Latest news with #languageRevitalization
CBC
a day ago
- Health
- CBC
Indigenous people's health tightly tied to speaking their own languages, review finds
Social Sharing A new research review out of the University of British Columbia (UBC) has found that Indigenous people experience better health outcomes when they speak their traditional languages. Researchers analyzed 262 academic and community-based studies from Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and determined 78 per cent of them connected Indigenous language vitality with improved health. Studies found positive outcomes ranged from better physical and mental health, to increased social connections and healing, to greater educational success. One 2007 study out of B.C. revealed that youth suicide rates were down in First Nations communities where larger amounts of people spoke Indigenous languages. "Part of the reason why we undertook this literature review in the first place was because almost everyone that we speak with in Indigenous communities who is working on language revitalization report that reclaiming and learning their language has played a big role in their own personal health," said co-author Julia Schillo, a PhD student in UBC's linguistics department. She did the literature review, Language improves health and wellbeing in Indigenous communities, alongside a team of UBC researchers, with help from the University of Toronto and the University of Sydney. One of their major findings was the importance of health care being offered in an Indigenous language, with proper translation. Without that, patients were at risk of being diagnosed incorrectly or misunderstanding medical instructions, and reported feeling alienation or a lack of respect. In one example, Inuit children were misclassified on cognitive tests because their testing was in English, not Inuktitut. The review found connections between language and well being run deeper than direct communication, too. For instance, Schillo says physical health improves when Indigenous people participate in traditional sports and consume a traditional diet — and that both of those activities correlate with speaking traditional languages. "Based off of the literature review, but also people that I've talked to, it has to do with how language revitalization plays into identity and feelings of belonging and connection," she said. "It has a lot to do with healing from trauma, and intergenerational trauma that's related to the Indian residential school system." Those findings hold true for Chantu William, a young Tsilhqot'in language speaker and second generation residential school survivor who says learning her language growing up supported her mental health and identity as an Indigenous person. William, who wasn't involved in the study, is an early childhood educator and a policy analyst in her nation. She's working on language handbooks to give to parents at the local daycare, "for the language to stay inside the home." She co-developed language curriculum with her mother, as part of the Youth Empowered Speakers Program, with the First Peoples' Cultural Council. William says the idea for the language handbooks came from Māori relatives in New Zealand, who have similar programming that started in the 1980s, and are strong language speakers. "I feel so honoured to be able to teach and learn [Tsilhqot'in] with my preschool and day care kids and the youth in my life. I feel so grateful that I'm in this space, in our community sharing the language." William says hearing youth and elders speak the language with each other makes her happy, and that for her, "it gave direction in life." Johanna Sam, who is also Tsilhqot'in and an assistant professor at UBC in the department of education, says that if governments want to support Indigenous health, language revitalization needs to be part of the conversation. "Indigenous languages are so much more than words; they carry our laws, our stories and our knowledge systems that have sustained our nations since time immemorial," she said, noting that some words in Indigenous languages cannot be translated to English. Sam says she didn't have a lot of opportunity to learn her language being a first-generation residential school survivor, but she grew up hearing older generations in her family speak it and that uplifted her pride and identity. She wants to see more investment in Indigenous language curriculum and more options for health care to be provided in Indigenous languages. It's something the review's researchers are also calling for. They're asking all levels of government to provide long-term funding for Indigenous language revitalization and to recognize speaking the languages as a social determinant of health.
CTV News
17-06-2025
- Health
- CTV News
Language revitalization linked to better Indigenous health, says UBC research
New research to come from UBC highlights the positive link between Indigenous language revitalization and the health and wellbeing of First Nations communities. (Courtesy: MoA) Editor's note: This story mentions suicide. If you or anyone you know is struggling with mental health there are a number of ways to get help, including by calling or texting Suicide Crisis Helpline at 988. A list of local crisis centres is also available here. Indigenous communities have long touted the wellness benefits of speaking and sustaining their ancestral languages, and now there's evidence that supports it – courtesy of new research from the University of British Columbia. The review, led by a UBC team and assisted by the University of Toronto and the University of Sydney, saw researchers analyze more than 260 studies from Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand for references of language use being connected to better health. The most surprising element of the findings wasn't that there was a connection between the two but the extent of that connection, with various aspects of health shown to be benefitted by First Nations members conversing in their own language. 'I think a lot of people are aware that there is a link between the two at some capacity, but there hasn't really been a thorough review to see what this link really is, how prevalent it is, what it means exactly,' said Julia Schillo, a PhD student in the department of linguistics and co-author of the study. 'I hear a lot about how language revitalization has been important for First Nations people for things like trauma healing and for mental health, but there were so many articles talking about how it played into things like physical health and diet and spiritual well-being, too,' she said, noting how around 78 per cent of the material discussed a positive correlation. Stronger educational performance, greater social connection and, in some cases, lower suicide rates, were also found to be directly connected to the use of Indigenous language. Many of the findings, particularly from studies in Australia and northernmost Canada, showed how there are typically better outcomes when health services are offered in First Nations languages, with patients more likely to better understand their treatment plans, and feel more comfortable and respected in a medical facility. Likewise, there were worse health outcomes reported when patients weren't able to receive health care in the language they needed. 'There were some reports of issues with people receiving health care without being able to provide informed consent, or translators not being called even when they were available,' said Schillo. The research process had been lengthy and involved Schillo and the study's lead author Louise Harding searching a number of databases, pulling around 10,000 potential articles and going through the summaries of those articles for relevant information. That search was then narrowed to 1,000, then a few hundred. Schillo hopes it will be the first of many studies into the relationship between health and Indigenous language use, as further research is needed to truly understand the finer elements, like the potential confounding variables. 'Socioeconomics, English language, fluency, things like that that need to be looked at in more detail to actually get a solid picture of what's going on here,' she said. Mark Turin, an anthropologist, UBC associate professor and co-author of the study, said the next step should be two-fold. First of all, there needs to be 'grounded, site-specific, ethnographically informed and culturally rich studies' of the specific Indigenous communities who have established language programs. Turin said he would also like to see a pivot towards research that focuses more on the strength and resilience of First Nations communities. 'Some of the formative research has been about negative associations, whether through causation or correlation, namely a decline in Indigenous youth suicide being related to language transmission and cultural continuity,' he said. 'This is extremely important research, but also really painful because of the devastating effects of suicide in Indigenous communities.' For further research and efforts to revive Indigenous language to get underway, however, funding, of which there is little, is required. 'Right now, so much language revitalization work is being done on short-term funding grants that are not guaranteed to be renewed,' said Schillo. 'That interruption undermines the long-term investment that it could provide to people's health.'
