Indigenous Language and Health: A Health 111 Report Analysis

This report examines the critical role of Indigenous language revitalization in preserving cultural heritage and promoting community health. It begins with a summary of the Medicine Wheel concept and its significance, then discusses the historical context of oppression and language loss faced by Indigenous communities. The report highlights the importance of revitalizing Indigenous languages to maintain cultural knowledge, traditions, and health practices. It explores the negative impacts of language loss, including the erosion of cultural identity and health disparities. The report also emphasizes the importance of understanding the challenges faced by Indigenous communities, the value of revitalizing their languages, and the need for educational and cultural preservation efforts. It concludes with a reflection on the acquired knowledge and the significance of learning about Indigenous cultures. The report also references relevant literature to support its arguments, emphasizing the importance of preserving Indigenous languages and cultures for future generations.

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Chapter 1- Brief Summary
According to Lane Jr, Brown, Bopp and Bopp (2012), the Indigenous people of South and
North America often use the ancient symbol of Medicine wheel. The concept is described is
varying ways and the wheel helps the community to identify and understand things which is
difficult to comprehend as these are ideas and not physical substances. These concepts are
mainly expressed in sets of four such as: the four directions; four races; four elements; four
aspects of human nature; four identifies; and Scared tree and its four values.
As according to NFB (2015), the native American people had to go through a lot of biasness
and general persecution. They have their own norms and traditions which have been passed
on orally with very less written as a record. They have always been looked down and from
being stripped off from their homelands they have been subjected to forceful assimilation. As
opined by Hermes, Bang and Marin (2012), the community had lost their native language and
culture which can be subjected to losing of their culture and human rights in this world.
Making the culture visible to the world and acquiring a position in the society will assist them
to preserves the tradition as well as readdress invisibility.
Coronel-Molina and McCarty (2016), states different articles presented by United Nations
Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous people. It discusses various steps and approaches
that was taken to revitalize the linguistics and culture of the community. Making it essential
in school learning and introducing programmes inside and outside the schools helps in
promoting the language.
Chapter 2- Points of Agreements
The Indigenous peoples have never been given the opportunity to represent themselves, and
share the stories and the problems they have been facing with the mainstream world. Instead
of representing themselves, these people have factually been signified and characterized to

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the western world as an outsider. Outcasts like the ethnographers, anthropologists as well as
people who have often emerged from these groups and communal viewpoint have
significantly benefitted from the subjugation and tyranny of the indigenous peoples. This has
resulted in releasing of ethnographic biographies which is in their try to discover another
culture, ends up misinterpreting and sometimes even manipulating the native cultures.
Therefore, this has a tendency to continue the conventional description of the indigenous
inferiority.
Therefore, I believe that it is important for people to learn about the traditions of the
indigenous community at school level, so that there is no loss in the values and cultural
heritage of the indigenous people. Revitalizing the language will give help them to acquire
their cultural heritage and enhance traditional practices.
Chapter 3- Acquired learning
I have acquired a lot of knowledge from these studies about the belief system and language of
indigenous community. It assisted me to understand the way indigenous people identified
various physical aspects of the world. Learning about the methods of the indigenous
community and the ways they tried to comprehend about the spiritual concepts for healing
and health.
The learning helped me to evaluate plight of the indigenous language and understand the
dispossession and oppression faced by the community. The reason for their language being in
a difficult position is because of the people fear violence as it was used against them from
transmitting it to their next generation. As stated in Hermes, Bang and Marin (2012), the
wave of using English or French as a language in the general public schools as well as in
various mediums of media brought about a voluntary change for using the same language for
communication. It also was highlighted to the community that using common language will

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help them in bring in commercial and radical opportunities (Thornberry, 2013). Thus, this
resulted in discarding their culture and language as well as not passing the values and ethos of
their community to its coming generation.
Chapter 4- Importance of the learning
It is essential to learn about the history and tradition of the Indigenous community and
identify the loss of culture of it in the knowledge system. Revitalization of the language and
giving recognition to the submerged community will help understand the tradition and ethos.
This will help to identify the fundamental reasons for the submergence of Indigenous people
and their health. It can also be attributed to communal and economic omission,
unemployment, extinction of the culture and linguistics, as well as lack in adequate education
and information about the community (Andersen, 2012).

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References
Andersen, M. E. (2012). Peoples of the Earth: Ethnonationalism, Democracy, and the
Indigenous Challenge in'Latin'America. Lexington Books.
Coronel-Molina, S. M., & McCarty, T. L. (Eds.). (2016). Indigenous language revitalization
in the Americas. Abingdon; Routledge.
Hermes, M., Bang, M., & Marin, A. (2012). Designing Indigenous language
revitalization. Harvard Educational Review, 82(3), 381-402.
Lane Jr., P., Brown, L., Bopp, J., & Bopp, M. (2012). The Sacred Tree (4 th ed.). Twin
Lakes, WI: Lotus Press.
NFB, (2015). Kanehsatake: 270 Years of Resistance. Retrieved from:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mhvx51s_ZV8
Thornberry, P. (2013). Indigenous peoples and human rights. Manchester University Press.