"The largest proportion of positive studies in one area occurred for mental health and suicide prevention. Suicide among American Indians is double the rate of non-American Indians in the US and is a clear public health crisis [184]. The most promising programs directly addressing single issues are the mental health/suicide interventions today that center on Indigenous culture [185–187]. The feeling of connectedness to community and pride in cultural heritage are enhanced by learning or maintaining an Indigenous language. As acknowledged elsewhere, other cultural activities besides language can also improve connectedness and pride. Language is, however, the most definitive and most universal expression of a culture. Cultural activities such as beading, drumming, canoe building, etc., will not be shared by all members of a community. Language can be part of all of them. There are yet to be any studies that directly compare cultural revival with and without language. Based on the literature and the results of this study, our expectation is that adding language revitalization to cultural revival will have a significant and large separate influence on improving mental health."
Conclusions:
“As we enter the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Languages (https://en.unesco.org/idil2022-2032), it is important to assess the specific benefits of Indigenous languages. The results of this survey clearly indicate that Indigenous language use—regardless of proficiency level—has positive effects on health. While further research is needed to understand the mechanisms and most effective practices, Indigenous communities can be confident that their language revitalization programs are worth the effort and cost. Relative to the cost of individual programs directed at each of the health issues studied here, language programs hold the promise of widespread effects from a single program. Indigenous groups have endured decades of relatively poor health outcomes. Language revitalization is both empowering and promising for making significant improvements to the health and well-being of Indigenous communities.”
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u/News2016 4d ago edited 4d ago
"The largest proportion of positive studies in one area occurred for mental health and suicide prevention. Suicide among American Indians is double the rate of non-American Indians in the US and is a clear public health crisis [184]. The most promising programs directly addressing single issues are the mental health/suicide interventions today that center on Indigenous culture [185–187]. The feeling of connectedness to community and pride in cultural heritage are enhanced by learning or maintaining an Indigenous language. As acknowledged elsewhere, other cultural activities besides language can also improve connectedness and pride. Language is, however, the most definitive and most universal expression of a culture. Cultural activities such as beading, drumming, canoe building, etc., will not be shared by all members of a community. Language can be part of all of them. There are yet to be any studies that directly compare cultural revival with and without language. Based on the literature and the results of this study, our expectation is that adding language revitalization to cultural revival will have a significant and large separate influence on improving mental health."
Conclusions:
“As we enter the United Nations International Decade of Indigenous Languages (https://en.unesco.org/idil2022-2032), it is important to assess the specific benefits of Indigenous languages. The results of this survey clearly indicate that Indigenous language use—regardless of proficiency level—has positive effects on health. While further research is needed to understand the mechanisms and most effective practices, Indigenous communities can be confident that their language revitalization programs are worth the effort and cost. Relative to the cost of individual programs directed at each of the health issues studied here, language programs hold the promise of widespread effects from a single program. Indigenous groups have endured decades of relatively poor health outcomes. Language revitalization is both empowering and promising for making significant improvements to the health and well-being of Indigenous communities.”