| Summary: | Understanding the factors influencing mental and social health after extreme weather events or incremental climate change is crucial to addressing these issues on First Nation reserves in the Canadian prairies. Previous research on an international level has linked climate change to effects on mental health for general populations but, within a First Nations context, the literature base is severely lacking. What little the literature does indicate, however, is that policy in Canada is failing to prevent physical and mental harm to First Nations people from anthropogenically-driven environmental and climate change when compared with general populations. Using interdisciplinary and mixed methodologies, this thesis explores the academic literature linking climate change, disasters, and weather events, and mental health effects, defines and explores environmental mismanagement affecting reserve land, and critically assesses the colonial policies and circumstances that affect First Nations mental health outcomes. The objectives of the present research are executed through systematic review, and qualitative analysis of first-hand experience with flood recovery. The direction of this research is informed by partnerships with Yellow Quill First Nation and James Smith Cree Nation in Saskatchewan. This thesis forms a better understanding of the circumstances of mental health issues in an environmental context and ultimately places itself to inform policy that can reduce environment-related mental health issues in First Nations reserve communities based on an interdisciplinary and community-driven exploration of First Nations led disaster planning, mental health recovery, and environmental management.
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