Decolonizing Planetary Health Through the Lens of Indigenous Youth

This film festival presents seven new planetary health films created by Indigenous youth. The films are being presented as part of a SSHRC-funded partnership between the Bagida’waad Alliance and York University’s Dahdaleh Institute of Global Health Research and Young Lives Research Lab (Faculty of Education).

These films showcase the stories and experiences of Indigenous youth from the Saugeen Ojibway Nation as they work towards social and ecological justice and well-being. The concept of planetary health calls for urgent attention to the human health costs of environmental degradation and invites deeper reflections on the reciprocal relationship between human and environmental well-being. In order for planetary health to be effective, it needs to address the colonialism and coloniality at the heart of global health inequities, environmental degradation, and environmental injustice. The consequences of environmental degradation, dispossession from traditional lands, and disconnection from cultural practices have disproportionately impacted Indigenous youth and their communities, resulting in significant health disparities.

Indigenous youth across Turtle Island are on the front lines of climate action, land and water protection, and efforts to revitalize Indigenous cultures and ways of being. Collectively, these seven films highlight the experiences of Indigenous youth on the social and ecological destructiveness of colonialism, the healing power of the land and water, and the promise of revitalizing Indigenous ways of being to promote planetary health and well-being for future generations.