Anishinabe youth perceptions about community health: Toward environmental repossession

Health & Place 26 (2014) 127–135

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Health & Place journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/healthplace

Anishinabe youth perceptions about community health: Toward environmental repossession Katie Big-Canoe n, Chantelle A.M. Richmond Department of Geography, The University of Western Ontario, Canada, N6A 5C2

art ic l e i nf o

a b s t r a c t

Article history: Received 12 March 2013 Received in revised form 16 December 2013 Accepted 17 December 2013 Available online 31 December 2013

This community-based research applied environmental dispossession as a theoretical framework for understanding Anishinabe youth perceptions about health, social relationships and contemporary Anishinabe way of life in Northern Ontario, Canada. Qualitative interviews with 19 youth reveal considerable worry about their community’s health. Youth perceive changes in the Anishinabe way of life, including decreased access to their traditional lands, to be central to poor health at the community level. Youth emphasized the importance of social relationships for fostering healthy behaviours and developing community wide initiatives that will provide opportunities for reconnecting to land, and for learning and practicing Indigenous Knowledge. This study builds on the growing body of decolonizing research with Indigenous communities, and it concludes by offering the concept of environmental repossession as a way forward for studies on the Indigenous environment–health interface. & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Keywords: Environmental dispossession and repossession Indigenous knowledge Anishinabe youth Community health and social relationships Community based research

1. Introduction 1.1. Background Environmental dispossession refers to the processes by which Indigenous people’s access to their traditional lands and resources are reduced or severed (Richmond and Ross, 2009). Environmental dispossession occurs through direct and indirect forms.1 Direct forms of environmental dispossession involve processes that physically disable use of land such as contamination events that may sever access to traditional food systems. Indirect forms of dispossession occur as a result of policies, regulation or development whose intent is to sever Indigenous peoples’ links to their lands and resources and the Indigenous Knowledge it fosters. For example, Canadian federal policy, regulated through the Indian Act, led to the creation of the Residential Schools which forcibly removed 150,000 Aboriginal2 children from their families and communities during the twentieth century (Waldram et al., 2006). Whether operating in direct or indirect forms, environmental

n

Corresponding author. E-mail address: [email protected] (K. Big-Canoe). 1 See Richmond and Ross (2009) and Luginaah et al., (2010) for a more indepth definition of environmental dispossession, with examples from the Canadian context. 2 Aboriginal peoples are defined as “the descendants of the original inhabitants of North America. The Canadian Constitution recognizes three groups of Aboriginal people – Indians, Métis and Inuit” (AANDC, 2010a). 1353-8292/$ - see front matter & 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2013.12.013

dispossession has resulted in severed or significantly reduced access to traditional lands and territories. This physical disconnection from land has resulted in the inability of affected populations to sustain, share and practice Indigenous Knowledge. This has had profound changes for way of life in affected Indigenous communities, with disastrous consequences for health, culture and social functioning (Adelson, 2005; Gracey and King, 2009; Luginaah et al., 2010; Mackenzie et al., 2005; Richmond et al., 2005). Over time, this has led to drastic change in the meaning and function of social relationships, whereby the moral values underpinning social interaction in land-based activities occur less often, leading to altered community values, and reduced sense of cultural identity (Ermine et al., 2005; Loppie Reading and Wien, 2009; Wexler, 2006). On a global level, the consequences of environmental dispossession from traditional lands and livelihoods are a tragic unifying experience among Indigenous peoples (Anderson et al., 2006; Gracey and King, 2009; King et al., 2009; Morris, 2009; SI, 2007). In the modern context, these experiences have manifested as glaring health inequities among Indigenous peoples, including earlier mortality than non-Indigenous populations, higher rates of morbidity and barriers to accessing healthcare (Browne et al., 2005; Stephens et al., 2006; WHO, 2007; Wilson and Rosenberg, 2002). Many of these inequities can be linked to processes of colonialism, industrialization and government interventions that have significantly transformed Indigenous ways of living, including their relationships to the natural environment, and their own social systems and relationships (Adelson, 2005; Kral, 2012;

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Richmond, 2007; Richmond and Ross, 2008). The effects of colonialism in Indigenous populations have occurred most directly through disconnection from land (Cajete, 1994; King et al., 2009; Richmond et al., 2005; Smith, 1999).

