Developing a land-based oral health promotion project with an Indigenous community in northern British Columbia, Canada

• Main Authors: McKinnon, Mary-Ann, Odoh, Onuora, Taylor, Pat, Charlie, Daisy, Morry, Jonathan, Mathu-Muju, Kavita, Donnelly, Leeann
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: CJDH 2022
• Subjects: Short Communication; British Columbia; Canada; First Nations
• Online Access: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9673998/; http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36451996

In British Columbia, Canada, First Nations children and youth consistently present with a higher incidence of dental disease. Efforts to improve the oral health status of Indigenous populations have had mixed success, and programs have typically been offered through a Western lens. Recent years have brought calls for oral health professionals to embrace a more holistic approach to health promotion, representative of Indigenous cultures. Colonization has been considered a negative health determinant as it led to the destruction of culture, language, and the removal of Indigenous peoples from their traditional lands. Self-determination and cultural connection are critical to mitigating cultural genocide. Health promotion projects have the potential to support these goals. Fundamental to decolonizing oral health promotion is the development of a sustainable program founded in the traditional ways of Indigenous health and healing. The purpose of this short communication is to report on a collaborative oral health project that used cultural connection as the framework for oral health promotion in a remote Indigenous community.