Seminar: Indigenous Health Indicators: Connecting Human and Ecosystem Health

Presenters are Larry Campbell, Wanaseah, Swinomish tribal elder and Community Health Environmental Specialist, and Jamie Donatuto, Swinomish Community Environmental health Analyst.

How health is defined and assessed is a priority concern for indigenous peoples due to considerable risks faced from impacts to homelands, and because what is “at risk” is often determined without their input or approval. Native Coast Salish communities (Washington State and British Columbia) developed and pilot-tested a set of indigenous health indicators (IHI) that reflect non-physiological aspects of health (community connection, natural resources security, cultural use, education, self-determination, resilience) on a community scale, using constructed measures that allow for concerns and priorities to be clearly articulated without releasing proprietary knowledge. In this presentation we will discuss the meanings and uses of IHI and how they demonstrate the myriad connections between human and ecosystem health for Coast Salish peoples.