Reclaiming Land, Identity and Mental Wellness in Biigtigong Nishnaabeg Territory
Indigenous peoples globally are pursuing diverse strategies to foster mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness by reclaiming and restoring their relationships to land. For Anishinaabe communities, the land is the source of local knowledge systems that sustain identities and foster mino-bimaadiziwin...
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ftpubmed:oai:pubmedcentral.nih.gov:9223692 2023-05-15T13:28:59+02:00 Reclaiming Land, Identity and Mental Wellness in Biigtigong Nishnaabeg Territory Nightingale, Elana Richmond, Chantelle 2022-06-14 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9223692/ https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127285 en eng MDPI http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9223692/ http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127285 © 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). CC-BY Int J Environ Res Public Health Article Text 2022 ftpubmed https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127285 2022-06-26T01:04:42Z Indigenous peoples globally are pursuing diverse strategies to foster mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness by reclaiming and restoring their relationships to land. For Anishinaabe communities, the land is the source of local knowledge systems that sustain identities and foster mino-bimaadiziwin, that is, living in a good and healthy way. In July 2019, the community of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg in Ontario, Canada hosted a week-long land camp to reclaim Mountain Lake and reconnect Elders, youth and band staff to the land, history, and relationships of this place. Framed theoretically by environmental repossession, we explore the perceptions of 15 participating community members and examine local and intergenerational meanings of the camp for mental wellness. The findings show that the Mountain Lake camp strengthened social relationships, supported the sharing and practice of Anishinaabe knowledge, and fostered community pride in ways that reinforced the community’s Anishinaabe identity. By exploring the links between land reclamation, identity, and community empowerment, we suggest environmental repossession as a useful concept for understanding how land reconnection and self-determination can support Indigenous mental wellness. Text anishina* PubMed Central (PMC) Canada International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 19 12 7285 |
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Article Nightingale, Elana Richmond, Chantelle Reclaiming Land, Identity and Mental Wellness in Biigtigong Nishnaabeg Territory |
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description |
Indigenous peoples globally are pursuing diverse strategies to foster mental, emotional, and spiritual wellness by reclaiming and restoring their relationships to land. For Anishinaabe communities, the land is the source of local knowledge systems that sustain identities and foster mino-bimaadiziwin, that is, living in a good and healthy way. In July 2019, the community of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg in Ontario, Canada hosted a week-long land camp to reclaim Mountain Lake and reconnect Elders, youth and band staff to the land, history, and relationships of this place. Framed theoretically by environmental repossession, we explore the perceptions of 15 participating community members and examine local and intergenerational meanings of the camp for mental wellness. The findings show that the Mountain Lake camp strengthened social relationships, supported the sharing and practice of Anishinaabe knowledge, and fostered community pride in ways that reinforced the community’s Anishinaabe identity. By exploring the links between land reclamation, identity, and community empowerment, we suggest environmental repossession as a useful concept for understanding how land reconnection and self-determination can support Indigenous mental wellness. |
format |
Text |
author |
Nightingale, Elana Richmond, Chantelle |
author_facet |
Nightingale, Elana Richmond, Chantelle |
author_sort |
Nightingale, Elana |
title |
Reclaiming Land, Identity and Mental Wellness in Biigtigong Nishnaabeg Territory |
title_short |
Reclaiming Land, Identity and Mental Wellness in Biigtigong Nishnaabeg Territory |
title_full |
Reclaiming Land, Identity and Mental Wellness in Biigtigong Nishnaabeg Territory |
title_fullStr |
Reclaiming Land, Identity and Mental Wellness in Biigtigong Nishnaabeg Territory |
title_full_unstemmed |
Reclaiming Land, Identity and Mental Wellness in Biigtigong Nishnaabeg Territory |
title_sort |
reclaiming land, identity and mental wellness in biigtigong nishnaabeg territory |
publisher |
MDPI |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9223692/ https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127285 |
geographic |
Canada |
geographic_facet |
Canada |
genre |
anishina* |
genre_facet |
anishina* |
op_source |
Int J Environ Res Public Health |
op_relation |
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9223692/ http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127285 |
op_rights |
© 2022 by the authors. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). |
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CC-BY |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19127285 |
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International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
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19 |
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12 |
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7285 |
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1765997684329545728 |