One Health Surveillance of Emergent and Climate Change Health Threats in Southern and Northern, Remote and Isolated First Nations

Rising temperatures are increasing the health risks posed by disease vectors, such as ticks and mosquitos. For Indigenous communities, these risks are compounded by significant health disparities, geographical isolation and mistrust of health-care systems rooted in colonial practices. Traditional medical testing also often proves intrusive, costly and impractical for remote First Nations.

This project will help support health resilience and equity for two First Nations communities in Ontario through development and implementation of new eDNA/eRNA tools for wastewater and environmental monitoring.

These innovative tools will enable systematic collection, analysis and interpretation of community wastewater to monitor zoonotic and vector-borne diseases, which are increasingly prevalent due to climate change. To ensure this project serves community needs and cultures, it is adopting a co-development model with Indigenous partners, prioritizing community rights, interests and expectations.

This project will:

• Integrate environmental, wildlife and public health data into a “One Health” approach, ensuring human, animal and environmental health are monitored cohesively.
• Work to ensure the application of wastewater and environmental monitoring tools will align with Indigenous values, avoiding data colonialism. To achieve this, the project will adopt a co-development model with Indigenous partners, prioritizing community rights, interests, and expectations.
• In collaboration with community stakeholders and partners—including Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, the Feather Board Command Centre, and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness —the project will develop culturally appropriate frameworks based on the First Nations principles of Ownership, Control, Access, and Possession (OCAP). These frameworks will guide the ethical and sustainable use of eDNA and eRNA tools, ensuring the generated data directly benefits the communities while respecting Indigenous sovereignty.
• Drive development of sensitive, accurate and rapid eDNA and eRNA analytical methods to enhance the detection of avian-borne, vector-borne and zoonotic diseases, enabling timely public health responses.
• By supporting Indigenous data sovereignty and OCAP principles, empower communities to independently manage their health data, strengthening local capacity for disease surveillance and response while fostering Indigenous leadership in health resilience.