1.2. Detachment from Land: implications for Indigenous youth health and social relationships Among Indigenous populations, land “is more than the physical landscape; it includes the living environment” (Berkes, 2008; p. 5). Prior to colonization, Indigenous societies could be described as subsistence cultures, meaning that their daily nourishment was provided by the physical resources of the lands and waters. This total reliance of Indigenous peoples on the resources of the land has fostered a deep respect for the land, but for many Indigenous peoples, this relationship has also led to a deeper, cognitive and spiritual relatedness with the land, wherein the land is seen as conceptually interrelated to humankind. Herein lies an important and often overlooked inter-relatedness; the health of the land is inseparable from the health of those whose existence relies so indelibly on it. For First Nations3 people, land “represents the interconnected physical, symbolic, spiritual, and social aspects of First Nations cultures” (Wilson, 2003). Scholars from various fields have written about the multidimensional relationship between First Nations people and the land, and most agree that it is through the practice and sharing of Indigenous knowledge – or the cultural traditions, values, and belief systems – that many generations of First Nation people have been able to practice and maintain nourishing, healthful relationships with the land (e.g. in the form of harvesting food and medicines, plants and animals) and with one another (e.g. family, friends, community) (Parlee et al., 2005; Cajete, 1999; Ermine et al., 2005). Access to land, therefore, provides a vitally important link connecting the health and social relationships of First Nations people. Among the Anishinabe4 people, the term mino-bimaadiziwin or “the good life” is a concept that relies centrally on the balanced relationship between one’s own personal well-being (i.e. physical, mental, emotional and spiritual), and their relationship to their family and wider community, including the natural and spirit world (Malloch, 1989). The contemporary base of Canadian research with Indigenous populations illustrates that health disparities are linked in significant ways to detachment from land, including reduced opportunities for the preservation of culture (Chandler et al., 2003; Chandler and Lalonde, 2004; Johnson and Tomren, 1999; Kingsley et al., 2009). These health disparities are particularly prominent among the youth population, evidenced by ruptured social and cultural systems and intergenerational trauma (Chansonneuve, 2005; Jacklin, 2009; Ross, 2002; Waldram et al., 2006; Wexler, 2009). Patterns of youth mortality and morbidity among Canada’s Aboriginal population are overwhelmingly shaped by accidents, violence, and suicide (Blum et al., 1992; Findlay and Janz, 2012; Harder et al., 2012; Holmes et al., 2002; Lehti et al., 2009; Oliver et al., 2012; Oliver and Kohen, 2012). Elders in many First Nation and Inuit communities claim that processes of environmental dispossession are at the root of these problems (Richmond et al., 2005). As opportunities for being out on the land are reduced, so too are opportunities for intergenerational knowledge transfer being diminished, for example from elders to youth (Ermine et al., 2005). The consequences of environmental dispossession are documented in the growing body 3 First Nation peoples “refers to the Indian peoples in Canada, both Status and non-Status” (AANDC, 2010a). 4 Anishinabe refers to First Nations people who are Ojibway in ancestry.

