Rethinking Resilience from Indigenous Perspectives
Abstract
The notions of resilience that have emerged in developmental psychology and psychiatry in recent years require systematic rethinking to address the distinctive cultures, geographic and social settings, and histories of adversity of indigenous peoples. In Canada, the overriding social realities of indigenous peoples include their historical rootedness to a specific place (with traditional lands, communities, and transactions with the environment) and the profound displacements caused by colonization and subsequent loss of autonomy, political oppression, and bureaucratic control. We report observations from an ongoing collaborative project on resilience in Inuit, Métis, Mi'kmaq, and Mohawk communities that suggests the value of incorporating indigenous constructs in resilience research. These constructs are expressed through specific stories and metaphors grounded in local culture and language; however, they can be framed more generally in terms of processes that include: regulating emotion and supporting adaptation through relational, ecocentric, and cosmocentric concepts of self and personhood; revisioning collective history in ways that valorize collective identity; revitalizing language and culture as resources for narrative self-fashioning, social positioning, and healing; and renewing individual and collective agency through political activism, empowerment, and reconciliation. Each of these sources of resilience can be understood in dynamic terms as emerging from interact…
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Emotion regulation, valuing ethnic identity, empowerment, and activism also promote mental health in AIAN populations.
“Emotion regulation, valuing ethnic identity, empowerment, and activism also promote mental health in this population [76].”
From Substance and Behavioral Addictions among American Indian and Alaska Native Populations (2022) · cites this paper as [76]
Focusing on positive aspects of people's own lives, and their community and culture promote well-being among Native populations.
“Additionally, focusing on positive aspects of people’s own lives, and their community and culture promote well-being among Native populations [76].”
From Substance and Behavioral Addictions among American Indian and Alaska Native Populations (2022) · cites this paper as [76]
Cites
Indigenous health part 1: Determinants and disease patterns
Gracey, M., & King, M. (2009) · The Lancet · doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(09)60914-4 · Cited by 1,303 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Global perspectives on resilience in children and youth
Masten, A. S. (2014) · Child Development · doi:10.1111/cdev.12205 · Cited by 1,710 · see citing works
Resilience and mental health: how multisystemic processes contribute to positive outcomes
Ungar, M., & Theron, L. (2020) · The Lancet Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/s2215-0366(19)30434-1 · Cited by 986 · see citing works
Kirmayer, L. J., Gone, J. P., & Moses, J. (2014) · Transcultural Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/1363461514536358 · Cited by 652 · see citing works
Self-citationCultural Diversity and Mental Health: Considerations for Policy and Practice
Gopalkrishnan, N. (2018) · Frontiers in Public Health · doi:10.3389/fpubh.2018.00179 · Cited by 518 · see citing works
Residential schools and the effects on Indigenous health and well-being in Canada—a scoping review
Wilk, P., Maltby, A., & Cooke, M. (2017) · Public Health Reviews · doi:10.1186/s40985-017-0055-6 · Cited by 293 · see citing works
“These attempts of forced assimilation have failed, in part due to the resilience and resistance of many Indigenous communities [12].”
BackgroundClimate change and mental health: an exploratory case study from Rigolet, Nunatsiavut, Canada
Cunsolo Willox, A., Harper, S. L., Ford, J. D., Edge, V. L., Landman, K., Houle, K., Blake, S., & Wolfrey, C. (2013) · Climatic Change · doi:10.1007/s10584-013-0875-4 · Cited by 253 · see citing works
Indigenous mental health in a changing climate: A systematic scoping review of the global literature
Middleton, J., Cunsolo, A., Jones-Bitton, A., Wright, C. J., & Harper, S. L. (2020) · Environmental Research Letters · doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ab68a9 · Cited by 212 · see citing works
Petrasek MacDonald, J., Cunsolo Willox, A., Ford, J. D., Shiwak, I., & Wood, M. (2015) · Social Science & Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.socscimed.2015.07.017 · Cited by 177 · see citing works
Examining relationships between climate change and mental health in the Circumpolar North
Cunsolo Willox, A., Stephenson, E., Allen, J., Bourque, F., Drossos, A., Elgarøy, S., Kral, M. J., Mauro, I., Moses, J., Pearce, T., et al. (2015) · Regional Environmental Change · doi:10.1007/s10113-014-0630-z · Cited by 176 · see citing works
Dickerson, D., Baldwin, J. A., Belcourt, A., Belone, L., Gittelsohn, J., Keawe’aimoku Kaholokula, J., Lowe, J., Patten, C. A., & Wallerstein, N. (2020) · Prevention Science · doi:10.1007/s11121-018-0926-1 · Cited by 151 · see citing works
MacDonald, C., & Steenbeek, A. (2015) · International Journal of Regional and Local History · doi:10.1179/2051453015z.00000000023 · Cited by 105 · see citing works
Varied Patterns of Family Resilience in Challenging Contexts
Ungar, M. (2016) · Journal of Marital and Family Therapy · doi:10.1111/jmft.12124 · Cited by 102 · see citing works
Allen, J., Wexler, L., & Rasmus, S. (2022) · Prevention Science · doi:10.1007/s11121-021-01265-0 · Cited by 93 · see citing works
Mapping Resilience Pathways of Indigenous Youth in Five Circumpolar Communities
Allen, J., Hopper, K., Wexler, L., Kral, M., Rasmus, S., & Nystad, K. (2014) · Transcultural Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/1363461513497232 · Cited by 89 · see citing works
The determinants of planetary health
Redvers, N. (2021) · The Lancet Planetary Health · doi:10.1016/s2542-5196(21)00008-5 · Cited by 65 · see citing works
Delormier, T., Horn‐Miller, K., McComber, A. M., & Marquis, K. (2017) · Maternal & Child Nutrition · doi:10.1111/mcn.12556 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
Substance and Behavioral Addictions among American Indian and Alaska Native Populations
Soto, C., West, A. E., Ramos, G. G., & Unger, J. B. (2022) · International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health · doi:10.3390/ijerph19052974 · Cited by 49 · see citing works
“Emotion regulation, valuing ethnic identity, empowerment, and activism also promote mental health in this population [76].”
