Language improves health and wellbeing in Indigenous communities: A scoping review

Abstract

Introduction

Indigenous languages in Australia, Canada, New Zealand and the United States are endangered due to colonial policies which promote English language dominance. While Indigenous communities know the importance of language for their wellbeing, this topic has only recently received attention in scholarship and public policy. This scoping review synthesizes and assesses existing literature on the links between the vitality of Indigenous languages and health or wellness in four English-speaking settler colonial countries.

Methods

Our interdisciplinary research team followed JBI methodology for scoping reviews. Key databases searched included MEDLINE, PsycInfo, and Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature. Searches were restricted to English language literature. The last search was on February 8, 2021. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were conducted to categorize and elucidate the nature of the links reported.

Results

Over 10,000 records were reviewed and 262 met the inclusion criteria – 70 % academic and 30 % gray literature. The largest number of studies focus on Canadian contexts (40.1 %). 78 % of the original research studies report only supportive links between Indigenous languages and health, while 98 % of the literature reviews report supportive links. The most significant aspects of health reported to be positively related to language are outcomes from health care, education and promotion initiatives; overall health, wellness, resilience and healing; and mental, cognitive, and psychological health and development. The results of the remaining original research studies are mixed (10 %), statistically non-significant (6 %), adverse (5 %) and neutral (1 %).

Conclusions

The results of this scoping review suggest that a vast body of academic and gray literature exists to support that language is a determinant of health for Indigenous peoples in the contexts studied. Recommendations for harnessing the healing effects of language include increasing tangible support to language programs, delivering linguistically tailored health care, and advancing knowledge through community-engaged research and education.