Indigenous Language Knowledge is Linked to a Sense of Belonging and Well-Being Among Indigenous Postsecondary Students

This work is a summary of a full-length research article done in collaboration with Jaiden Herkimer and completed for Indpsire, an Indigenous non-profit working to support Indigenous students across Canada. You can find the full-length article on Indspire’s website: [LINK]

Research Tools Used for This Project: literature review, environmental scan, survey data, archival data, Statistics Canada PUMFs, R (programming language), structural equation modeling, multiple groups analysis, data visualization

A sense of group belonging is an important aspect of personal identity. It fosters feelings of support and is linked to improved mental health. For Indigenous people, this sense of belonging may refer to being part of a specific or broader Indigenous community, as well as other groups to which they are connected.

For Indigenous post-secondary students, for example, maintaining a sense of belonging to both their school, and to their Indigenous community, may be important for mental health. However, pursuing higher education often requires Indigenous students to leave their communities, which may weaken their connection to their culture and sense of belonging. This challenge is compounded by the historical use of education systems, such as residential schools, to separate Indigenous peoples from their culture, language, family, and community. Additionally, attending a Western institution that conflicts with Indigenous ways of knowing can create cultural tensions for Indigenous students which may affect their sense of cultural belonging.

Tapping into cultural activities or resources may help combat these challenges and allow Indigenous post-secondary students to maintain their sense of cultural belonging while in school, and in turn, support better mental health. One such resource is Indigenous language, which is a crucial aspect of Indigenous cultural connection.

This project aimed to determine whether Indigenous post-secondary students who know an Indigenous language experience a stronger sense of belonging than those who do not and whether, in turn, this predicts better self-reported mental health. This work also explored whether the relationships between language knowledge, sense of belonging, and mental health differ between students and non-students.

Language Knowledge Predicts a Greater Sense of Belonging, Especially for Students

Analysis of survey data from 1,344 Indigenous students and 3,668 Indigenous non-students showed that for both students and non-students, knowledge of an Indigenous language was linked to a greater sense of belonging. However, this relationship was stronger for students than for non-students.

Sense of Belonging Predicts Better Mental Health, Especially for Students

For both groups, a greater sense of belonging was associated with better mental health. However, this relationship was stronger for Indigenous students than for Indigenous non-students.

What it Means

These findings highlight the importance of language knowledge, particularly for Indigenous students, who may feel a stronger sense of disconnection from their Indigenous identity when pursuing post-secondary education within a Western colonial system. This work also points to potential benefits of language revitalization efforts and the inclusion of Indigenous language courses on post-secondary campuses. Such initiatives may help students feel more connected to their culture and, in turn, experience better mental health while attending school.

Further Reading:

Herkimer, J., & Earle., M. (2023). The importance of Indigenous languages: An investigation of sense of belonging and mental health among students and non-students. Indspire. Link: https://indspire.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/The-Importance-of-Indigenous-Languages-An-Investigation-of-Sense-of-Belonging-and-Mental-Health-Among-Students-and-Non-Students-FINAL.pdf

Fong, C. J., Owens, S. L., Segovia, J., Hoff, A. A., & Alejandro, A. J. (2021). Indigenous

cultural development and academic achievement of Tribal Community College students:

Mediating roles of sense of belonging and support for student success.

Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. LINK: https://doi.org/10.1037/dhe0000370

Lavallee, L. F., & Poole, J. M. (2010). Beyond recovery: Colonization, health and healing for

Indigenous people in Canada. International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction, 8(2),

271-281. LINK: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11469-009-9239-8

McIvor, O. (2020). Indigenous language revitalization and applied linguistics: Parallel

histories, shared futures? Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 40, 78-96. LINK:

https://doi.org/10.1017/S0267190520000094

Purdie, N., Tripcony, P., Boulton-Lewis, G., Fanshawe, J., & Gunstone, A. (2000). Positive self-identity for Indigenous students and its relationship to school outcomes. Department of Education Training and Youth Affairs. LINK: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/254580491_Positive_self-identity_for_indigenous_students_and_its_relationship_to_school_outcomes

Sterzuk, A., & Fayant, R. (2016). Towards reconciliation through language planning for

Indigenous languages in Canadian universities. Current Issues in Language Planning, 17(3-4), 332-350. Retrieved from: https://doi.org/10.1080/14664208.2016.1201239

Tachine, A. R., Cabrera, N. L., & Bird, E. Y. (2017). Home away from home: Native American

students’ sense of belonging during their first year in college. The Journal of Higher Education, 88(5), 785-807. LINK: https://doi.org/10.1080/00221546.2016.1257322

Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. (2015, June). Truth and reconciliation

commission of Canada: Calls to action. LINK: https://nctr.ca/about/history-of-the-trc/trc-website/