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Climate change influences on environment as a determinant of Indigenous health: Relationships to place, sea ice, and health in an Inuit community

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  • Durkalec, Agata
  • Furgal, Chris
  • Skinner, Mark W.
  • Sheldon, Tom

Abstract

This paper contributes to the literature on Indigenous health, human dimensions of climate change, and place-based dimensions of health by examining the role of environment for Inuit health in the context of a changing climate. We investigated the relationship between one key element of the environment – sea ice – and diverse aspects of health in an Inuit community in northern Canada, drawing on population health and health geography approaches. We used a case study design and participatory and collaborative approach with the community of Nain in northern Labrador, Canada. Focus groups (n = 2), interviews (n = 22), and participant observation were conducted in 2010–11. We found that an appreciation of place was critical for understanding the full range of health influences of sea ice use for Inuit. Negative physical health impacts were reported on less frequently than positive health benefits of sea ice use, which were predominantly related to mental/emotional, spiritual, social, and cultural health. We found that sea ice means freedom for sea ice users, which we suggest influences individual and collective health through relationships between sea ice use, culture, knowledge, and autonomy. While sea ice users reported increases in negative physical health impacts such as injuries and stress related to changing environmental conditions, we suggest that less tangible climate change impacts related to losses of health benefits and disruptions to place meanings and place attachment may be even more significant. Our findings indicate that climate change is resulting in and compounding existing environmental dispossession for Inuit. They also demonstrate the necessity of considering place meanings, culture, and socio-historical context to assess the complexity of climate change impacts on Indigenous environmental health.

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  • Durkalec, Agata & Furgal, Chris & Skinner, Mark W. & Sheldon, Tom, 2015. "Climate change influences on environment as a determinant of Indigenous health: Relationships to place, sea ice, and health in an Inuit community," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 136, pages 17-26.
  • Handle: RePEc:eee:socmed:v:136-137:y:2015:i::p:17-26
    DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.04.026
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    1. Cunsolo Willox, Ashlee & Harper, Sherilee L. & Ford, James D. & Landman, Karen & Houle, Karen & Edge, Victoria L., 2012. "“From this place and of this place:” Climate change, sense of place, and health in Nunatsiavut, Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 75(3), pages 538-547.
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    14. Middleton, Jacqueline & Cunsolo, Ashlee & Jones-Bitton, Andria & Shiwak, Inez & Wood, Michele & Pollock, Nathaniel & Flowers, Charlie & Harper, Sherilee L., 2020. "“We're people of the snow:” Weather, climate change, and Inuit mental wellness," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    15. Anna Bunce & James Ford & Sherilee Harper & Victoria Edge, 2016. "Vulnerability and adaptive capacity of Inuit women to climate change: a case study from Iqaluit, Nunavut," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 83(3), pages 1419-1441, September.
    16. Nelson, Sarah E. & Wilson, Kathi, 2017. "The mental health of Indigenous peoples in Canada: A critical review of research," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 176(C), pages 93-112.
    17. Clark, Dylan G. & Ford, James D. & Pearce, Tristan & Berrang-Ford, Lea, 2016. "Vulnerability to unintentional injuries associated with land-use activities and search and rescue in Nunavut, Canada," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 18-26.
    18. Alexandra Sawatzky & Ashlee Cunsolo & Andria Jones-Bitton & Dan Gillis & Michele Wood & Charlie Flowers & Inez Shiwak & Sherilee L. Harper, 2020. "“The best scientists are the people that’s out there”: Inuit-led integrated environment and health monitoring to respond to climate change in the Circumpolar North," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 160(1), pages 45-66, May.
    19. Petra Tschakert & Jon Barnett & Neville Ellis & Carmen Lawrence & Nancy Tuana & Mark New & Carmen Elrick‐Barr & Ram Pandit & David Pannell, 2017. "Climate change and loss, as if people mattered: values, places, and experiences," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 8(5), September.
    20. Jeffrey C. Standen & Jessica Spencer & Grace W. Lee & Joe Van Buskirk & Veronica Matthews & Ivan Hanigan & Sinead Boylan & Edward Jegasothy & Matilde Breth-Petersen & Geoffrey G. Morgan, 2022. "Aboriginal Population and Climate Change in Australia: Implications for Health and Adaptation Planning," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(12), pages 1-30, June.
    21. Fiona Charlson & Suhailah Ali & Tarik Benmarhnia & Madeleine Pearl & Alessandro Massazza & Jura Augustinavicius & James G. Scott, 2021. "Climate Change and Mental Health: A Scoping Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-38, April.
    22. Maya K. Gislason & Angel M. Kennedy & Stephanie M. Witham, 2021. "The Interplay between Social and Ecological Determinants of Mental Health for Children and Youth in the Climate Crisis," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-16, April.
    23. Kosanic, Aleksandra & Petzold, Jan, 2020. "A systematic review of cultural ecosystem services and human wellbeing," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 45(C).
    24. Ellis, Neville R. & Albrecht, Glenn A., 2017. "Climate change threats to family farmers' sense of place and mental wellbeing: A case study from the Western Australian Wheatbelt," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 161-168.

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