of research dedicated to understanding the concept and determinants of cultural continuity (Chandler et al., 2003; Chandler and Lalonde, 1998, 2004). At the community level, cultural continuities include the existence of community infrastructure like health services, cultural facilities, and education, among others. Cultural facilities, for example, enable youth–elder relationships to develop or flourish as elders often facilitate the ceremonies and gatherings that take place in these facilities. These continuities provide communities with the foundations necessary to build positive and healthy relationships, and to share the social resources that are important for positive youth development and cultural esteem. The results of Chandler et al. document that an inverse relationship exists for communities with high levels of cultural continuities and youth suicide; at least part of the explanation for youth suicide may be attributable to weakened social relationships, decreased access to Indigenous Knowledge, and weakened sense of cultural identity. This corroborates with international research that supports the hypothesis that Indigenous youth with a strong base of social support from within their families and communities also have a strong sense of identity and self-esteem (Cajete, 2010; Colquhoun and Dockery, 2012; Dockery, 2011; Priest et al., 2009; Wexler, 2009). Further, a strong sense of youth identity is also related to the extent that youth practice their culture (Kenyon and Carter, 2011), and from which this practice fosters sense of belonging (Kral, 2012; Richmond et al., 2012). The existence of social and cultural resources that bolster youth identity appear to be the key to the maintenance and transmission of Indigenous Knowledge, and central to youth well-being (Bals, 2011; Bals et al., 2011; Thomas et al., 2010; Webber, 2011). Despite the graveness of these health statistics, it is promising to note that many Aboriginal communities in Canada are presently engaging in research as a form of healing. They are drawing from their own local knowledge(s), stories, and cultural practices as a way to bring about positive change in their communities. And in doing so, many communities are flourishing in their fight to reverse the effects of colonialism (Kovach, 2009). Building on a small base of Canadian literature examining First Nations’ youth perspectives on health and well-being (e.g. Cargo et al., 2007; Tiessen et al., 2009; van der Woerd et al., 2005), this paper applied environmental dispossession as a framework for understanding youth perceptions about health, social relationships and contemporary Anishinabe way of life in Northern Ontario, Canada. We drew from a community-based study, framed by qualitative interviews, with 19 Anishinabe youth at Pic River First Nation. Our study was framed by three objectives; (1) to explore Anishinabe youths’ perception of community health; (2) to examine youth perceptions of social relationships; and (3) to examine what health and social relationships mean to the Anishinabe way of life. 1.3. Study location The Ojibways of the Pic River First Nation, or Begetekong “where the rivers meet”, is located on the northern shore of Lake Superior, roughly half way between the cities of Thunder Bay and Sault Ste. Marie, in the province of Ontario, Canada. The mouth of the Pic River was historically used as a trading post due to its convenient location as a half-way point along the Northern shore, and northward access to James Bay by travelling along the Pic River. In 1914, the community became a treaty reserve (PRFN, 2010). Northern latitude and proximity to Lake Superior have influenced local climate resulting in very cold winters and warm summers Fig. 1. With a population totalling 1007; approximately half (511) live on-reserve, of which 241 are male and 270 female (AANDC, 2010b). The small size and relative remoteness of the community has limited the number of local employment opportunities

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Fig. 1. The Ojibways of the Pic River First Nation.

available to community members. Many community members work on-reserve in public administration, in the nearby town of Marathon, for local mining corporations and other industrial developments, as well as a nearby National Park. In the last three decades, Pic River has created a strong base of economic development on-reserve, for example through the recent creation of the Pic River Development Corporation, which fosters job creation and economic development in areas such as forest fire fighting, tourism, and hydroelectric development projects. This development is one foundation for creating a strong, self-sustaining and self-determining community. Pic River has been affected by unique forms of environmental dispossession, including water contamination, extensive mineral and forestry-based development, and attendance at residential schools, among others. Local community elders have expressed deep concerns that, over time, these processes pose threat to the maintenance and transmission of Indigenous Knowledge. These elders were the driving force behind the development of a multiyear, community-based participatory study whose overarching goal was to preserve local Indigenous Knowledge as a means of protecting environmental resources and improving community health.

2. Methods 2.1. Indigenous methodology A hopeful and exciting research paradigm is presently taking hold in the international body of Indigenous health research, particularly those focused on Indigenous relationship to land (Tobias et al., 2013; Kingsley et al., 2009; Castleden et al., 2012; Richmond and Ross, 2009; LaDuke, 2005; Louis, 2007; Panelli and Tipa, 2009). Building on Smith’s (1999) seminal work on decolonizing methodologies, Indigenous communities from around the globe have engaged in research on issues of importance to them. This important research has been guided by a common goal of

achieving self-determination in research: “to centre our own concerns and worldviews, and to come to know and understand theory and research from our own perspectives and for our own purposes. (Smith, 1999, p. 39)” Clearly such methods require meaningful research partnerships between Indigenous communities and researchers from universities and other organizations, the ultimate goal being to design and carry out research that will lead to improved local conditions. These partnerships are a method of decolonisation as the Indigenous communities involved are placed at the centre of the research, empowering their local knowledge and influence on research topics and debate, and prioritizing local influence in the research design and subsequent development of community programs. In the spirit of decolonising research, our research utilised a community-based participatory approach framed by in-depth interviews, to examine youth perceptions of the links between health and social relationships at Pic River First Nation. The work in this community was developed and undertaken using the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (CIHR) Guidelines for Health Research involving Aboriginal People 2007. We utilised this method as one of the key values of the community based participatory approach is to “support the development of research questions that reflect health issues of real concern to community members” (Minkler, 2005, p. 5). Our research received ethical approval from the Non-Medical Ethics Research Board of Western University. A larger project had already been developing since 2007 by the second author, a First Nation researcher with close ties to the study community. The larger project had secured funding and significant community support. This assisted the lead author, also a First Nation researcher, on many levels including the ability to tap into pre-existing relationships, access to financial, material and social resources needed to travel to Pic River to conduct the research, participant recruitment, and greater ease with circulating project advertisements. A community member currently enroled in graduate studies was hired as a Research Assistant (RA) to co-conduct the interviews with the first author. Her knowledge of the community, both geographically and

