Indigenous people's health tightly tied to speaking their own languages, review finds

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.