Seven Paths to Better Health: Understanding Our Health Empowers Us!

Access to food has been used as a tool to control First Nations people by the federal government since the 1870s. The starvation policies were used to save the federal government money, force reluctant Chiefs to sign Treaties, make lands available to settlers, and ease the acquisition of land for building railroads. Residential schools were underfunded so our children were undernourished and susceptible to disease. The food provided in the residential schools was different from the food traditionally hunted, fished, or harvested by the children’s parents. Our children became malnourished for the years they spent in those schools. The malnutrition combined with the overcrowded and unnatural living conditions of being kept apart from their loved ones made our children very vulnerable to illness and disease. The effects of enforced starvation, disconnection from family, language, and culture, and enforced poverty are still felt by our people today.

Here are some ways that our bodies use food as medicine:

• Pregnancy: When the mother eats enough healthy food to support her pregnancy, the baby has the best chance of growing strong and lower chances of being born with or developing health problems as they grow up.
• Infancy: Breastmilk is the traditional food of Anishinaabe and Dakota babies since time immemorial. Breastmilk is the first and only food babies need for the first six months of their lives. The mother’s milk changes as the baby grows to be perfectly suited to the infant’s needs. Breastmilk is the baby’s first medicine as it passes immune factors from the mother to the baby. Babies who are breastfed have better immunity, lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and lower risk of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes and obesity.
• Childhood: Healthy food fuels the development of all tissues and organs in the body and gives children the energy they need to grow, play, and learn. Healthy eating prevents chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. Children learn about food and eating from the people around them. Special occasions, culture in their home or community, memories, and health practices are important parts of growing up that are deeply connected with food and eating.
• Adolescence: Healthy food continues to promote the development of all tissues and organs in the body. With the change in hormones and body development through the teen years, nutrient needs change. Unbalanced eating can cause rapid and extra weight gain, insulin resistance, and problems with the menstrual cycle. Teens start to become more independent and may make more of their own food choices outside the home.
• Adulthood: In traditional Anishinaabe and Dakota cultures, people of all ages beyond infancy helped with gathering, hunting for, storing, and preparing food. Today, the tasks of planning meals, shopping for groceries, storing food, and preparing meals are most often done by adults, older adults, and Elders. While the bodies and minds of adults are mature, they still need healthy food every day to keep their energy up and their body tissues healthy. Healthy eating helps adults to prevent, delay, and manage many health problems. 
• Older adults and Elders: At this stage of life, many people notice their appetite is lower than it was before. Healthy food is needed every day to make sure that older adults and Elders get enough nutrients, even if their meals are smaller. Healthy eating helps older adults and Elders keep their energy up, keep strong healthy tissues like muscle, teeth, and bones, and to manage health problems that may come with the aging process.

You can read more about how access to food has been used against First Nations and SCO’s recommended approach to decolonize nutrition and food security for SCO member Nations in the: Decolonization Report: Recognizing First Nations Sovereignty 

Here are some ways our bodies use water as medicine:

• In the mother’s womb, water provides safety and nourishment for the unborn baby. At the time of birth, this water comes out first, then the new baby follows.
• Drinking water improves energy levels. One of the first signs of dehydration is feelings of tiredness.
• Drinking water relieves pain. Drinking adequate water can ease headaches and body aches.
• Drinking water helps us recover from illness. When we are sick, drinking enough fluids helps us feel better faster.
• Drinking water helps people of all ages to focus and think clearly.
• Water is the best drink to keep good balance in our bodies. Water is sugar and caffeine free.
  • Drinks that contain a lot of added sugar can cause rapid and extra weight gain and they increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes at all stages of life.
  • For people who have type 2 diabetes, drinking water instead of sugar sweetened beverages as part of a healthy lifestyle lowers the risk of diabetes complications.
  • Drinks that contain caffeine can increase blood pressure, interfere with sleep, and worsen symptoms of anxiety and irritability in both children and adults.

To fully reclaim our health, culture, and identity as First Nations, we must have access to clean water.  SCO member Nations must also have control over the infrastructure to maintain the water quality. Colonial control over First Nations land and waters has degraded our environments, displaced our peoples, and has often been built with weak infrastructure. The result of this is called water insecurity. SCO has outlined a decolonizing approach to support SCO member Nations as they revitalize their health. Many of the recommendations are connected to water. These recommendations start on page 21 of the Decolonization Report: Recognizing First Nations Sovereignty. 

