Haíłzaqv Chiefs (from left to right) Frank Brown, Ian Reid, Gary Housty, Carrie Easterbrook and Crystal Woods at the opening of the Haíłzaqv Language Building on Nov. 8, 2024, in Bella Bella, B.C. (Photo by Sara Shneiderman)
New UBC Arts-led research shows that reviving Indigenous languages may do more than preserve culture—it may also improve public health.
In British Columbia, First Nations youth who speak their ancestral language are less likely to die by suicide. In Australia’s Northern Territory, community-led language initiatives are linked to better mental health outcomes. Across English-speaking settler-colonial countries—Canada, the United States, Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand—growing evidence supports what Indigenous communities have long asserted: language is health.
A new scoping review – a type of research that surveys and synthesizes existing studies – brings scientific rigour to this claim. Published in the open-access journal Language and Health, the review assessed over 10,000 records, narrowing down to 262 relevant academic and community sources. The research found consistent links between Indigenous language vitality and the health and wellbeing of speakers. In most cases, speaking and sustaining Indigenous languages is associated with stronger mental health, improved educational outcomes, greater social cohesion and better access to healthcare.
Julia Schillo, PhD student in Linguistics and co-author of the study
“It was very interesting to see the many different aspects of health that are positively linked with language use—not just mental health and spiritual well-being, but also physical health,” said Julia Schillo, a PhD student in the Department of Linguistics and co-author of the study.
“There are tangible actions found in the recommendations that, when leveraged, can have a huge positive impact on collective well-being,” added Karleen Delaurier-Lyle, another co-author and librarian at UBC’s X̱wi7x̱wa Library. “To me, that’s the most striking part of the study.”
Karleen Delaurier-Lyle, Librarian, X̱wi7x̱wa Library at UBC and co-author of the study.
Led by an interdisciplinary team of scholars and librarians at the University of British Columbia, with participation from the University of Toronto and the University of Sydney, the review calls for stable, long-term investment in Indigenous language programs, linguistically appropriate health care services, and community-led research. Examples of effective programs in which the co-authors are involved include adult immersion courses in Kanien’kéha (Mohawk) and digital revitalization efforts in partnership with the Heiltsuk Nation in British Columbia. These collaborative and multidisciplinary efforts do more than preserve and reclaim traditional language – they improve lives, livelihoods and wellbeing.
For generations, governments across the four countries surveyed enforced policies – such as residential schools and laws enforcing English monolingualism – designed to eradicate Indigenous languages. The consequences have been severe: cultural disruption and dislocation, ruptures in intergenerational knowledge, and measurable declines in community health. While many governments now profess a commitment to reconciliation, the authors note that support for language revitalization remains inconsistent and underfunded.
Despite some legislative progress—such as the official status of te reo Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand and Canada’s Indigenous Languages Act—funding is often ad hoc and short term. The review urges a shift: stable, multi-year funding, and the integration of language programming and revitalization into public health policy.
“There are tangible actions found in the recommendations that, when leveraged, can have a huge positive impact on collective well-being.”
Public health frameworks already recognize social determinants of health such as income, education, and housing. Language, the authors argue, deserves similar recognition. The growing emphasis on culturally safe care — and the idea of “culture as medicine” — creates fertile ground for this shift.
As the world marks the UN’s Decade of Indigenous Languages, this research reminds us that the most effective public health interventions may begin not in clinics or laboratories, but in classrooms and community halls, where the work of language reclamation is already underway.
“Language was one of many parts of our Indigenous identities that histories of genocide attempted to eradicate,” said Delaurier-Lyle. “Any support in rectifying that past for our ability to heal from that is important.”
“When I speak with community partners who work on language revitalization, they often tell me that language reclamation is a very important component of a healthy life,” added Schillo. “I’m glad this article demonstrates that there is a lot of support in the academic literature for what many community members have told me anecdotally.”
Featured researchers
Karleen Delaurier-Lyle (MLIS’18), Information Services Librarian, X̱wi7x̱wa Library, UBC
Julia Schillo, PhD Student, Department of Linguistics, UBC
Mark Turin, Department of Anthropology and Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies, UBC
