Perspective on Health
Traditional roots
First Nations and Inuit traditional view of human and societal health and well being is rooted in their spiritual and philosophical belief in Balance. This traditional perspective has always held that optimum well-being can best be achieved through an equilibrium in all dimensions of a human being's life - psychological, mental, physical and spiritual. Within that perspective, balance in the dimensions of an individual's life is mirrored by and interconnected with, the equilibrium in the dimensions of social life - the physical, economic, social and political environment. In this traditional Aboriginal model, disease is not the cause of imbalance, but the result of it. Restoring equilibrium in the dimensions of life at individual and societal level is therefore the logic and positive means to achieve well-being and health.
The Population Health Model promoted and being implemented by Health Canada, rather than being a truly new approach, reflects a return to spiritual and philosophical themes that are central to Aboriginal traditions and practices in North America. It signals a greater focus on prevention and intervention strategies that recognize and affirm the need to address the several spheres of human activities charted by the Medicine Wheel.
This approach recognizes that health is a capacity or resource rather than a state, a definition which corresponds more to the notion of being able to pursue one's goals, to acquire skills and education, and to grow. This broader notion of health recognizes the range of social, economic and physical environmental factors that contribute to health.
The main principle underlying this model is that Aboriginal people, families, communities and Nations who, by tradition held this holistic view of health are best able to restore the balance that will lead them back to health. NNAPF approach is therefore rooted in the participation of First Nations and Inuit communities and organizations in their own journey of freedom from addictions and return to health.
