An international network for exploring well-being and connection to the environment for northern Indigenous youth

There is an increasing awareness of association between environmental degradation and dispossession and the declining well-being of Indigenous youth across northern countries, including high rates of substance abuse and... [ view full abstract ]

There is an increasing awareness of association between environmental degradation and dispossession and the declining well-being of Indigenous youth across northern countries, including high rates of substance abuse and suicide. Empirical research with northern Indigenous communities is now pointing to the need to understand the experiences of youth, as well as the intergenerational aspects of communities that support youth and create pathways for them to be engaged in activities that support their well-being and connection to the environment. Furthermore, northern Indigenous communities maintain a strong desire to sustain their responsibility for caring for the environment, and contend that health and environmental governance structures should be adapted to support more meaningful forms of Indigenous participation and decision-making. Our presentation focuses on the initial stages of a partnership with Sámi community leaders and Canadian and Finnish scholars that was developed towards understanding how connection to the environment affects well-being for northern Indigenous youth. The partnership has long-term goals of developing projects that are driven by participatory action and community-engaged research principles. Projects emerging through this partnership will be directed and co-designed by Indigenous community representatives, including youth. We discuss the emergence of the partnership, the way in which participatory workshops were conducted, and the outcomes of the workshops, including community concerns and aspiration, common experiences, and project ideas. Other products of this first stage of working together include the norms, values and principles for the partnership and co-production of knowledge. These will be discussed, as will goals for expanding the research network. This work has relevance to communities and community-engaged scholars with interests in topics relating to youth, well-being, connections to the environment, northern environments, and the development of meaningful and long-term research communities of practice.