Open research questions in Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights

What the literature leaves open

• Future research should examine the interaction between indigenous and formal systems in specific national and sub-regional contexts, test the governance preconditions for effective complementarity in practice, and develop empirical methodologies capable of capturing multi-dimensional welfare contributions that conventional social protection metrics cannot measure.

  Indigenous Social Provisioning in Sub-Saharan Africa: Exploring Its Transformative Potential for Inclusive Social Policy · 2026 · DOI

• Additional evaluation is needed to examine the implementation processes and the quantitative impact of FNCC roles on the timeliness of care and adherence to optimal care pathways. As Reilly et al noted, however, the complex and varied tasks of care coordination pose a challenge to the adequate evaluation of these interventions.

  Scope and impact of a First Nations cancer coordinator role: perspectives of multidisciplinary cancer staff · 2026 · DOI

• This study offers new insights into hygiene practices and health awareness, contributing to the limited data on community knowledge gaps and the effectiveness of educational interventions. However, many communities continue to face misconceptions and gaps in knowledge.

  Impact of Health Education on Infectious Disease Knowledge in Indigenous Communities in Northwestern Malaysia · 2025 · DOI

• While general awareness levels were moderate, some significant gaps existed, particularly in the knowledge of disease spread of diseases such as tuberculosis, the importance of proper hand washing, and misconceptions regarding parasitic infections such as head lice.

  Impact of Health Education on Infectious Disease Knowledge in Indigenous Communities in Northwestern Malaysia · 2025 · DOI

• The paper identifies challenges in addressing food insecurity, including the limited growing season in northern regions and the need to preserve land as a habitat for wild game and plants. It also highlights the need to develop and implement approaches to address food security in collaboration with communities, aligning with Indigenous values and knowledge.

  “Part of Who We Are…”: A Review of the Literature Addressing the Sociocultural Role of Traditional Foods in Food Security for Indigenous People in Northern Canada · 2024 · DOI

• Many negative linguistic attitudes towards non-Russian peoples and languages in contemporary Russia can be traced back to the language and ethnic policies of the Soviet Union, which are still insufficiently studied (Alpatov 2000; Zamyatin 2022; Edygarova 2024a).

  Maintaining the Indigenous Udmurt Language beyond the Community: An Autoethnographic Analysis · 2024 · DOI

• The lack of access to safe drinking water in Indigenous communities. The negative impacts of water crises on health and wellness. The destruction of Indigenous-gendered governance structures.

  Decolonizing Indigenous Drinking Water Challenges and Implications: Focusing on Indigenous Water Governance and Sovereignty · 2024 · DOI

• The lack of recognition of Indigenous Peoples' jurisdiction over land and water. The gap in understanding the implications of water crises on Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination. The need for Indigenous-led solutions to address water crises.

  Decolonizing Indigenous Drinking Water Challenges and Implications: Focusing on Indigenous Water Governance and Sovereignty · 2024 · DOI

• While First Nations Peoples in Australia experience high rates of criminal justice contact, there is limited research on their experiences of the forensic mental health system.

  The living experience of First Nations Peoples and Forensic Mental Health systems: listening to the deep stories behind the numbers · 2024 · DOI

• Future research should examine how education, culture, and family connection strengthen that sense of agency and further support wellbeing.

  Restoring Pono in Native Hawaiian Communities: Historical Trauma and Resilience Across Generations · 2026 · DOI

• Cultural safety training and practices are increasingly being called for to address Indigenous health inequities, with limited research to understand if and how these work to improve health outcomes.

  Relationality and Responsibility: Exploring the Integration of an Indigenous-Led Midwife Hospitalist to Increase Access to Culturally Safe Care for Indigenous Families · 2026 · DOI

• There is limited evidence on the social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) needs of staff working at Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHS) in Australia.

  What Gave Us Strength: Perspectives From Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services Staff on Working During the COVID-19 Pandemic · 2026 · DOI

• IntroductionAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people are less likely to utilise health care services, and very little is known about how they engage with and utilise primary health care (PHC) services, particularly in urban areas.

  Health Care Encounters by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People Aged 15-24 Years at Urban Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community-Controlled Health Organisations in Southeast Queensland · 2026 · DOI

• Future research may focus on developing culturally-responsive CTA frameworks that integrate Indigenous knowledge systems and promote Indigenous self-determination, alongside collaborative efforts and capacity-building initiatives to empower Indigenous researchers and communities.

  Cognitive task analysis and Indigenous research: bridging gaps to advance health equity · 2026 · DOI

• Despite Aboriginal parents and their children being identified as a health priority group, culturally relevant parenting support is scarce, particularly support that is tailored for Aboriginal fathers.

  Biya yadha gudjagang yadha: the cultural adaptation of the healthy dads healthy kids programme for Aboriginal fathers and their children living on Darkinjung country · 2025 · DOI

• Indigenous communities may have unique pregnancy care needs due to cultural and lived experience differences from the broader US population, yet little is known about Indigenous preferences for pregnancy care.

