“To Care for One Another on the Lands That Sustain Us”: Reflective Commentaries for Land-Based Healing Among Indigenous Cancer Survivors

Sep 22, 2026

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Significant gaps exist in survivorship services across the cancer care continuum for Indigenous Peoples in the United States. Despite overcoming overwhelming cancer burden and high mortality risk, Indigenous cancer survivors report lower quality of life than non-Indigenous survivors. Using an Indigenous social determinants of health framework, reflective commentaries from four Haudenosaunee cancer care professionals highlight the need for traditional Indigenous land-based healing practices for survivors, their families, and caregivers.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages15

Reading Time38 min

AccessFree to download

Highlights

Public health relevance

Public health significance

Public health implications

Abstract

Keywords

1. Introduction

Commentary “To Care for One Another on the Lands That Sustain Us”: Reflective Commentaries for Land-Based Healing Among Indigenous Cancer Survivors Hugh Burnam 1, *,†, Reesa R. Abrams 2,‡, Marissa L. Bennett 1,§, Nancy Washburn 1,∥, McKenzie Paterson 3, William O. Carson 1,¶, Chelsea G. Redeye 4,**, Whitney Ann Henry 1,††, Josie Raphaelito 1,‡‡ and Rodney C. Haring 1,§§ Academic Editor: George Crooks Received: 24 March 2026 Revised: 29 April 2026 Accepted: 20 May 2026 Published: 1 June 2026 Copyright: © 2026 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. 1 Department of Indigenous Cancer Health, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA; [marissa.bennett@roswellpark.org](marissa.bennett@roswellpark.org) (M.L.B.); [nancy.washburn@roswellpark.org](nancy.washburn@roswellpark.org) (N.W.); [william.carson@roswellpark.org](william.carson@roswellpark.org) (W.O.C.); [whitneyann.henry@roswellpark.org](whitneyann.henry@roswellpark.org) (W.A.H.); [josie.raphaelito@roswellpark.org](josie.raphaelito@roswellpark.org) (J.R.); [rodney.haring@roswellpark.org](rodney.haring@roswellpark.org) (R.C.H.) 2 Independent Researcher, Buffalo, NY 14261, USA; [reesa.abr@gmail.com](reesa.abr@gmail.com) 3 Independent Researcher, Washington, DC 20002, USA; [fractaldesignstudios@gmail.com](fractaldesignstudios@gmail.com) 4 Department of Cancer Prevention and Control, Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center, Buffalo, NY 14263, USA; [chelsea.redeye@roswellpark.org](chelsea.redeye@roswellpark.org) * [Correspondence: hugh.burnam@roswellpark.org](Correspondence: hugh.burnam@roswellpark.org) † Mohawk Nation, Akwesasne. ‡ Seneca Nation, Allegany Territory. § Seneca Nation, Cattaraugus Territory. ∥ Six Nations of the Grand River, Mohawk Nation. ¶ Ohkay Owingeh. ** Walker River Paiute Tribe, Cattaraugus Territory of the Seneca Nation. †† Tuscarora Nation. ‡‡ Navajo Nation. §§ Seneca Nation, Allegany and Cattaraugus Territories. Highlights Public health relevance—How does this work relate to a public health issue? • This reflective commentary addresses how Indigenous cancer survivors in the United States experience significant gaps in culturally appropriate survivorship care. • Histories of forced land removal, displacement, and broken treaties function as social determinants of health that continue to shape health outcomes for Indigenous Peoples. Public health significance—Why is this work of significance to public health? • This work provides perspectives of four Haudenosaunee People’s lived experiencesand identifies traditional land-based healing practices as an important and currently absent component of Indigenous cancer survivorship programming. • Traditional healing practices, Indigenous patient navigation, and land sovereignty are interconnected factors that current survivorship programs fail to address for AI/AN/NH communities. Public health implications—What are the key implications or messages for practitioners, policy makers, and/or researchers in public health? • Cancer survivorship programs for Indigenous Peoples must incorporate Indigenous patient navigation, family involvement, and traditional land-based healing practices that respect the cultural sovereignty and self-determination of Tribal Nations. • Future programming and research must be built in partnership with Indigenous communities and guided by frameworks like the Relational Science Model that center reciprocity, humility, and respect. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2026, 23, 740 [https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23060740](https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph23060740) Abstract Significant gaps exist in survivorship services across the cancer care continuum for Indigenous Peoples in the United States. Despite overcoming overwhelming cancer burden and high mortality risk,

FAQs

What problem does the commentary address for Indigenous cancer survivors?

It highlights significant gaps in culturally appropriate survivorship care across the cancer care continuum for Indigenous Peoples in the United States.

Which factors are identified as important to support Indigenous cancer survivorship and wellbeing?

Traditional land-based healing practices, Indigenous patient navigation services, communities of care, and Indigenous lands and social determinants of health are emphasized as key factors.

Why is land-based healing considered important and currently absent from survivorship programming?

The commentary links traditional healing practices and land sovereignty to outcomes and argues that current survivorship programs often fail to address these interconnected elements for Indigenous communities.

Sep 22, 2026

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