How Indigenous stewardship can help protect the planet and our health

Press Release

April 22, 2026

More than a million sandbags are needed to protect the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba from flooding this month – again.

Forced from farmland to a flood zone in the early 1900s, the community has been evacuated multiple times. And climate change has increased the frequency, duration and severity of floods like these, as well as wildfires and other extreme weather that disproportionately impacts Indigenous communities across the country. The devastation extends not only to homes and livelihoods, but to ecosystems that are critical to, and inseparable from, the health and well-being of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples.

To raise awareness of these risks, Dr. Ojistoh Horn, a member of the Canadian Medical Association’s (CMA) Indigenous Guiding Circle, president of the Indigenous Physicians Association of Canada and board member with the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, presented a workshop in April at the WONCA World Rural Health Conference in Wellington, New Zealand. There, she talked about the impact of climate change on the health of her Mohawk community in Akwesasne, Quebec, and the need to protect and steward the land for future generations.

“The health of our mother, the Earth, is related to the health of every part of Creation. We must expand our approach to bringing the planet back into balance,” she told the audience.

Meaningful collaboration with Indigenous communities, whose leadership can guide decisions and actions to protect and conserve the environment, is essential to that balance.

The federal government recently announced a new plan to protect 30% of Canada’s lands and waters by 2030, grounded in the expertise and leadership of First Nations, Inuit and Métis Peoples, who have “stewarded the lands, waters and ice across Canada since time immemorial.”

Some of Canada’s largest conservation gains so far have come from Indigenous-led partnerships, including Edéhzhíe Dehcho Protected Area and National Wildlife Area in the Northwest Territories, a boreal forest and wetland area more than twice the size of Banff National Park.

The CMA is calling for similar engagement between the federal government and Indigenous communities when designing a more sustainable, climate-resilient health system. In addition to financial investments in health infrastructure, the government must ensure Indigenous communities are included in emergency preparedness planning and have the resources and autonomy to respond to crises, including through training local Indigenous health workers and emergency response teams.

Recognizing the inherent right of First Nations to self-government, including jurisdiction over water, is also crucial for cultural preservation and the protection of ancestral lands. Access to clean, safe drinking water is a fundamental right and a foundational determinant of health, yet First Nations communities experience water-borne diseases at rates 26 times higher than the general population.

On Apr. 20, CMA President Dr. Margot Burnell was on Parliament Hill to advance Indigenous-led solutions to these inequities, including ongoing support for the passage of a First Nations Clean Water Act that would ensure clean, safe drinking water and effective wastewater systems on First Nation lands, managed by First Nations.

Strengthening the role of Indigenous Peoples as leaders and traditional stewards of the land, respecting and learning from their expertise and knowledge systems, can lead to better health outcomes for the planet and the population.

IHT5