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socially, was essential in many steps of the research for example, gaining trust of community members and participant recruitment (de Leeuw et al., 2012). The development of the interview guide was an iterative, community-based process. The first draft of the interview guide was produced by the lead and second authors, the RA, and the Lands and Resources Coordinator of Pic River First Nation. In the weeks leading up to the research, the interview guide was honed through readings by community collaborators, participating youth and Elders, and focused generally on four thematic areas relating to: youth’s ideas about health, social relationships and culture, relationships to land, and education. The opportunity to work on the interview content with our community collaborators was critical for ensuring that the questions were meaningful in an academic sense, but also accessible and meaningful to the youth themselves. One of the on-going debates in the early stages of the interview development was whether or not we should ask youth directly about what Indigenous Knowledge means to them. After lengthy collaborative discussions with our community partners, we made a deliberate decision not to do so. There was consensus that the youth might find the term Indigenous Knowledge too abstract and instead, we focused our questions on various concepts that comprise Indigenous Knowledge, and asked much more youth centred questions, such as “What does it mean to you to be an Anishinabe youth?”. In July 2010, an introductory meeting was held to invite interested youth (between the ages of 18 and 30) to participate in the research. The age constraint of participating youth (age 18– 30) was predetermined through our research development and agreements with the community – all full time students who had been hired by Pic River First Nation for their summer student program were invited to be part of this research. Practically, this means that all interviews occurred during the work hours of the summer students. A total of 19 youth (15 female, 4 male) expressed interest and were interviewed. Ages of participants ranged from 18 to 27, the average age being 21. One hour interviews were conducted by the first author and RA in August 2010. The first interview was co-conducted by both interviewers, in order to ensure consistency in interview style, and the remaining interviews were completed one-on-one. To maintain research validity in the interviewing, the interviewers met daily to debrief. The interviews were scheduled (with the assistance of a community collaborator) to occur during the summer work hours of youth. Interviews were recorded, with the permission of youth. To protect the identity of the youth, each individual chose a pseudonym, which was used to accompany their direct quotes in the results. Participants were provided a small honorarium, in the form of a $30 mall gift card, for their participation. The success of this project hinged significantly on the contribution of its community collaborators, who were essential to the garnering of community support, identification of research themes, development of interview questions, participant

recruitment, meetings, and subsequent thematic analysis and dissemination of the results. 2.2. Analysis Thematic analysis was conducted using NVIVO qualitative data analysis software (Bazeley, 2007). A thematic analysis of the data was guided by our research objectives and theoretical constructs on Indigenous Knowledge, health, and social relationships. Following Strauss and Corbin (1990), we conducted line-by-line coding to produce textual elements that provide a means for explaining the data. The key categories under each theme were reviewed several times in order to ensure that concepts pertaining to the same phenomena were coded in the same category. To ensure a consistent analysis of the data (Patton, 1987), we made use of a topic list. This enabled different investigators to independently code portions of the transcripts, and discuss any discrepancies in the coding process.

3. Results This section is organised around our three key findings, (1) youth are worried about community health; (2) social relationships are strong; and (3) community needs to refocus on Indigenous Knowledge. While youth were not directly asked about Indigenous Knowledge, it was a significant cross-cutting theme across the interviewees, as demonstrated in the results, below (Table 1). 3.1. Youth are worried about community health In their interviews, youth demonstrated considerable worry about what they perceive to be significant changes in community health. They spoke with particular prominence about a change in the Anishinabe way of life as key. Youth generally perceived health to have been better in the past than in present day, and they articulated the role of changing health behaviours (e.g. less physical activity, eating more processed foods) and environmental concerns (e.g. local mining development) as key factors of these changes. Their interpretations of the change over time related to two key factors: (a) reduced time spent on outdoor traditional activities and (b) the contemporary diet of community members is based less so on traditional foods and more so on store-bought foods. Denali spoke of the higher activity levels in the past and changing food choices: It seems like they did more [physical activity] you know, they were always out all the time. Unlike us, we have the choice to stay in… It seems like they were out more and they were more in with the land and eating healthier compared to what we are now. (Denali)

