This project is a qualitative study of a land-based intervention used in an Indigenous community in northern Ontario. As previous research suggests, a sense of connection to the land is an integral part of Indigenous well-being, and mental health interventions centered around this connection may be more appropriate for use in Indigenous communities than Western treatment approaches that typically emphasize individuality. The present study gains further insight into how a land-based intervention can be applied to an Indigenous community. Interviews with three community members were conducted and summarized in order to understand their views on the background, components, advantages, and challenges of the program. Results showed a focus on strengthening cultural identity, facilitating intergenerational knowledge transfer, and building relationships with others, similar to other land-based programs across Canada. The importance of reconnecting Indigenous youth with their cultural heritage and developing community-centered programs are discussed.The goal of the present study was to contribute to a deeper understanding of a land-based intervention within an Indigenous community in northern Ontario. A recent qualitative study by Danto and Walsh (2017) explored the comparative resilience of one James and Hudson Bay community, which despite a shared history of trauma and oppression with the other five Cree communities in this area, had been reported to have markedly lower rates of mental health services utilization and suicide. Interviews with community leaders and mental health services providers were conducted and analyzed in order to identify the features that distinguished this

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The importance of Indigenous mental health has been highlighted and affirmed by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada report (2015), the Canadian Psychological Association and The Psychology Foundation of Canada’s Task Force report responding to the TRC findings (2018), as well as numerous recent studies. Unfortunately, Indigenous Peoples in Canada continue to suffer from a lack of appropriate mental health care. Land-based interventions have been cited as one culturally appropriate approach to wellness; nevertheless, given the diversity of nature-oriented wellness programs, confusion exists over the qualities unique to and common across each program. As such, this paper will discuss the qualities of nature-oriented wellness programs currently in use by Indigenous communities (e.g. landbased interventions) with land-based approaches outside of Indigenous communities such as forest bathing, Outward Bound programs, and green or blue space research. The authors will then explore what sets Indigenous land-based interventions apart from these other wellness programs and discuss why land-based interventions hold a deeper meaning for Indigenous Peoples.

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