BackgroundBuilding Healthy Community Relationships Through Food Security and Food Sovereignty
Delormier, T., & Marquis, K. (2019) · Current Developments in Nutrition · doi:10.1093/cdn/nzy088 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Mental health issues among indigenous communities and the role of traditional medicine
Cianconi, P., Lesmana, C. B. J., Ventriglio, A., & Janiri, L. (2019) · International Journal of Social Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/0020764019840060 · Cited by 37 · see citing works
A Meta-Study of Qualitative Research Examining Sport and Recreation Experiences of Indigenous Youth
McHugh, T.-L. F., Deal, C. J., Blye, C.-J., Dimler, A. J., Halpenny, E. A., Sivak, A., & Holt, N. L. (2019) · Qualitative Health Research · doi:10.1177/1049732318759668 · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Chahar Mahali, S., Beshai, S., & Wolfe, W. L. (2021) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2020.1711764 · Cited by 30 · see citing works
Fraser, S. L., Hordyk, S., Etok, N., & Weetaltuk, C. (2019) · American Journal of Community Psychology · doi:10.1002/ajcp.12384 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Understanding Positive Youth Development in Sport Through the Voices of Indigenous Youth
Strachan, L., McHugh, T.-L., & Mason, C. (2018) · Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology · doi:10.1123/jsep.2018-0035 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Changes in mindfulness following repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for mood disorders.
Leong, K., Chan, P., Grabovac, A., Wilkins-Ho, M., & Perri, M. (2013) · The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry · doi:10.1177/070674371305801206 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Carrier, L., Shin, H. D., Rothfus, M. A., & Curran, J. A. (2022) · BMJ Open · doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-049285 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Rashid, M. F., Leggett, R., Grzybowska, A., Gentry, B., & Linder, E. (2025) · Cureus · doi:10.7759/cureus.80779 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
- Authors
- Kirmayer, L. J., Dandeneau, S., Marshall, E., Phillips, M. K., & Williamson, K. J.
- Affiliations
- Jewish General Hospital (CA)
- Université du Québec à Montréal (CA)
- Director of the Treaty Beneficiary Association, Eskasoni, Nova Scotia; Community Researcher, Roots of Resilience Project, Eskasoni, Nova Scotia
- University of Saskatchewan (CA)
- Corresponding author
- Kirmayer, Laurence J
- Venue
- The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2011-02
- Volume
- 56
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 84-91
- ISSN
- 0706-7437 (ISSN-L)
- 1497-0015
- OpenAlex
- W59443648
- Cited by
- 774
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 91 · 2025: 73 · 2024: 50 · 2023: 48 · 2022: 54 · 2021: 78 · 2020: 83 · 2019: 69 · 2018: 35 · 2017: 38 · 2016: 42 · 2015: 33 · 2014: 38 · 2013: 23 · 2012: 13
- FWCI
- 4.58
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- The Canadian Journal of Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Health Canada
- Canadian Institutes of Health Research (77837)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Health › Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Resilience and Mental Health
- Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Racial and Ethnic Identity Research
- Keywords
- resilience, indigenous peoples, Indigenous perspectives, Inuit, Métis, Mi'kmaq, Mohawk, colonization, displacement, emotion regulation, personhood, collective identity, language revitalization, cultural revitalization, healing, political activism, reconciliation, social-ecological resilience, mental health promotion, Indigenous mental health
- MeSH terms
- Canada, Culture, Inuit, Humans, Indians, North American, Mental Health, Resilience, Psychological
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