Table 1 Summary of results. Objectives

Key findings

1. To explore Anishinabe youth Youth are worried perceptions of community health about community health

Youth examples

Significance

Theme

Poor health conditions of community members (e.g. diabetes, cancer, addiction)

Contemporary patterns of poor health are the result of processes of environmental dispossession, which have led to change in Anishinabe way of life

Indigenous knowledge

2. To examine Anishinabe youth perceptions of social relationships

Social relationships are High levels of social support strong (e.g. family, community)

3. To examine what health and social relationships mean to the Anishinabe way of life

Community needs to refocus on Indigenous Knowledge

Community programs developed to get people back out on the land

Strong social relationships may work in a protective way to encourage and promote healthy behaviours Community0 s strong social relationships should be used to develop more opportunities for land-based activities and sharing of IK

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Along these same lines, White Light spoke of the high diabetes rate as a result of community members’ inability to access nutritional foods or the knowledge to properly exercise: The rate of diabetes on this reserve is abnormally high compared to other places. And that’s due to the fact that– a lot of people on the reserve don’t have the means to be able to eat, or the knowledge that they need to do their exercises and whatnot. (White Light) Youth identified their main health concerns to be related to chronic health problems, such as cancer and diabetes, and they were fearful that these incidences to be growing over time: I have big concerns about my community’s health.… We do have the high rate of diabetes, and especially lately with kidney disease, or other types of organ failure. … There’s more cancer out there. I don’t know if there’s a month that’ll go by that you don’t hear that somebody, either they’ve been diagnosed with a tumour or some form of cancer. And then of course there’s liver cirrhosis because of the amount of drinking that a lot of the older generation participates in. I’d imagine that once my generation gets older, they’ll be facing the same problems from alcohol abuse (White Light) In the previous quote, White Light points to another important health issue discussed by youth – that of addictions, including alcoholism. In their discussions around alcoholism, many youth explained this behaviour as a means for community members to deal with their emotional or mental health issues, particularly those they perceive to be related to this changing way of life: Well, they’re slowly trying to improve themselves big time. They just don’t look happy. They have their own issues to deal with, but I don’t really know how they feel because my family doesn’t talk about how they feel. Or they don’t explain what’s wrong with them, they had a shitty life, growing up, too. So, they have their own issues to deal with. (Little Blue Bird) Youth articulated the prominence of attendance at residential school as a defining moment of change in Anishinabe way of life: They [grandparents] were in residential school; we’re in high school. You get treated equally at high school… They were bullied. It’d affect their health because it changed their ways pretty much, like they gone from totally respectful and traditional type of people that now … thinking they’re subtracted out of their lives (Whistling Dixie) Environmental health (e.g. a new mine and chemicals) was also identified to be directly linked to community health and particularly, to the health of future generations: Why are we going to put in this mine that could potentially harm us and our future generations? The earth ain’t going to get better no matter which way we look at it … So is money really worth it enough for the community’s health that we need a mine or whatever? Or should we just be trying to work with what we got and not take any more away from it. (May Mary) [Land] means everything, its life! We get everything from here whether it be hunting, whether it be blueberry picking, as Anishinabe youth this is home! It’s important … you don’t stop and realize … until you’re told … blueberry picking, you can’t do because they spray insecticides … couldn’t do it the last couple of years because of that and now you go out and you find little patches here and there, that just kind of concerns me for the future, you know what’s it going to be like 20 years from now? (Lydia)

