01 INDIGENOUS HEALTH PATHWAY

Indigenous Health & Wellbeing

Health is more than the absence of disease. For Indigenous Peoples, wellbeing is deeply connected with culture, identity, family, community, land, relationships and the ability to determine one's own future.

Begin by exploring what health and wellbeing can mean from Indigenous perspectives—and why respect, relationships, equity and self-determination matter.

Begin Exploring See the Learning Path

Learning through respect, relationship and connection

WHY Why is this important?

Indigenous Peoples are diverse communities with distinct histories, cultures, languages, traditions and relationships with land and place.

Understanding Indigenous health means moving beyond a narrow view of health as individual biology or healthcare services. It invites us to consider the wider conditions that shape wellbeing—including culture, belonging, community, environment, education, income, housing, safety, discrimination and self-determination.

Learning about these connections helps us become more thoughtful global health explorers: people who listen carefully, recognize different ways of knowing, examine evidence critically and respect the leadership of Indigenous communities.

PERSONAL HINT

Start with curiosity—and with respect.

There is no single Indigenous experience. When you encounter a story, teaching or health perspective, ask yourself: Who is speaking? What community does this knowledge come from? What history and context matter?

YOUR LEARNING JOURNEY

Explore. Learn. Think. Connect. Reflect. Act.

Move through the pathway at your own pace. Each step builds a deeper understanding of Indigenous health and wellbeing.

Explore

Begin with questions. What does wellbeing mean to you? How might different communities understand health?

Start here →

Learn

Discover key ideas about Indigenous Peoples, health, wellbeing, culture and determinants of health.

Learn more →

Think

Examine evidence, assumptions and the historical and social forces that influence health.

Think deeper →

Connect

Connect health with family, peers, community, country and the wider world.

Make connections →

Reflect

Consider what you have learned and how your perspective may have changed.

Reflect →

ACT

Turn learning into respectful action—at school, at home, in your community and beyond.

Take action →

01 · EXPLORE

What does wellbeing mean?

Begin with your own understanding of health—and then make space for other perspectives.

Think about the things that help you feel well. You might think about people you care about, a sense of belonging, nature, physical activity, learning, creativity, safety, culture or having someone who listens to you.

Now ask a broader question: Can a person be healthy without feeling connected to their family, community, culture or environment?

EXPLORE QUESTION Which parts of your life contribute to your wellbeing beyond healthcare?

02 · LEARN

Health is connected.

Indigenous approaches to wellbeing often emphasize relationships and interconnectedness.

Indigenous Peoples are not one homogeneous group. Across countries and regions, communities have their own knowledge systems, languages, histories and understandings of health.

At the same time, many Indigenous health frameworks place strong importance on relationships among people, community, culture, land and the natural world.

Culture

Language, traditions, knowledge, practices and identity can shape wellbeing and belonging.

Community

Relationships, family, collective responsibility and social connection can support health.

Land & Place

Relationships with land, water and place can be deeply connected with identity and wellbeing.

Self-Determination

The ability of communities to shape decisions affecting their lives is an important dimension of equity.

03 · THINK

Look beyond the individual.

Health differences are often shaped by conditions around people—not simply by individual choices.

The social determinants of health help us understand how living conditions influence health. For Indigenous Peoples, these determinants can also be shaped by historical and ongoing experiences such as colonialism, displacement, discrimination and unequal access to resources and services.

Thinking about health this way changes the question from “What is wrong with this person?” to “What conditions are shaping this person's opportunities for health and wellbeing?”

KEY PRINCIPLE

Health inequities are not evidence that one population is inherently less healthy.

They can reflect unequal social, economic, environmental, political and historical conditions.

04 · CONNECT

From Self to World

Health can be understood at many levels. Explore how wellbeing connects people to wider systems and relationships.

SELF

My health, identity, experiences and sense of wellbeing.

FAMILY & PEERS

The relationships that provide support, belonging and care.

COMMUNITY

Shared culture, services, institutions and collective action.

COUNTRY

Policies, systems, history, equity and public institutions.

WORLD

Global systems, Indigenous Peoples and shared responsibility.

SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF HEALTH

What surrounds us can shape our health.

Health is influenced by the conditions in which people are born, grow, learn, work, live and age. These conditions are connected to broader systems of power, opportunity and resources.

Indigenous health equity therefore requires attention not only to healthcare, but also to the conditions that create or limit opportunities for wellbeing.

Culture & Identity Belonging • Language • Knowledge

Education Opportunity • Learning • Skills

Housing & Environment Safety • Place • Infrastructure

Income & Opportunity Resources • Employment • Security

Healthcare Access Availability • Quality • Trust

Self-Determination Voice • Agency • Leadership

GLOBAL CONNECTION

Indigenous health and the SDGs

Indigenous health and wellbeing connect naturally with the Sustainable Development Goals and the wider pursuit of equity.

03 Good Health & Wellbeing

04 Quality Education

05 Gender Equality

06 Clean Water & Sanitation

10 Reduced Inequalities

16 Peace, Justice & Strong Institutions

GLOBAL LEADERSHIP & EVIDENCE

Listen. Learn. Question. Respect.

Good global health leadership begins with humility. It means recognizing that expertise exists within communities and that evidence must be understood in its cultural and historical context.

Listen to Indigenous voices

Seek knowledge and leadership from Indigenous Peoples and communities themselves.

Question assumptions

Ask how history, power, culture and context influence what we see as evidence.

Respect different ways of knowing

Scientific evidence is important, while Indigenous knowledge systems also carry knowledge, experience and meaning.

Use evidence responsibly

Avoid stereotypes and generalizations. Always consider whose evidence is being used and whose voice is missing.

05 REFLECT

What did you learn?

Take a moment to think about how your understanding of health and wellbeing has changed.

What is one idea about Indigenous health that you did not think about before?

How can culture, community or identity influence wellbeing?

What assumptions should you be careful not to make?

06 ACT

Turn understanding into respectful action.

You do not have to solve every problem to make a difference. Start by learning, listening, questioning stereotypes, respecting Indigenous leadership and helping create spaces where people and communities can be heard.

Continue the Journey

LEARN Explore another Indigenous health perspective.

LISTEN Seek Indigenous voices and community knowledge.

SHARE Challenge stereotypes respectfully when you encounter them.

CONNECT Think about what health equity means in your own community.

NEXT IN THE PATHWAY

Indigenous Peoples & Health

Explore the diversity of Indigenous Peoples and the historical, social and health contexts that shape their experiences.

Continue →