Nurturing roots: a scoping review on Indigenous acts of resistance through Land-based healing practices

Indigenous Communities worldwide stress the vital role of Land in their health and identity. Colonisation has intentionally disrupted this connection; however, Indigenous Communities are reclaiming and reviving their cultures by resisting colonial influences and enacting Indigenous methodologies and pedagogies. This scoping review aimed to understand the ways in which Land-based healing is conducted and understood globally by Indigenous Communities. Two reviewers searched five databases to identify records eligible for inclusion. Principles of content analysis were used to synthesise patterns across the data. The systematic search located 9,018 unique articles, of which 27 fully satisfied the inclusion criteria. Findings represented 13 Indigenous Communities across four countries. The included articles collectively applied a set of seven shared principles in their practice. Based on the evidence discussed in this review, combined with the wealth of global Indigenous Knowledges the significance of Land-based healing for the well-being of Indigenous Peoples is indisputable.