Health & wellness
Health in Indigenous Communities Body, soul and spirit.
Health includes body, soul, and spirit. Looking at health through this holistic lens will help you create a true health-focused program in your community.
Body
Body health affects everything – your mood, your feeling of well-being, your ability to do the things you want to do, your ability to take care of others – it touches on everything else in your life. The basics of good body health are:
- Healthy foods
- Movement
- Fresh air
- Clean water
Soul
Your soul is a combination of your mind, will, and emotions. All of these are affected by your body health, as well. There are some practices to help build better soul health:
- Time in nature
- Meditation
- Stress-relieving techniques
- Learning new knowledge and skills
Spirit
The spirit centres our being. It is said, ‘we are not physical beings having a spiritual experience, rather, we are spiritual beings having a physical experience’. Here are some techniques to help strengthen our spirit:
- Obtain healing for past traumas
- Regular communication with Creator
- Reading positive spiritual books
- Listening to positive spiritual teachers
Providing a program that touches on one or more of these topics will greatly aid your community in beginning the path to holistic health.
Why it matters
Our youth need us to act
5–6 times
higher suicide rate for First Nations youth than non-Aboriginal youth
11 times
higher suicide rate for Inuit youth than the Canadian national average
Figures from Indigenous Services Canada, 2018.
Need to talk now? The Hope for Wellness Help Line offers free counselling and crisis support to all Indigenous people in Canada, 24 hours a day: 1-855-242-3310.
Learn more
Health from an Indigenous perspective
The Social Determinants of Health from a First Nation Perspective
First Nations Health Authority
Intergenerational Trauma Animation
The Healing Foundation
Impact of Colonization on Indigenous Mental Health
Haniyah Shaikh
Resources
Health services and support
First Nations Health Authority
Health services, programs and support for First Nations in British Columbia.
Health care services for First Nations and Inuit
Programs and services from Indigenous Services Canada.
Economic growth without investment in human development is unsustainable – and unethical.
— Amartya Sen
Let’s get started
Would you like one of our team to work with you on your community’s health program?
We’d love to hear from you. Book a free 30-minute call, or contact us and we’ll get back to you within one business day.