  What Indigenous Women Want in Pregnancy and Birth: Perspectives on Care Preferences Across the United States · 2025 · DOI

• The health implications of exposures to the Alberta oil sands are underresearched, despite more than a decade of calls from Indigenous communities and researchers for further investigation.

  Research as reconciliation: oil sands and health · 2025 · DOI

• The commercial determinants of health are an emerging area of inquiry; however, a comprehensive understanding of commercial activities impacting Indigenous peoples remains elusive.

  Corporate sector engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples: an analysis of stakeholder submissions · 2024 · DOI

• The interviewed youth represent a handful of young people from one community with unique cultural, historical, and social contexts in each of the three participating regions, and the findings may not be generalizable to all youth in the regions.

  Community Strengths That Support Rural Alaska Native Youth: “They’re There for One Another” · 2026 · DOI

• Our findings suggest that participants' perspectives varied widely on how well the Fort Peck Tribes handled transmission mitigation strategies.

  A qualitative study of ecological factors impacting American Indian adolescents living on the Fort Peck Reservation during the COVID-19 pandemic · 2026 · DOI

• Thirdly, further research is needed to better understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ways of caring for older people, including the roles 2 of 3 Australasian Journal on Ageing…

  Exposing Deficit Discourse in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' Ageing Policy: Promoting Healthy Ageing for Our Elders · 2026 · DOI

• Community-led research grounded in Indigenous knowledge is needed, - Research should focus on promoting access to traditional foods and affirming Indigenous food…

  “Part of Who We Are…”: A Review of the Literature Addressing the Sociocultural Role of Traditional Foods in Food Security for Indigenous People in Northern Canada · 2024 · DOI

• This article builds off of research conducted for a PhD thesis and gaps in the literature on takat¯apui and irahuhua identity and relationships.

  Coming in to Whānau: Takatāpui and Irahuhua Relationships and Decolonisation · 2026 · DOI

• Collective interests, health research ethics and data governance for Indigenous Sámi…

  Collective interests, health research ethics and data governance for Indigenous Sámi populations · 2026 · DOI

• The review revealed small pockets of speech-language therapy research for children from Indigenous communities around the English-speaking world, but insufficient research to form a robust evidence base to meet the rights of any group of Indigenous peoples, as expressed in the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

  Ngā manu taketake o te ao (Indigenous birds of the world): a scoping review of research focusing on Indigenous speech-language therapy for Indigenous children, using Indigenous methodologies · 2025 · DOI

Most-cited papers in Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights

• The CARE Principles for Indigenous Data Governance · Data Science Journal · 2020 · 1,082 citations
• Indigenous health part 2: the underlying causes of the health gap · The Lancet · 2009 · 1,032 citations
• Indigenous health part 1: determinants and disease patterns · The Lancet · 2009 · 997 citations
• How Native Is a “Native” Anthropologist? · American Anthropologist · 1993 · 796 citations
• Historical Trauma in American Indian/Native Alaska Communities · Journal of Interpersonal Violence · 2008 · 711 citations
• Internationalization of an Indigenous Anticolonial Cultural Critique of Research Methodologies: A Guide to Indigenist Research Methodology and Its Principles · Wicazo Sa Review · 1999 · 658 citations
• Ch'ixinakax utxiwa: A Reflection on the Practices and Discourses of Decolonization · South Atlantic Quarterly · 2012 · 628 citations
• Historical Trauma Among Indigenous Peoples of the Americas: Concepts, Research, and Clinical Considerations · Journal of Psychoactive Drugs · 2011 · 602 citations
• Decolonizing Feminism: Challenging Connections between Settler Colonialism and Heteropatriarchy · Feminist formations · 2013 · 597 citations
• The Cultural Interface · The Australian Journal of Indigenous Education · 2007 · 593 citations

Most recent work

• Indigenous Peoples and local communities as agents of transformative change for sustainability · Communications Earth & Environment · 2026
• Towards a decolonising implementation science: principles from Indigenous leadership · The Lancet Global Health · 2026
• Advancing brain health equity with Indigenous peoples: A critical imperative · Alzheimer s & Dementia · 2026
• RCC Perspectives, Vol. 2 (2014): Minding the Gap: Working Across Disciplines in Environmental Studies · Own your potential (DEAKIN) · 2026
• Multispecies Responsibility and Planetary Health Education: Integrating Indigenous Relational Ontologies and Behavioral Transformation · Challenges · 2026
• Cultural, ethical, legal, and social considerations in genomics research with Indigenous Peoples: A scoping review · European Journal of Human Genetics · 2026
• Reclaiming Indigenous Water Governance: Decolonial and Community-Led Approaches at Star Blanket First Nation, Saskatchewan · Society & Natural Resources · 2026
• Strengthening Culturally Responsive Mental Health Supports for Crises Preparedness: Lessons From Indigenous Educator's Experiences During COVID ‐19 Pandemic · Journal of School Health · 2026
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples' Experiences With Culturally Safe Dental Research: A Qualitative Exploration · Community Dentistry And Oral Epidemiology · 2026
• “Sometimes there’s space . . . and sometimes there’s just not”: (Un)learning from Indigenous students’ experiences of liminal decolonization and Indigenization · Management Learning · 2026

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