Indigenous mental health in a changing climate: a systematic scoping review of the global literature

This systematic scoping review examines the global literature on how Indigenous Peoples experience climate-sensitive mental health impacts, and how these experiences vary across socio-cultural contexts, geographic locations and patterns of climate change. Despite Indigenous Peoples being among those most acutely affected by climate change, the authors find that this population has been comparatively understudied in existing mental health and climate change research. The review synthesises empirical studies published since 2007, examining how meteorological, seasonal and climatic changes intersect with Indigenous mental health and wellbeing across different global regions. The authors argue that findings from this body of work can support Indigenous-led initiatives and decision-making processes aimed at enhancing mental wellness in the context of a changing climate, and call for research and policy responses that centre Indigenous knowledge systems and self-determination rather than externally imposed frameworks.