Western science introduced the term “One Health” to tackle issues associated with siloed scientific endeavours and extractive economic systems. However, Indigenous Peoples and many local communities have understood for thousands of years that human, animal and environmental health is inseparable from ecosystem health. To date, there have been few One Health initiatives that recognise, respect and work with Indigenous people to incorporate Indigenous knowledge systems (Mumford et al., Reference Mumford, Martinez, Tyance-Hassell, Cook, Hansen, Labonté, Mazet, Mumford, Rizzo, Togami, Vreedzaam and Parrish-Sprowl2023; Pollowitz et al., Reference Pollowitz, Allick, Campbell, Kamakahiolani Ellison, Perez-Aguilar, Vera, Ramirez, Nadal and Meisner2024). Additionally, operationalising One Health is proving challenging in many settings. Part of the problem is the Western approach of using English terms in non-English speaking settings and ignoring Indigenous knowledge systems. To achieve equitable and sustainable development, One Health must better understand, respect and, in collaboration with Indigenous communities, incorporate Indigenous perspectives, knowledges and practices.
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Competing interests
The authors declare none.
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