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3.2. Social relationships are strong In spite of the considerable worry that youth expressed around contemporary patterns of health in their community and the change in Anishinabe way of life, they spoke with great pride and excitement about the strength of social relationships in their community. They identified social support (within families or at the community level) as playing an important role for fostering these social relationships: It’s the family, not even family support, but community support. I remember growing up and always having people helping you out, always pushing you. That was one of the things I learned in school and why education was a big part of my life is because of community….but you always knew that if anything ever went wrong in your life, you always have here to come back to. (Lydia) Youth characterized their community as kind and compassionate, particularly in times of need. Jane illustrated her perceptions about community closeness through an example of the death of a community member. She purports that while community members may not always get along, they still come together in times of grieving in order to support one another: I think overall, despite the gossip, when something happens we are still a pretty tight knit community. I think there are certain times when our community knows how to put everything aside. Like if there’s a death in the community, we have a funeral and we have the wake. And nearly everyone attends and everyone shares in the grieving. (Jane) Tia described illness to be another example of a time wherein the people of the community come together to offer support to the person and/or family in need: I think it’s just like the support that everybody has, and everybody is so kind to each other. If one person is sick, then everybody is praying for that person. And everybody is supporting the family however they need. And I think that this community has a lot of respect for each other. (Tia) The youth also described social relationships as essential for the communication and expression of feelings. They explained this as a way to balance their mental and emotional well-being. Walking Turtle discussed the importance of releasing built up emotions by sharing them with someone: [Relationships] are important because it’s not good to hold anything in. Holding everything in just builds up anger, depression, stuff like that. You need to – in order to be healthy, you have to let that stuff out [by talking]. So having all those relationships do help. (Walking Turtle) Storm explained that expressing your emotions and feelings to a friend also allowed that friend to support you, especially in times of need: It’s good to just let it out and just let someone know how you’re feeling and it’s good to have people there to help you. Especially when you’re struggling, it’s definitely a good thing. I think that it’s really important to have friends and talk to people and just go for a walk and talk about anything. (Storm) Despite youth’s worries about the various unhealthy behaviours they see their fellow community members engaging in, as described in the first section of these results, they identified their social relationships as a positive way to overcome their own unhealthy tendencies. With the support and encouragement of her relatives, for example, Little Blue Bird described how she was able to overcome her struggle with addiction. She subsequently

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began to attend traditional Ceremonies with her relatives. Through their support, and her attendance at Ceremony, she began to heal from her addictions: Yeah, well I hit rock bottom – been two years. I went through the whole depression. I was my lowest –I was drinking every day and doing the drugs. Then, my [family] came to my bedside and they told me, “You need to change.” and they guided me through my whole spiritual way…I screwed up my school. I fell behind. I lost friends a little bit, but me returning to the whole spiritual way is like– I love myself more. I’m more healthful. I’m so awake. I’m so friendly now…Now, I do attend Ceremonies. I do go there. I feel so high in my life. I love it. (Little Blue Bird) 3.3. Community needs to refocus on indigenous knowledge In the first section of results, as youth were describing their perceptions around pressing community health problems, they spoke about residential schools and other ways through which the Anishinabe way of life has been threatened. When youth were questioned more directly about the links between health and their culture, meaning “the importance of being Anishinabe”, they tended to speak more openly about the importance of spirituality and maintenance of Indigenous Knowledge for improving health. For example, Jane believes this loss of knowledge is directly related to the health problems prevalent in the current generation of adults and youth. She outlines that Anishinabe people traditionally were of good health, and she links loss of spirituality to the current diabetes and obesity epidemics, as well as alcoholism. She suggests that Anishinabe communities refocus on their own forms of Indigenous Knowledge and spirituality to rebuild the health of their communities: If you look at the way things were in the past… Anishinabe people used to be really healthy people, and we used to be really active and spiritual. They just had a really great well-being. Now, there’s been so much like our kids are diabetic and overweight. I don’t think it’s just the junk food. I think it’s a lot of that our spirituality and everything is kind of dying out, and we’re getting attacked by all these diseases like alcoholism and all these things. I think if we start to build up our own traditions and a lot of that kind of stuff, we can get stronger and overall having more healthy living. (Jane) Another significant factor influencing a change in culture is the loss of knowledge keepers (i.e. Elders). As discussed by youth, the Elders hold vital information and teachings that are important for health (e.g. how to use traditional medicines, where they are grown). Jane worries that once the Elders pass on, so will their teachings: We don’t have that much Elders left in our community that would be great teachers for us. And in the past couple of years, we’ve had Elders pass away. And their teachings weren’t properly passed on. And …pretty soon there’s not going to be anyone… And you know, who are we going to go to even if we wanted to? There’s nobody. …I think it would [impact community health] because there’s a lot of teachings that come from them even just like say for instance different medicinal plants that are out in the bush that nobody is going to know about once Elders are gone. (Jane) The final key finding highlights the implications of losing Indigenous Knowledge and the subsequent impact this has had on the health of the community. Youth identified that the Anishinabe way of life appears to be changing as a result of both losing Indigenous Knowledge over time and because knowledge keepers (i.e. Elders) are passing away. This means that people are not practicing the activities that they once did, and over time, the community’s link to Indigenous Knowledge is quickly deteriorating.

