Postcolonial healing landscapes and mental health in a remote Indigenous community in subarctic Ontario, Canada

The concept of therapeutic landscape is concerned with a holistic, socio-ecological model of health, but most studies have attempted to explore land-health links from a Western perspective. On an Indigenous reserve in Northern Ontario, part of the Canadian subarctic, we explore the importance of spa...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Geography
Main Authors: Marquina Márquez, Alfonso, Vírchez, Jorge, Ruiz-Callado, Raúl
Other Authors: Universidad de Alicante. Departamento de Sociología I, Población, Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo (POMADE), Observatorio Sociológico de la Educación (OBSOEDU)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Taylor & Francis 2016
Subjects:
Mental health
Indigenous identity
Self
Therapeutic lanscape
Canadian subartic
Sociología
Canada
First Nations
Polar Geography
Subarctic
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10045/53606
https://doi.org/10.1080/1088937X.2016.1155673
Description
Summary:The concept of therapeutic landscape is concerned with a holistic, socio-ecological model of health, but most studies have attempted to explore land-health links from a Western perspective. On an Indigenous reserve in Northern Ontario, part of the Canadian subarctic, we explore the importance of spaces and places in creating postcolonial therapeutic landscapes to treat the wounds inflicted by colonialism. The aim of this research is to gain insight from views and experiences of First Nations residents living on reservations that are undergoing a process of regaining traditional spiritual beliefs and teachings to construct therapeutic spaces to face mental health problems caused by legal opioid analgesic abuse. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with Cree and Ojibwe participants to understand how they are reconnecting with earth, spirituality and traditional animist beliefs on their way to recovery. We find that practices such as taking part in ceremonies and ritual spaces, and seeking knowledge and advice from Elders assist with personal healing and enable Indigenous people to be physically and mentally healthy. Our research findings provide important insights into the relationship between space, healing and culture as determinants of health and well-being and document some key factors that contribute to substance abuse recovery. This work was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science (Spain) [I + D+i SEJ2005-09344/SOCI]; Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (Canada) [I + D+i CURA/NORTHERN].

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