More information on the work SCO is undertaking to protect our sacred water can be found at: Protecting Our Sacred Water

Over generations, our people were torn from our families and kinship circles through many colonial policies, causing harmful effects that still affect our lives today. Many current government policies continue to disrupt our connections in the present. This is because the colonial beliefs and practices that many current policies are built on remain deeply entrenched. Strengthening our familial and kinship circles is healing for our spirits. The federal government used assimilation policies in blatant attempts to sever our connections to our each other and limit our rights. The far-reaching impacts of these policies are still felt today and many of us continue to experience intergenerational trauma. 

Here are some ways that community is medicine throughout the life cycle:

• Infants learn to trust their caregivers through the attention and care they feel while breastfeeding or bottle feeding.
  • Cuddling infants during feeding helps the infant and their caregivers feel bonded.
  • Infants should be fed on demand when they show signs of hunger, this helps them feel safe and loved.
  • Infants should not be left alone while feeding as they could choke.

• Children should eat together with others as often as possible and should be served the same foods as the rest of the family. This is how they learn to behave at mealtimes and how to eat the foods their families and communities eat.
  • Mealtimes provide an important chance for children to tell and hear stories and to learn more about the culture and values of their family and community.

• Adolescents have more balanced nutrition when they eat with others on a regular basis.
  • Adolescents can be taught to prepare simple meals for themselves and others. This is a valuable way to share culture, traditions, and memories with them.
  • Mealtimes are a valuable time to check in with teens about how they are doing and for them to connect with others during this busy stage of life.
  • Adolescents who eat alone most of the time may struggle to eat balanced meals. Consistently refusing to eat with others or expressing very rigid rules about what foods they eat may indicate a problem with disordered eating (bingeing, purging, and/or restricting).
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• Adults have better health when they eat with others on a regular basis. Coming together with others to share a meal is a good way for adults to hear and share updates about the day, connect with people they care about, and engage in self-care.
  •  Adults often prepare and serve more balanced meals when they know others will be eating with them.
  • Turning off TVs, phones, and other screens during meal times helps adults to feel more in tune with their bodies and to eat an amount that is right for them.
    • Adults who often work through meal times, eat meals in the car, or have their meals while distracted with TV, phone, or video games report more difficulty with overeating and stress.

• Older adults and Elders have better and more balanced food intake when they eat with others on a regular basis.
  • Eating together supports social connection and reduces social isolation. Social connection helps older adults maintain a healthy appetite and to eat enough food as they age. Eating well reduces the risk of frailty, falls, and fractures.
  • Offering to cook a meal or eat together on a regular basis is a good way to support older adults and show how important they are. The full responsibility for planning, shopping for, and preparing all their meals can be overwhelming for some older adults, especially if they have health problems, so offering to help with these tasks may mean a lot to them.
  • Eating together on a regular basis is a good way for others to notice if an older relative is struggling or needs more support. Some older adults have less noticeable hunger cues and may forget to eat or drink enough. Other older adults may struggle with chewing or swallowing foods and drinks safely. Some may have feelings of confusion that make it unsafe for them to cook, prepare, and store food for themselves.
    • ** Problems with chewing, swallowing, weight loss, or confusion require care by a health professional
  • Cooking and eating with others is a good way to connect, laugh, share stories, memories, and recipes, and enjoy the company of others.

First Nations people have cared for and protected their children and families from time immemorial. We have our own laws and principles that are stronger than the harms of colonialism and First Nations leadership has always taken steps to care for and protect their children and families.  More information on the advocacy work SCO is doing for our children and families can be found at: Child and Family Services Program.

Colonial practices that began with the arrival of settlers has created dramatic changes in the world around us. They have changed the way our people live, work, and play. The movement of our people was restricted by policies such as the pass system, which limited our ability to be on be active on our traditional lands. These policies also limited our ability to access the medicinal plants we value and use for healing, and made it difficult to share knowledge about where to find these sacred plants and how to use them.

Today, many people find it hard to add physical activity to their day. Many jobs require long hours of sitting or driving, leisure time often involves screen-based activities instead of movement-based activities, and many tasks that used to require physical labour are now done by machines.

We can still get all the health benefits of a physically active life if we know how important it is and include activities we enjoy in our lives on a regular basis. For many people, the activity that works best for them is walking. For others, it could be dancing, hunting, medicine or berry picking, swimming, or playing a team sport. In this way, moving our bodies is caring for ourselves.

