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Dis-placement and Dis-ease: Land, Place, and Health Among American Indians and Alaska Natives

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Communities, Neighborhoods, and Health

Part of the book series: Social Disparities in Health and Health Care ((SDHHC,volume 1))

Abstract

The major aim of this chapter is to stimulate scholarship in the area of place and health, specifically examining how American Indian and Alaska Natives’ (AIAN) health outcomes can be understood in light of historical trauma losses and disruptions tied to place or land. Although classic social determinants of health, such as poor socioeconomic status, substandard housing, and poor access to appropriate health care all contribute to poor health among AIAN, these factors do not sufficiently explain the high rates of poor health. As a result, indigenous scholars have turned their attention to examining how historical and societal determinants of health, particularly the role of historically traumatic events related to land-based events (e.g., forced relocation and land loss), land-based environmental microaggressions (discrimination distress related to land-based destruction), and disproportionate exposures to high rates of contemporary trauma are health hazards for the present and descendant AIAN generations. After reviewing the literature on indigenous place and health, this chapter shares empirical findings related to land and place loss on physical and mental health outcomes among a national sample of 447 gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender AIAN. Findings indicate that after controlling for contemporary lifetime trauma, historical trauma related to land loss, dis-placement, and neglect had a significant effect on physical and mental health.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Original Instructions is a lingua franca term used by some Native scholars and community leaders to represent the tribal-specific spiritual and ethical codes of conduct and instructions handed down for millennia as to how the people should conduct themselves, honor their relationships, and fulfill their responsibilities and obligations to all of creation, ancestors, future generations, and spirit worlds.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Washington, 4101 15th Avenue, NE, Seattle, WA, 98105-6299, USA

    Karina L. Walters

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  1. Karina L. Walters
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  2. Ramona Beltran
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  3. David Huh
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  4. Teresa Evans-Campbell
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Correspondence to Karina L. Walters .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept. Sociology, Duke University, Durham, 27708-0097, North Carolina, USA

    Linda M. Burton

  2. Dept. Anthropology, Penn State University, Carpenter Bldg. 409, University Park, 16802, Pennsylvania, USA

    Stephen A. Matthews

  3. , Department of Sociology, University of Washington, 211 Savery Hall, Seattle, 98195-3340, USA

    ManChui Leung

  4. Dept. Sociology, University of Washington, Raitt Hall 206A, Seattle, 98195-4322, Washington, USA

    Susan P. Kemp

  5. Dept. Sociology, University of Washington, Raitt Hall 206A, Seattle, 98195-4322, Washington, USA

    David T. Takeuchi

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Walters, K.L., Beltran, R., Huh, D., Evans-Campbell, T. (2011). Dis-placement and Dis-ease: Land, Place, and Health Among American Indians and Alaska Natives. In: Burton, L., Matthews, S., Leung, M., Kemp, S., Takeuchi, D. (eds) Communities, Neighborhoods, and Health. Social Disparities in Health and Health Care, vol 1. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-7482-2_10

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