• What are your thoughts of these images as they relate to health and wellness?
• Would these pictures be inclusive and fully representative of health and wellness from a wholistic approach?

Conceptualizing health and wellness from a strengths-based perspective and understanding associated practices within Indigenous communities empowers and inspires individuals to reflect on their personal wholistic aspirations. This reflection also revitalizes connections from one’s past generational teachings and allows a harnessing of cultural traditions and spiritual connection to the land (Bryant et al., 2021).  It is critical to health and wellness that there is balance in the four wholistic dimensions and that they are all nurtured together to create a level of health and well-being that reflects individuals’ gifts and aspirations (Acharibasam et al., 2022).

When considering concepts of Indigenous health and wellness, recognizing your own identity and the cross-sections you may have (intersectional identity) is critical.  As a woman, man, Two-Spirit, or other gendered person, your own diverse and unique views of and within your family and community influence your concepts of health and wellness.

Additionally, we need to recognize a life cycle that is inclusive of maternal health and wellness from infancy to the Elderly.  As family teachings and connections are the foundation for Indigenous ways of knowing for health and wellness, the impacts of Indian Residential Schools were profoundly negative on cultural continuity for Indigenous communities.  Indigenous peoples’ health and wellness were dismantled by separating families and removing children from cultural ties. Thus, we are reminded of the important spiritual phrase “All Our Relations” which refers to the interconnectedness and respect that Indigenous people may have for past and future generations.

Embracing Indigenous ways of knowing and the influence of cultural and traditional ways of life may be empowering for community members to reconcile and aspire for healing and balance. Crucially, all diverse concepts of Indigenous health and wellness must be met with cultural safety within the western or colonial healthcare system.  Cultural safety, importantly, recognizes Indigenous ways of knowing and includes strengths-based teachings.

There are many Indigenous community members who believe that to have spiritual, emotional, or mental balance, you must be physically active first.  However, some Indigenous community members’ concepts of health and wellness may also be based on traditional, cultural, and spiritual ties. Being physically active positively impacts spiritual, emotional, mental health and overall wellness (Ferguson et al., 2019).

Physical activity has strong ties to spiritual reverence by knowing one’s gift of the physical body. This knowing connects to the past and future seven generations, and generational spirits are reflected in your own existence.  The link to the past seven generations recognizes community ties and the creation of your wholistic identity from history, familial relationships, and teachings of values and stories (Graham, 2008). The connection of the physical body, and the acknowledgment that your identity will be reflected in the next seven generations, is a part of the Indigenous way of knowing which ties to spirits before and after.

Being physically active in nature helps to promote reconnection to culture and traditions. Activity in nature can include many experiences, such as nature walks with family, harvesting food, or fishing and hunting (Bowra et al., 2020). In addition, being physically active in nature also contributes to emotional balance by promoting a reduction in anxiety and stress. Physical activity (in any form, including traditional activities, sports, recreation, or fitness) supports a myriad of benefits from both a Two-Eyed Seeing approach (Martin, 2012) and scientifically. Some of these benefits include restoration of emotional balance by releasing endorphins, promoting cardiovascular health, as well as providing more self-confidence and wellness. Mental wellness is also improved when being physically active traditionally by connecting Indigenous ways of knowing into practice. For example, when performing physical acts like walking, this empowers the person to practice meditative ways of thinking due to high repetition and low intensity. Being physically active also supports awareness of one’s body and abilities. Practicing physical activity and Indigenous ways of knowing is an important concept for self-determination.