Abstract
The purpose of this study was to identify shared and distinct features across land-based approaches to healing in different communities within Mushkegowuk Territory in northern Ontario, Canada, through interviews with individuals directly involved with land-based healing programs. Following from prior studies of land-based interventions with two different communities in the region (Danto and Walsh, International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction 15:725–737, 2017; Walsh, et al., International Journal of Mental Health and Addictions 18:207–221, 2020), the present study utilized a two-eyed seeing approach to data collection and analysis that emphasized Indigenous methodology. Consistent with prior research, participants emphasized the broad significance of the role of nature; the value of culture and language; the role of Elders; the need for care and shared responsibility for a community and its members; and the importance of traditional knowledge as well as the risks associated with its loss. Programs included the transfer of traditional skills and knowledge related to living on the land and were largely taught through demonstration and collaborative work, which enhanced participants’ sense of identity and emphasized bringing together youth and Elders to foster intergenerational connection. Participants in the current study emphasized the role of Elders in teaching traditional language to youth through engagement in land-based activities, as well as moral lessons that can be learned through engagement with nature. Finally, a reported focus of the present program involved enhancing participants’ sense of spirituality and facilitating a deeper connection to the Creator through prayer and respect for the land.
A previous version of this chapter was published in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, May 2020.
The Authors express their appreciation for the hospitality and participation of the participants and the community in Mushkegowuk Territory. We acknowledge the contributions of the University of Guelph-Humber Psychology Students: Sara Mancuso and Marlena Williams.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Government of Canada. Indigenous peoples and communities. 2017b. https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100013785/1529102490303
Government of Canada. First Nations. 2017a. https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100013791/1535470872302
Government of Canada. Inuit. 2019. https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100014187/1534785248701
Government of Canada. Métis. 2017c. https://www.rcaanc-cirnac.gc.ca/eng/1100100014427/1535467913043
George J, MacLeod M, Graham K, Plain S, Bernards S, Wells S. Use of traditional healing practices in two Ontario First Nations. J Community Health. 2018;43:227–37.
Browne AJ, Varcoe C, Lavoie J, Smye V, Wong ST, Krause M, Tu D, Khan K, Fridkin A. Enhancing health care equity with Indigenous populations: evidence-based strategies from an ethnographic study. BMC Health Serv Res. 2016;16:544. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-016-1707-9.
Walsh R, Danto D, Sommerfeld J. Land-based intervention: a qualitative study of the knowledge and practices associated with one approach to mental health in a Cree community. Int J Mental Health Addict. 2020;18(1):207–21.
Wildcat, M., McDonald, M., Irlbacher-Fox, S., & Coulthard, G. (2014). Learning from the land: Indigenous land based pedagogy and decolonization. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education & Society, 3(3), I–XV.
Sommerfeld J, Danto D, Walsh R. Indigenous land-based interventions and nature-oriented wellness programs: commonalities and important differences. J Concurrent Disorders. 2019;1(3):37–5.
Roué, M. (2006). Healing the wounds of school by returning to the land: Cree elders come to the rescue of a lost generation. International Social Science Journal 58(187), 15–24.
Danto D, Walsh R. Mental health perceptions and practices of a Cree community in northern Ontario: a qualitative study. Int J Ment Heal Addict. 2017;15(4):725–37.
Marsh TN, Cote-Meek S, Toulouse P, Najavits LM, Young NL. The application of two-eyed seeing decolonizing methodology in qualitative and quantitative research for the treatment of intergenerational trauma and substance use disorders. Int J Qual Methods. 2015;14(5):1–13.
Kovach M. Indigenous methodologies: characters, conversations, and contexts. University of Toronto Press; 2009.
Minthorn RS, Shotton HJ. Reclaiming Indigenous research in higher education. Rutgers University Press; 2018.
Smith LT. Decolonizing methodologies. 2nd ed. Zed Books Ltd.; 2012.
Bartlett C, Marshall M, Marshall A. Two-eyed seeing and other lessons learned within a co-learning journey of bringing together Indigenous and mainstream knowledges and ways of knowing. J Environ Stud Sci. 2012;2:331–40. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-012-0086-8.
Hall L, Dell CA, Fornssler B, Hopkins C, Mushquash C, Rowan M. Research as cultural renewal: applying two-eyed seeing in a research project about cultural interventions in First Nations addictions treatment. Int Indig Policy J. 2015;6(2):1–15.
Peltier C. An application of two-eyed seeing: Indigenous research methods with participatory action research. Int J Qual Methods. 2018;17:1–12.
The First Nations Information Governance Sector. Ownership, Control, Access and Possession (OCAP™): the path to First Nations information governance. 2014. https://fnigc.ca/sites/default/files/docs/ocap_path_to_fn_information_governance_en_final.pdf
Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, & Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans. 2018. https://ethics.gc.ca/eng/policy-politique_tcps2-eptc2_2018.html
Canadian Psychological Association & The Psychology Foundation of Canada. Psychology’s response to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Report. 2018. https://cpa.ca/docs/File/Task_Forces/TRC%20Task%20Force%20Report_FINAL.pdf
Alberta Education. Cree language and culture: 12-year program guide to implementation. 2009. https://education.alberta.ca/media/563938/cree-12y-guide-to-implementation-k-3.pdf
Reading, C., Wien, F. Health inequalities and the social determinants of Aboriginal peoples’ health. National Collaborating Centre for Indigenous Health; 2013. https://www.nccih.ca/495/Health_inequalities_and_the_social_determinants_of_Aboriginal_peoples__health_.nccih?id=46
Verwoord R, Mitchell A, Machado J. Supporting Indigenous students through a culturally relevant assessment model based on the medicine wheel. Can J Nativ Educ. 2011;34(1):49–66.
Lehman BJ, David DM, Gruber JA. Rethinking the biopsychosocial model of health: understanding health as a dynamic system. Soc Personal Psychol Compass. 2017;11(8):e12328.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Danto, D., Walsh, R., Sommerfeld, J. (2022). Learning from Those Who Do: Land-Based Healing in a Mushkegowuk Community. In: Danto, D., Zangeneh, M. (eds) Indigenous Knowledge and Mental Health. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71346-1_5
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-71346-1_5
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-71344-7
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-71346-1
eBook Packages: Behavioral Science and PsychologyBehavioral Science and Psychology (R0)