Wellbeing, Connection to the Land, and Cultural Sustainability: Indigenous Voices from Canada and Australia

Globally, Indigenous conceptualizations of wellbeing have been described as collectivist, multidimensional, and holistic, with Indigenous homelands being of paramount importance, weaving everything together. Although Canada and Australia were both colonies of the British, their colonial histories with respect to Indigenous peoples and their homelands were markedly different. In Canada, Indigenous land rights were recognized, and treaties were signed; while in Australia, the land was considered terra nullius; thus, there were no treaties. Herein, we explored whether differing treaty contexts have impacted connection to the land, wellbeing, and the sustainability of Indigenous cultures—using semi-directed interviews (including yarning circles) with Cree Elders from Canada, and Widjabul (and Jirrbal) Elders and leaders from Australia. There was near unanimity in responses for the Cree, Widjabul, and Jirrbal that being on the land was important for cultural wellbeing, even though they live in diverse biophysical and socio-political environments—perhaps due to similar worldviews. Furthermore, being on the land was described as important to the Cree, Widjabul, and Jirrbal for sustenance, connection and spirituality, self-discovery and identity, and the transmission of Indigenous knowledge. By contrast, the responses to whether cultural wellbeing currently exists were varied. Specifically, all the Cree Elders answered ‘yes’—while some of the Widjabul and Jirrbal responded ‘yes,’ and others ‘no,’ and several of the Jirrbal ‘did not know.’ Notably, almost all Widjabul and Jirrbal believe that being on the land contributes to cultural wellbeing. However, it appears that the absence of treaties has impacted the situation in Australia whereby there were numerous barriers to being on the land even with Native title, such as, physical barriers (i.e., fences and/or private property), and government policies (i.e., government parks). Lastly, it appears that differing treaty contexts in Canada and Australia have influenced connection to the land and the sustainability of cultural wellbeing, but not the belief that being on the land contributes to cultural wellbeing.