The loss of Indigenous Knowledge, particularly as it relates to traditional ceremonies and spirituality was viewed as detrimental to the preservation of the Anishinabe way of life. While youth demonstrated an acute awareness of the implications of what losing land and Indigenous Knowledge means for the preservation of the Anishinabe way of life; they were still optimistic about their future and provided solutions for community-wide programs that might mitigate the unhealthy path they perceive their community to be on. In particular, the youth spoke about the need for all generations of the community to get involved in becoming part of the solution for enhancing opportunities for sharing Indigenous Knowledge, but also for developing health promotion programs at the community level. In this first example, Walking Turtle spoke of the need for community members to take responsibility for community action, and get involved with teaching the children and youth about their culture: It’s basically involvement. The community needs to get more involved [with teachings]. They say “There’s a problem!” Well, we all have to deal with it. They say, “Oh, the youth are so bad on this reserve.” Well, what makes the youth so bad on this reserve? It’s not just the youth… Who did we learn it from? I’m not saying it’s a certain amount of people to blame. It’s the community to blame because it’s everybody. Like I said, it takes a community to raise a child…So, it’s gotta be the whole community’s involvement. (Walking Turtle) In this second example, Walking Turtle suggested the implementation of community exercise programs that may help to curb patterns of obesity and chronic disease: Getting more active, making it more of a community thing.. Not saying that you can’t go for a walk [alone] if it’s – like the whole Get Up and Get Active thing that’s going on right now. I think that’s cool, but I think it should be a thing where the community does a walk around the big block every year – every week, or every two weeks. Where it’s not always singling out the people who need to lose weight, but it’s [everyone]. (Walking Turtle) In order for these programs to succeed, Walking Turtle identifies the importance of building on the support and involvement from the entire community, for building excitement and momentum for events like these and being careful to make these inclusive events. Regarding addiction, Victoria emphasizes the need for a similar approach, but is adamant that prevention and education are key to building community health: What I really think is a big focus that we should put on is the children. I mean, I was told once that if you wanna really change a community, you really have to start with the children… something based around the children would definitely help with the changes of the alcoholism and the drugs and other addictions people often have. (Victoria)

4. Discussion: environmental repossession and Indigenous Knowledge transmission In this case study, we sought to examine Anishinabe youth perceptions about health, social relationships, and the ways these interact to affect contemporary Anishinabe way of life. Though we did not directly seek to investigate the role of Indigenous Knowledge, it emerged as a significant cross-cutting theme. Following the work of other Indigenous scholars (Battiste and Henderson, 2000; Cajete, 1994, 1999; Ermine et al., 2005; McGregor, 2004; Simpson, 2004), we draw centrally from Indigenous Knowledge as a way to contextualize the findings of this case study.

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Anishinabe youth perceive that the health of their community has changed over time as a result of various processes of environmental dispossession that have significantly altered Anishinabe way of life. Youth spoke with particular concern about a shift away from traditional foods and activities, reduced activity levels, and a general decrease in the gathering of medicines. While many youth did not fully understand the politics and processes related to the residential school system, they recognized this legacy as a significant driver of change in their community’s way of life. Most significantly, youth described how community members have spent less time participating in land-based activities and in face-to-face social interactions with elders (e.g. in ceremonies, or on hunting trips) and therefore, opportunities to learn and practice Indigenous Knowledge have been reduced. The wider literature documents a loss of Indigenous Knowledge that has occurred over generations and across communities (McCarty et al., 2006; Ohmagari and Berkes, 1997; Pinkerton, 1994), with negative intergenerational impacts for health and knowledge transfer (Chandler et al., 2003; Hallet et al., 2007; Pearce et al., 2011; Waldram et al., 2006). This loss of knowledge transmission was similarly described by the youth in this study. Even still, Indigenous Knowledge figured strongly in the youth’s descriptions of the relationship between health and the Anishinabe way of life. It was interesting to see that even with the loss of knowledge and changing lifestyles of the community, youth spoke about strong connections to the land, they were able to identify cultural teachings, and they articulated close social ties both to their community and to the land. Significantly, youth spoke about the strong importance of social relationships in their community. They described the significance of social support from family, friends and community for establishing and maintaining healthy behaviours, and they also discussed the ways these relationships work to buffer against vulnerability in times of need, such as in the case of illness or death in the community. The existence of these social relationships was identified as integral to the strength of the community, and also showcased the cultural knowledge that youth have of traditional Anishinabe teachings such as respect and love – values embedded in their local Indigenous knowledge systems. In spite of the considerable worry youth expressed about the health of their community, interviewees spoke with hopefulness about the strong social fabric of their community. They suggested that opportunities to learn and practice Indigenous Knowledge would be improved by drawing on the strength of these social relationships as a basis for getting out on the land. For example, youth were adamant that practicing Indigenous Knowledge should be done out on the land, where they may learn how to properly respect and care for the environment, for example by participating in a moose hunt. At the same time, youth saw these opportunities as a means of strengthening their social and cultural identities as Anishinabe people. Based on our discussions with these youth – and supported by international research with Indigenous youth (Cajete, 2010; Colquhoun and Dockery, 2012; Dockery, 2011; Priest et al., 2009; Wexler, 2009), we are reminded that access to land, in and of itself, is not sufficient for the transmission of Indigenous Knowledge. Rather, in drawing the links between community health, and changing ways of life, our results demonstrate that strong social relationships at the community level are vital for making the opportunities possible for sharing, practicing and preserving Indigenous Knowledge. It is this particular dimension that is shared among Indigenous communities globally, and which also constitutes a challenge for the preservation of Indigenous knowledge systems – given the threat of unprecedented environmental change. As suggested by the youth participants in this study there is potential for youth health programming to be enhanced by integrating community-based cultural teachings related to Indigenous Knowledge, and by making positive opportunities for youth to

