Climate change is one of many crises that First Nations, Inuit and Métis face

“Nuna (the Land; Inuktut) is so core to our being that we conceive ourselves to be part of the Nuna – we are part of the Nuna and the Nuna is part of us. We know that when Indigenous Peoples are disconnected from the Land and cultural practices, our mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health declines.”
– Lori Tagoona (Authors’ Scoping Meeting, February 2020)

Climate change affects Indigenous Peoples and our ways of life that have been practiced for millennia (Council of Canadian Academies, 2019; Watt-Cloutier, 2015; Nickels et al., 2005). Indigenous Peoples often characterize the disruption from climate change in terms of our ability to practice, reclaim and revitalize our ways of knowing and being (Cameron et al., 2021), while also highlighting the already existing challenges of a complete disruption brought on by colonization (Whyte, 2018). Much of the existing research related to climate change focuses on the realm of the biophysical, including direct impacts on health through injury or death, indirect impacts through changes to environmental systems that impact food, water and ice quality and availability, and changes to human systems that affect social and emotional well-being (Naylor, 2022; Marshall et al., 2020; Worden et al., 2020; Lynn et al., 2013; Tam et al., 2013; Jacob et al., 2010; Laidler et al., 2009; Guyot et al., 2006). Less is known about how complex and interconnected environmental changes also affect cultural practices, mental health and well-being (see NIR‑2; RPR‑6; Cunsolo Willox et al., 2015; Cunsolo Willox et al., 2012; Furberg et al., 2011; Berry et al., 2010). From the perspective of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, it is important to consider how emotional, physical, mental and spiritual health and well-being are interrelated and affected by environmental and climatic changes, as well as how such impacts are felt across gender, age and geography (Williams, 2018). Indigenous Peoples have been increasingly articulating the loss of this connection, largely due to climate and environmental change, through our own experiences, worldviews, sense of identity and in our languages (Lewis et al., 2021).

Despite these climate change impacts, many Indigenous Peoples remain strongly connected to the Land and continue land-based ways of life including in urban centres. The Land supports and maintains identity, socio-cultural and socio-spiritual systems, as well as physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health and well-being (Middleton et al., 2020; Petrasek MacDonald et al., 2015; Ford, 2012; Kral et al., 2011; K. Wilson, 2003; Adelson, 2000).

Indigenous worldviews hold keys to adaptation and resilience in the face of climate change. However, this also means that Indigenous Peoples experience climate change impacts in the context of our long-standing reliance and ongoing relationships with the natural environment, particularly the Waters upon which they have depended for millennia (see Case Story 3; Arsenault, 2021; N.J. Wilson, 2019; Goldhar et al., 2014). For instance, Inuit have been observing and reporting changing sea ice conditions for decades (e.g., ITK, 2019b; Fox Gearheard et al., 2013; Ford et al., 2009; Laidler et al., 2008; Laidler and Ikummaq, 2008; Laidler and Elee, 2008). The changing ice conditions (see Box 5) disrupt the environment, as sea ice change is interconnected with changes in climate, weather and ocean conditions (K. Wilson et al., 2021; N. Wilson et al., 2021). These changes affect local ecology by impacting wildlife habitat, feeding, denning and health (Menzies et al., 2022; Reid et al., 2022). As access, safety, travel ability, harvesting success and other interactions are impacted by changing ice conditions, the cultural practices and traditions centered around these activities and relationships are at risk (Simonee et al., 2021). Knowledge is a practice—there is a risk of losing Inuit culture, including knowledge and language, if using sea ice becomes restricted or lost (Robertson and Ljubicic, 2019).

The impacts of climate change on First Nations, Inuit and Métis extend beyond the Land, Water and Ice. The effect on natural and built infrastructure, for instance, is a key concern across the country. The National Inuit Climate Change Strategy identified infrastructure as one of five key priorities, recognizing the need to close the infrastructure gap in Inuit Nunangat through new climate-resilient builds, retrofits to existing builds, as well as through adaptation, assessments, building practices and codes that are Inuit-led and incorporate Inuit knowledge (ITK, 2019a). Similarly, the Assembly of First Nations National Climate Strategy has identified closing the natural and built infrastructure gap as one of seven priority areas.

Infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to climate change impacts, including temperature and precipitation changes, permafrost degradation and coastal erosion (see NIR‑2; NIR‑3; ITK, 2019a). In the Arctic, thawing permafrost can damage drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, leading to sewage contamination in groundwater, drinking water and other surface waters (see RPR‑6; IPCC, 2014, p. 726). Coastal erosion along all three of Canada’s coastlines poses another threat to infrastructure, including drinking water systems. For example, in December 2010, Lennox Island, PEI, home to the Lennox Island First Nation of the Mi’kmaw, experienced a severe storm that resulted in a 36-hour storm surge, temporarily closing the roadway to the community (see Case Story 1.8 in RPR‑1; Coldwater Consulting Ltd., 2016, as cited in Lewis and Peters, 2017) and threatening the sewage treatment plant and associated lagoons (Jardine, 2016, as cited in Lewis and Peters, 2017). The Tsleil-Waututh Nation, located on Burrard Inlet, British Columbia, is experiencing the effects of sea-level rise, coastal flooding and shoreline erosion, impacting their Lands, infrastructure, ecosystems and historical sites of cultural value (see Case Story‑2.5 in NIR‑2; Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd. (KWL) and Tsleil Waututh Nation, 2021). They have also partnered with the University of British Columbia’s Coastal Adaptation Lab under the Living with Water project to explore how Indigenous Knowledge can contribute to coastal adaptation measures (Owen, 2020).

