What can we learn from First Nations peoples?
People we interviewed noted that the First Nations approach is transdisciplinary in itself, there are no silos. The co-development of Deep Health with indigenous peoples was seen as important - they bring a deep relationship to the land and their 'ways of knowing' have been handed down over millennia.
Connectedness instead of fragmentation
We know from research many children today experience a so-called ‘nature deficit’ – deprived of time spent in the natural world. Other research tells us that even short spells of time in nature can reduce heart rate, stress and anxiety. So how did we lose this health-giving connection? Our interviewees said we are 'caught up in the material part of life and this is causing a lot of problems, but we are also separated from each other, from our planet and the ecology of our planet'.They also noted we are 'moving away from a culture of connectedness to fragmentation'
A world view that is at one with nature
Indigenous cultures retain their connectedness to nature, even when under extreme pressure to give this up. Their peoples are in many ways, already living the Deep Health principles. The Māori people of Aotearoa New Zealand have their own holistic world view, Te ao Māori, where there is reciprocity between humans and nature.Their principle of 'kaitiakitanga' also embeds the human role as guardians of the natural world.
Honouring of traditional knowledge
In First Nations cultures, traditional medicine from natural plants, healing and cultural connection are all gifts to be passed down through generations. In the book “They Called Us Savages”, Chief Dominique Rankin says 'living symbiotically with nature is what humans fundamentally need.' The Traditional Knowledge of the Algonquian Nations incorporates that which 'empowers humans to live a healthy life in their bodies, hearts and spirits'. This is a core philosophy to the realisation of Deep Health.
The Kogi Indian people of Columbia, pictured