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interact in land-based learning, for instance in the example of Elder-led culture camps, hunting camps, or through the development of cultural curricula that brings Indigenous Knowledge keepers into the class room. Indigenous communities who exert their own collective efficacy to take control over community-developed initiatives are witnessing positive outcomes for youth wellness (Fienup-Riordan, 2002), for example, diabetes (Macaulay et al., 2007; Potvin et al., 2003), suicides (Kirmayer et al., 2010; Kral, 2012; May et al., 2005), and HIV (Edwards et al., 2011). The results of the current study are already influencing health policy and continued research at the community level, and in the greater Anishinabek Territory.5 On a recent visit to the study community, wherein these results and that of other ongoing research (e.g. Kulmann, 2012; Tobias et al., 2013) were presented to local elders, a number of recommendations were put forth, including the creation of an Elder’s Council, an Elder–youth Christmas concert with Anishinabe language songs, and continued support for the “Deadhorse Camp,” a week-long youth camp held on Pic River’s traditional territory. These and other land-based activities are important as they strengthen youth’s cultural continuities, provide sense of belonging, and improve self-esteem. 4.1. Looking forward: environmental repossession This study drew from the concept of environmental dispossession for understanding the everyday lived experiences of youth, and the ways the changing physical and social environment may be affecting the quality of their social relationships. The hopefulness of the suggestions provided in the section above demonstrates a way of thinking that is in broad opposition to the hopelessness and pathologizing concepts that are too often used to characterize and frame contemporary patterns of Indigenous youth health. Based on growing body of Indigenous scholarship oriented toward environmental reconciliation, resurgence of Indigenous Knowledge and way of life, and perhaps most importantly, Indigenous involvement in research, we offer the concept of environmental repossession as a way to frame these results. Environmental repossession refers to the social, cultural and political processes by which Indigenous peoples and communities are reclaiming their traditional lands and ways of life. This concept is rooted centrally in the idea that Indigenous peoples’ health, ways of living, and Indigenous knowledge systems are dependent on access to their traditional lands and territories. The conceptual and methodological context upon which this research was developed may resound in many First Nation communities across Canada, and in the global Indigenous context, wherein experiences of environmental dispossession and the resulting loss of Indigenous Knowledge are a shared reality (Brough et al., 2004). There may be global appeal for uptake of similar research approaches with Indigenous youth in other communities, as they seek local strategies for revitalising relationships to land and practice of Indigenous Knowledge. With the greater goal of improving Indigenous youth health, the concept of environmental repossession, as articulated here, may be foundational for the development of land-based activities and programs that strengthen social relationships and cultural continuities (Chandler and Lalonde, 1998, 2004; Hallet et al., 2007).

Acknowledgements We acknowledge research support from the following sources; the Ojibways of Pic River First Nation and Michelle Richmond-Saravia. KBC 5 The Anishinabek Territory cross-cuts Ontario, Canada and is composed of 39 First Nations communities (UOI, 2012).

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was supported by graduate scholarship from the University of Toronto/ McMaster University Indigenous Health Research Development Program (funded by the CIHR-IAPH). This project was funded by the Canadian Institutes for Health Research (Grant # 191507). CR is supported by a CIHR New Investigator Award. Finally, we acknowledge the 19 youth who participated in this research.

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