Strengthening Animal-Human Relationships as a Doorway to Indigenous Holistic Wellness

Abstract

One of the most devastating effects of colonization has been fragmented relations among humans and their more-than-human counterparts. Traditionally, Indigenous peoples positioned animals as equitable partners in interconnected human and more-than human networks, animated with spirit and the ability to act and communicate. Many Indigenous peoples continue to regard animals as sacred and utilize the gifts that they bestow in traditional healing settings. Indigenous understandings of interwoven and reciprocal social networks of human and more-than-human relations must be restored and supported in contemporary health settings in order to “do no further harm” and facilitate Indigenous peoples' healing journeys. Reconciliation across Western and Indigenous contexts requires learning to work together with the more-than-human world and developing ethical spaces for health research in which holistic wellness is appreciated and understood in the context of all our relations. In order to help (re)connect and strengthen human relations with the more-than-human world, a culturally adapted and locally refined animal-human relationship workshop was delivered in a rural Saskatchewan First Nation community where traditional Elders, adults, and youth participants shared stories about the role of animals for their healing and holistic wellness trajectories. The results revealed that animal-human relationships are physical and spiritual in nature, with both domestic and wild animals playing various important person roles in the lives of community members; these person roles are not metaphorical but rather assume all the sentience and agency that the term person implies. The findings have clear practical and policy implications for health services, education, environmental sustainability, and bioresource management.

7th International e-Conference on Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences: Conference Proceedings

“…Consequently, the Medicine Wheel was used as a theoretical framework, as well as the Anishinaabe, Seven Generations Teaching (Lavallée, 2009;Lavallée & Poole, 2010), the Cree health teaching circle (Pazderka et al, 2014), and Inuit knowledge or Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) (Thorpe, 1998;Healey, 2014, Morris, 2016. These frameworks can also be considered anti-colonial as they affirm Indigenous people's rights to self-determination and include the larger social and political context of colonization and intergenerational trauma (McGinnis et al, 2019). In this way, for example, the "Wise-practices approach" is said to be "inclusive, locally relevant, sustainable, respectful, flexible, and pragmatic" and considers the "historical, societal, cultural, and environmental factors" that play into a study (Pretrucka et al, 2016, p. 181).…”

Human–Animal Interactions: Expressions of Wellbeing through a “Nature Language”

“…These thematic crossovers further validated that HAI wellbeing outcomes involve aspects of nature interaction and connection. The role of Positive emotion for wellbeing and flourishing has previously been explored [ 48 ] and in particular the role of wild animals in generating positive emotions and wellbeing [ 1 , 22 , 27 ].…”

“…Animals form an integral part of human life: from companion animals in the home, to the cattle we graze to eat, to insects and birds in our backyards, to the wildlife we encounter in the wild or in zoos. In some First Nations worldviews, HAIs are informed by a spiritual connection to all sentient beings where animals are considered sacred, equal and possessing of healing powers [ 1 , 2 , 3 ]. The act of ongoing colonial hijacking and attempted erasure of First Nations knowledges has resulted in reduced understanding of human-nature interactions [ 3 ].…”

“Is there anything good about a water advisory?”: an exploration of the consequences of drinking water advisories in an indigenous community

“…The consideration for animal life points towards the equal importance of all living things [37], the strong reliance on country food [38] and the interconnectivity of land, water, people, and animals in Indigenous traditions related to wellness [37]. This community relies on a large surface water body for their drinking water source, and their conventional water treatment plant is primarily designed for pathogen removal, not heavy metals or persistent organic pollutants.…”