Indigenous leaders at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues urged a coordinated approach to health, environment, and land rights. They highlighted how climate change, mining, and conflicts exacerbate health crises for Indigenous peoples. Experts presented studies calling out fragmented U.N. efforts as a failure.
On the second day of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues' 25th session in New York, leaders emphasized that Indigenous health cannot be separated from the health of their lands. Geoffrey Roth, a Standing Rock Sioux descendant and former forum member, presented a study arguing that U.N. agencies' siloed mandates on health, environment, and rights have failed Indigenous peoples. Environmental damage from mining, deforestation, and climate change directly harms access to clean water, traditional foods, and cultural practices, Roth said. “For Indigenous peoples, health is deeply tied to the health of the land,” Roth stated. “It’s not just about access to clinics or medicine — it’s about clean water, healthy forests, traditional foods, and the ability to maintain cultural practices. When the environment is damaged — whether from mining, deforestation, pollution, or climate change — it directly affects people’s health.”