The health concerns arising from impacts on infrastructure are serious and varied. For instance, storm sewer drainage systems often cannot keep up with the volume of storm rainfall runoff, causing sewer backups that flood basements and result in contaminants such as raw sewage into homes, introducing pathogens harmful to human health (see HCCC‑2; Horton and McKenzie, 2009, as cited in Lewis and Peters, 2017). Run-off during heavy precipitation can also carry hydrocarbons (components of gas or petroleum), including PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from diesel fuel, gasoline or oil), and heavy metals (such as lead, cadmium and mercury) from roadways into groundwater systems, which is a significant concern near populated areas (Horton and McKenzie, 2009, as cited in Lewis and Peters, 2017). Salmonella and campylobacter are common waterborne bacterial pathogens that are known to be climate sensitive (IPCC, 2014). In fact, climate factors such as heavy precipitation have increased the risk of waterborne disease events caused by pathogens (IITK and ICC, 2021; ITK 2020b; Harper et al., 2020; Thomas, et al., 2007). Climate change severely impacts water resources and security through changes in precipitation patterns, increased frequency of extreme weather events and melting of permafrost, leading to changes in the timing and volume of river runoff that also affects water quality (see RPR‑6). Addressing these issues requires a range of measures, including the development of more effective water management and governance systems, investments in drinking water and wastewater infrastructure, and increased collaboration between northern communities, governments and Indigenous Peoples in the North (see RPR‑6).

Drinking water infrastructure exemplifies the multiple and interrelated challenges that First Nations, Inuit and Métis face, which are amplified by climate change (ITK and ICC, 2021; ITK, 2020b; Castleden and Skinner, 2014). Drinking water systems in First Nations are often already in poor condition, heightening their risk of failure in the face of climate change. A national assessment of First Nations water and wastewater systems conducted in 2011 found that of the 807 water systems serving 560 First Nations, 314 (39%) were categorized as having high overall risk, 278 (34%) as having medium overall risk and only 215 (27%) as having low overall risk (Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, 2011, p  ii). In 2014, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples reported that the drinking water situation in First Nation and Inuit communities was troubling, with “more than half of the water systems posing a medium or high health risk to their users” (Anaya, 2009, p. 8). In 2015, the Government of Canada committed to ending all long-term drinking water advisories in First Nations within five years. By 2018, 40 advisories had been lifted, but 26 new advisories and 36 short-term advisories had been added (David Suzuki Foundation, 2018). The Mohawks of the Bay of Quinte, near Kingston, Ontario, for instance, have faced drinking water advisories for over a decade due to fecal, bacterial and algae contamination (Alhmidi, 2021). This community is home to approximately 2,250 residents, with an additional 8,000 registered community members living off-reserve (Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada, 2019). Neskantaga First Nation in northern Ontario has also been under a boil water advisory since 1995, the longest in any First Nation in Canada. In 2020, the First Nation evacuated community members to hotels in Thunder Bay, despite having a new water treatment plant built two years prior (Stefanovich, 2020).

Physical health impacts represent just one aspect of the multifaceted disruptions caused by climate change. There are also significant impacts on mental, emotional and spiritual health (see Case Story 4; NIR‑3; RPR‑6; HCCC‑4). Individuals living in conditions where they cannot provide access to healthy water, food and safe shelter or environment for their families are likely to experience immense stress and trauma. The on-reserve housing crisis facing First Nations is a clear example. Estimates produced by the First Nations Information Governance Centre, using data from the Assembly of First Nations’ First Nations On-Reserve Housing and Related Infrastructure Needs survey, show that there is a deficit of approximately 85,700 housing units to meet current demands. Additionally, 34% of existing units need minor repairs and 31% require major repairs (Assembly of First Nations, 2018). The situation facing Inuit is similar, where over half (51.7%) of Inuit in Inuit Nunangat live in crowded housing, compared to 8.5% of non-Indigenous Canadians (Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, 2019). In First Nations, a combination of government underfunding, rapid population growth, restrictive policies and other factors has led to various health and social issues. These include respiratory illnesses, mental health problems and an increased risk of violence (Stout, 2018). Indigenous Peoples disproportionately suffer from these conditions, which are exacerbated by climate change. This report emphasizes the broader historical and ongoing inequities and injustices resulting from settler colonialism and imposed climate policies, governance and laws, further compounding the impacts of climate change on Indigenous Peoples (Mercer, 2022; Arsenault, 2018; Collins et al., 2017).