As an associate professor and researcher with the University of Western Ontario, Dr. Nicole Redvers is known for advocating that the health of First Nations people is linked with the wellbeing of the inhabitants of the planet. Dr. Redvers, a member of the Deninu K'ue First Nation, also discussed how the contemporary crises facing the planet are also relevant to the Indigenous populace. Her work seeks to broaden the understanding of the health impacts of climate change, especially events like wild fires that are becoming more common and impacting Indigenous Peoples.As Redvers explained, the issues that worry people and policymakers, from climate change to conservation, have consequences on the biological wellbeing of Indigenous people from different parts of the globe. She is a proponent of bringing together the rest of the world, so that the Indigenous people from the different parts have a better chance at being heard.The author defined an immediate crisis as one that makes it almost impossible for a community to tackle long-standing and more complex health issues. Redvers is more optimistic about the planet, but only if industries stop emitting and move away from fossil fuels. She also described the distressing choices communities must make, for instance, whether to endure heat or wildfire smoke, which highlights the urgent need to aid and resource First Nations grappling with the extremes of climate challenges. As the article suggests, the understanding of Indigenous health incorporates a more broad and holistic approach which includes the individual’s physical, mental, emotional, and holistic wellness as well as interconnected with the health of land and nature. This approach reinforces the idea that human health cannot be divorced from environmental health and underlines the critical need for environmental sustainability to preserve biodiversity and ecological equilibrium for community health.
Around the web
