ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on Indigenous populations, and taking its departure from the Social Determinants of Health (SDoH), and reviews important threats to health and well-being in the northern circumpolar world. Health and well-being in the circumpolar regions is, as elsewhere, closely tied to the SDoH. Proximal determinants are those that are seen as directly affecting physical, mental and spiritual health including: health behaviour such as alcohol consumption, smoking and physical activity. In physical environments such as availability; affordability; quality of housing and transportation; levels of education; employment; income or socioeconomic status; food insecurity and "the impact of widespread and devastating land degradation and climate change". While food insecurity is strongly connected to low income and high food prices, it is also related to Indigenous peoples' higher reliance on traditional food sources. For Indigenous peoples, educational success is connected to culturally and linguistically appropriate education.
