The determinants of planetary health: an Indigenous consensus perspective.

Indigenous Peoples have resiliently weathered continued assaults on their sovereignty and rights throughout colonialism and its continuing effects. Indigenous Peoples' sovereignty has been strained by the increasing effects of global environmental change within their territories, including climate change and pollution, and by threats and impositions against their land and water rights. This continuing strain against sovereignty has prompted a call to action to conceptualise the determinants of planetary health from a perspective that embodied Indigenous-specific methods of knowledge gathering from around the globe. A group of Indigenous scholars, practitioners, land and water defenders, respected Elders, and knowledge-holders came together to define the determinants of planetary health from an Indigenous perspective. Three overarching levels of interconnected determinants, in addition to ten individual-level determinants, were identified as being integral to the health and sustainability of the planet, Mother Earth.

Indigenous perspectives on education for sustainable healthcare.

A range of global environmental changes are contributing to an increasing global burden of disease. Since human health and well-being are intimately associated with the health of our planet, healthcare providers will not only be charged with caring for this expanding disease burden but will also need to become more environmentally sustainable in their professional practice. There is thus an urgent need in the health professions education community to prioritize environmentally sustainable healthcare practice, which must include and prioritize Indigenous voices and Indigenous knowledge systems. Critical global dialogue on the significance of Indigenous knowledge systems in educating health professionals for a sustainable future will be required if we are ready to ensure the generations that follow us are able to live healthy lives. Indigenous ways of 'being' in the world, which emphasize the importance of interconnection and reciprocal stewardship with everything in the natural world, are essential for advancing education for sustainable healthcare and overall well-being. Given the colonial legacy however, Indigenous people, despite their essential knowledge systems and abilities, still face many barriers accessing safe decolonizing spaces and presence in health professions education, which needs to be addressed.