New 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 rigor 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 well being 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.
“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.”
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 healthcare 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 (https://heiltsuk.arts.ubc.ca) 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 well-being.
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, multiyear 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.”
Karleen Delaurier-Lyle
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.” Featured researchers include Karleen Delaurier-Lyle (MLIS ’18), information services librarian, X̱wi7x̱wa Library, UBC; Julia Schillo, PhD student, Department of Linguistics, UBC; and Mark Turin, associate professor, Department of Anthropology and Institute for Critical Indigenous Studies, UBC. Review available at www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949903825000028.