For generations, the Indigenous people have known that our health is tied to the health of the earth. Their worldview recognizes that being healthy means securing the natural resources that enable us to live well-groomed lives.
In contrast, Western thinking tends to see the natural world as a storehouse of useful goods — separate and existing only to serve humanity. Overuse, pollution and extraction without consideration of long-term effects have created conditions that promote health inequalities in our country: contaminated drinking water, food scarcity, pollution Air pollution and extreme temperatures are contributing to poor health and an increase in disease, especially at low levels -welcome neighborhoods and communities of color.
Transforming our relationship with nature is key to building a sustainable, equitable and healthy future for all. Through forced displacement, violence, oppression and other injustices experienced by Indigenous Peoples, they remain powerful stewards of many of our natural resources. Their values, practices and policies can show us how to heal and regain the health of our earth and humanity.
Here are just a few examples of Indigenous leadership in action:
To éí ííńá at’é. In the Navajo language, that means water is life. As sacred as Earth, fire, and air, this element cannot be taken for granted in the Navajo Nation in northwestern New Mexico, where a third of the tribe lacks water at home.
The severe lack of investment in infrastructure in the Navajo Nation — due to structural racism — and the mismanagement of the Colorado River by government agencies has left the Navajo Nation facing major water resource problems. Cindy Howe, project manager at the Navajo Water Project, is helping to catalyze a cure by addressing the immediate need to increase water access with the DIGDEEP water system — plumbing drawn from a single tank 1,200 gallons are landfilled powered by solar panels to provide basic household needs.
“My hope is that one day, every Navajo home will be connected to the water system, with indoor plumbing, really good showers, commuting lights and sinks,” Howe said. . “That’s what I wish for my tribe and indeed for all people in America.”
Horses have long been integral to indigenous cultures, a source of abundance and spiritual connection. Indigenous peoples have many stories to tell about how horses came into their lives, and a rich artistic tradition celebrates the animal as a fellow creature of the Earth. For Charlie Four Bear, an elder on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana, horses have also become a way to reach young people who feel detached from their roots: a feeling many people feel Indigenous youth share as a result of our country’s colonial history and policy of assimilation that has led to the eradication of Indigenous culture.
His Youth Mentoring program helped spark a sense of identity because it taught boys and girls how to forge relationships with horses. Sadly, Charlie Four Bear passed away in 2017, aged 59, but his efforts remain an inspiration. A story in Take us to a better place, a collection of novels developed by RWJF that encourages dialogue about Health Cultures, based on his work.
Dams, diversion, and allocation techniques for crops and electricity that treat water as a commodity rather than an ancestral gift are causing massive damage to the nation’s rivers. Along with rising temperatures and drought, Arizona’s tributaries, once a perennial source of life-sustaining elixir, are now flowing non-stop, and watersheds are dwindling.
New Zealand is showing how things can be done differently, thanks to legislation supported by the Maori people and passed by parliament. Through those efforts, the Whanganui River has been endowed with “human rights,” recognizing the right to health and protection from harm. In 2020, tribal leaders from Arizona came to New Zealand to immerse themselves in the culture and customs of their indigenous relatives and receive blessings from Whanganui. In connecting with the spiritual power of water, visitors deepen their understanding that rivers can only be revived by changing the way we relate to them.