Here are some ways that movement is medicine throughout the life cycle:

• Pregnancy: When mothers are physically active, the baby has the best chance to grow to the right size and have good health at birth.
• Infancy: Infants develop their muscles and learn to coordinate their bodies, minds, and feelings through movement. Movement also helps babies develop healthy internal organs, including the heart, bones, and brain. This reduces their risk of injuries and disease as they get older. Good activities for babies include tummy time, reaching and grasping, pushing and pulling, and crawling and walking.
• Childhood: Physical activity helps children grow, learn, and play. Movement continues to be very important for body, mind, and emotional development. Young children are often eager to help with physical tasks and enjoy being included in cultural activities such as dancing, gardening, or berry picking. Physical activity helps children build confidence, sleep well, and manage difficult emotions such as anxiety and disappointment.
• Adolescence: Bodies and minds change dramatically during the teen years. Surges of hormones cause the body to develop at a fast pace, and physical activity plays an important part in that life process. Being active helps teens develop into the bodies that are right for them, including appropriate weight gain and changes in muscle, fat, and bone mass, and a lower risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and kidney disease. Physical activity helps teens to develop healthy emotional regulation, interact in healthy ways with others, learn at their best, and improves overall quality of life.
• Adulthood: Although internal organs and systems are mature in adults, their bodies are still always changing. Physical activity helps adults sleep well, manage stress and difficult emotions, maintain the health of internal organs, and prevent and manage diseases such as cancer, high blood pressure, and diabetes.
• Older adults and Elders: Physical activity helps older adults maintain their health and independence. It helps them relieve stress, think clearly, sleep well, and keep a healthy appetite. Although recommended activities may not be as vigorous or strenuous compared to earlier stages of life, the benefits are as equally important.

The land provides our food, water, shelter, and medicines. Our ways of learning, growing, practicing our culture, the languages we speak, and our spiritual connections are all directly tied to the lands we come from and the many forms of life we share the land with. Our lands are integral to our ways of being. First Nations were sovereign over the land that is now Canada for centuries before colonization and the First Nations’ use of the land was deeply connected to the good health we enjoyed. When colonial powers took control over the land, they also took control over First Nations health because the health of the land has a direct connection to our health. If the environment is tainted, the living beings that inhabit it are also tainted.

We can connect to the land no matter where we live. Spending time outdoors, even for short amounts of time, even in towns and cities, offers many health benefits.

Here are some ways that land is medicine throughout the life cycle:

• Infancy: Outdoor environments help infants develop healthy immune systems and offer them plenty of stimulation for their senses. Infants who spend time outdoors may sleep better as time in sunlight helps to establish their sense of day and night. 
• Childhood: Outdoor play helps children develop their balance and coordination. Outdoor environments encourage creativity, focus, attention to detail, and inspire children to move and be active. When children spend time outdoors, they learn to love nature and become more motivated to care for the health of the planet. Children can learn important parts of their culture, values, and life skills by spending time with loved ones outdoors and participating in activities, traditions, and ceremonies. They can assist with outdoor work, such as berry or medicine picking, raking, shoveling, building and keeping a fire, fishing, and hunting.
• Adolescence: Time outdoors is good for the mental and emotional health of teens. It lowers symptoms of anxiety and depression and improves confidence. Time outdoors promotes healthy movement, life skills development, good sleep, social opportunities, and provides a place to explore their growing independence. Being on the land can inspire a sense of awe in the natural world and can strengthen adolescent spirits.
• Adulthood: Time outdoors helps adults lower their stress and have good blood pressure and blood sugars. It helps them sleep better, improves their mental health, and provides a place to be active, connect with loved ones, and participate in culture and ceremony.
• Older Adults and Elders: Time outdoors lowers stress and improves mental health in older adults and Elders. It helps them maintain good strength, immunity, and  their independence. The land provides a good place for older adults, Elders, and Knowledge Keepers to share the knowledge and wisdom they have developed throughout their lives.

Land is central to our ways of being. In order to decolonize health, SCO has outlined a number of recommendations regarding land in the Decolonization Report: Recognizing First Nations Sovereignty  Report beginning on page 22.

Culture provides a vital part of Anishinaabe and Dakota identity. Culture ties together what we know and feel about food, water, connection to land, language, health, and spirituality. Many people believe that our culture and languages provide an important pathway to prevent, reduce, and treat harms caused by colonization, including trauma and substance use. Many colonial policies have focused on the restriction and destruction of First Nations culture. For example, the racist, colonial agenda of the residential schools was focused on eradicating First Nations languages and cultures.

