Available online 28 April 2015
Climate change influences on environment as a determinant of Indigenous health: Relationships to place, sea ice, and health in an Inuit community
Highlights
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- Sea ice use means Inuit autonomy, plus mental, cultural, and social health benefits.
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- Changing environment is altering place meanings, reducing access to health benefits.
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- Climate change is an agent of environmental dispossession for Inuit.
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- Need to consider place meanings to understand climate influences on Indigenous health.
Abstract
This
paper contributes to the literature on Indigenous health, human
dimensions of climate change, and place-based dimensions of health by
examining the role of environment for Inuit health in the context of a
changing climate. We investigated the relationship between one key
element of the environment – sea ice – and diverse aspects of health in
an Inuit community in northern Canada, drawing on population health and
health geography approaches. We used a case study design and
participatory and collaborative approach with the community of Nain in
northern Labrador, Canada. Focus groups (n=2), interviews (n=22), and
participant observation were conducted in 2010-11. We found that an
appreciation of place was critical for understanding the full range of
health influences of sea ice use for Inuit. Negative physical health
impacts were reported on less frequently than positive health benefits
of sea ice use, which were predominantly related to mental/emotional,
spiritual, social, and cultural health. We found that sea ice means
freedom for sea ice users, which we suggest influences individual and
collective health through a relationships between sea ice use, culture,
knowledge, and autonomy. While sea ice users reported increases in
negative physical health impacts such as injuries and stress related to
changing environmental conditions, we suggest that less tangible climate
change impacts related to losses of health benefits and disruptions to
place meanings and place attachment may be even more significant. Our
findings indicate that climate change is resulting in and compounding
existing environmental dispossession for Inuit. They also demonstrate
the necessity of considering place meanings, culture, and
socio-historical context to assess the complexity of climate change
impacts on Indigenous environmental health.
Keywords
- Canada;
- Inuit health;
- Indigenous health;
- environment;
- Place;
- Sea ice;
- Climate change;
- Environmental dispossession
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