the atmosphere than more industrialized communities.