• Pregnancy: The unborn baby provides a close connection to the Spirit World. Families and communities have roles and responsibilities to prepare for the arrival of the new baby and support the mother in preparing for birth and caring for her newborn. The unborn baby hears and becomes familiar with some sounds, such as the sound of their mother’s voice and the sounds of music playing.
• Infancy: Infants are seen as a gift from the Creator, born with natural wisdom and close connection to the Spirit World. Speaking to infants helps them build the foundation for language skills.
• Childhood: Culture helps children feel confident in who they are. Culture provides them with important life lessons, such as the Seven Sacred Teachings. Culture can give children language skills, teaches them how to behave, and the unique roles and expectations of others in their family and community.
• Adolescence: Teens may participate in rites of passage and learn more about their roles in the community. The Seven Sacred Teachings provide valuable lessons about healthy decision-making and how to live with strong values to guide the way forward. Culture helps to give teens a sense of who we are, why we are here.
• Adulthood: Adults have important roles in leading, preserving, and revitalizing culture. Adults may wish to deepen their knowledge of and connection to culture as they seek to answer important questions in their lives about who they are and what life means to them. Many adults transition into the role of parents. Culture can help parents know who to approach for help or support and can guide their parenting and life decisions.
• Older Adults and Elders: With their years of experience, teachings, knowledge of language, and memories, older adults and Elders are vitally important to Anishinaabe and Dakota cultures. Our connections with our older adults and Elders help us bring our languages and cultures forward to younger generations. Cultural beliefs, ceremonies, and activities provide important connections for older adults and Elders to people of all other life stages and also to the Spirit World.

To fully reclaim our health, we must gain and share knowledge. We must understand our past and forge a path forward so we can live in a good way. For example, one of the most devastating diseases in First Nations is diabetes. Seventeen per cent of First Nations living on reserve and 12.7% off reserve have been affected by diabetes. Research has shown that the high rates of diabetes in our First Nation population is directly connected to the colonial harms our people have and continue to endure. Colonialism interferes with First Nations culture and traditional governance. Our people have been left out of important decision-making processes which took away our ability to control our own food systems and sources of nutrition. When we understand the causes of the diabetes epidemic in our people and learn about how we can prevent, slow, or manage diabetes, we empower ourselves. We can use this holistic approach to work on any health concern we may have as individuals, families, and populations. If we arm ourselves with knowledge, we empower ourselves to live healthy lives.

Here are some ways that knowledge is medicine throughout the life cycle:

• Infancy: When loved ones learn about how babies behave and how to care for them, the baby learns that they are safe and worthy of love. For example, when a baby shows signs of hunger, the caregiver can feed them. If a caregiver understands that crying is how babies communicate and knows that babies do not cry to upset others, it can help them respond safely to the babies needs.
• Childhood: When children are taught about how their minds and bodies work, they learn to feel more comfortable and confident in who they are. Children have natural curiosity about their bodies and can learn about growth, development, and changes in life stages of the people they know. Learning about their health and wellbeing can help children understand that it is okay to ask for help and to share their thoughts and feelings with others who can support them.
• Adolescence: The teen years bring many changes to the mind, body, and spirit of each person. When teens are taught about healthy choices, healthy relationships, how their bodies and minds work, and where they can access support, they are better able to face the excitement, pressures, and uncertainties that come with their growing independence.
• Adulthood: Adults may not find it easy to make healthy choices for themselves. Many adults take on caretaking roles and have a lot of responsibilities that require their time and attention. Many adults prioritize the needs of others and neglect their own needs. Over time, their health can start to wear down. When adults understand how their own bodies and minds work and view themselves as worthy of care and having their needs met, they can make choices that are right for themselves and the people they care about.
• Older Adults and Elders: With the experience and perspective developed over a lifetime, older adults and Elders hold a wealth of wisdom and knowledge. Their connection with people of all other stages of life is a vital part of Anishinaabe and Dakota cultures. Older adults and Elders also benefit from understanding how their bodies and minds work and deserve to be supported to make health decisions that are right for them and help them to stay connected with their loved ones.

SCO Health Transformation believes that the pathway to improved health for all SCO citizens is to decolonize health care. Read our full report and recommendations for the path forward by visiting Decolonization Report: Recognizing First Nations Sovereignty