Indigenous language(s) and culture(s) are proven, in various studies, to improve mental health and wellbeing and even labeled as a "protective factor".  According to the national Center for Disease Control,  "For American Indian and Alaska Native tribes and communities, cultural and traditional teachings and practices are important protective factors that provide their people with strength and resilience to lead healthful lives." (Andrade et. al, 2019). 

Resilience is essentially having positive outcomes in spite of hardships and adversity.  There are four primary factors of resilience.  These factors are: relationships, spiritual connection (culture), self efficacy and autonomy, and self regulatory and adaptive skills (Harvard, 2015).  For the sake of brevity, there is no need to explain how language is connected to culture and spirituality.  Starting with relationships, our languages reflect our cultural values and relationships are very important in many Indigenous cultures.  In my Okanagan Salish language, the word for family, snəqsílxʷ, means one body.  In the Coeur d’Alene language, the word for father, pipe’, means generous.  In a more Eurocentric lens, a father is typically viewed as the disciplinarian and authority.  Language shapes and wires the brain to connect with one another on a deeper, collective level.  We are a collective culture.  There was a study around eastern asians and western europeans and they hooked them up to brain imaging machines and told them their mothers were liars.  The east asians brains responded as if you were calling them a liar, but the european brains responded as if you were calling someone else a liar (Park & Huang, 2010).  Our languages are heavily reflective of our culture and having deep meaningful relationships is a part of that.  It can actually change our neurobiology and how we connect and relate to one another.  Living our cultural lifeways can increase social connectedness and positive relationships.

Next there is the self regulatory and adaptive skills, which is basically executive function.  This part of the brain gets damaged in trauma, which was already mentioned that Native children have the highest ACEs scores when disaggregated by race and also experience PTSD at the same rates as combat veterans coming back from the middle east.  In learning a language, this strengthens this part of the brain because part of this function involves utilizing working memory and code switching.  In speaking one language, you have to turn the other off and code switch.  This is like physical therapy for the brain.  The neural infrastructure is very similar to a town's infrastructure.  There are metaphorical hospitals, schools, libraries, grocery stores, gas stations, etc.  When you learn multiple languages, you are building a healthier infrastructure and you have more resources to tap into in order to cope.  It is not just the executive function center that is strengthened, it really is the entire infrastructure.  Not only more resources, but diverse resources like the difference between a rural town and a larger city.  

There are also various studies that demonstrate that children who learn their language(s) have higher levels of self efficacy.  It can also give children higher levels of self esteem.  

“Heritage-language instruction spares the minority-language children the vision that their heritage culture is associated with lower status, and that the majority group is inherently superior to their own group. … The use of the heritage language as the medium of instruction… is a clear affirmation of the value and status of the heritage language and of those who speak it. Moreover, when heritage-language instruction involves co-ethnic teachers, these individuals act as role models affirming that ingroup members can hold high-status positions. (Morcom, 2017)”

“…personal and collective self-esteem have a considerable impact on school success for Aboriginal and minority children, and that this is connected to the presence of appropriate cultural and linguistic representation in the classroom. In cases where the child’s heritage language or culture are absent from the school or represented poorly, the result is often insecurity and lack of engagement.” (Morcom, 2017)

Public school is a cultural experience.  It is grounded in American culture which is a Eurocentric capitalist culture.  This is the place where children go to learn everything they need to know to succeed in life.  When there is strong linguistic and cultural representation it elevates the value of their people which elevates their collective self esteem as Indigenous people, and they inherit that for themselves as individuals.  When that representation is lacking, the results are often insecurity and lack of engagement.

Stability, a basic need, comes from being part of a larger cultural unit and by speaking your language you deepen your identity and feeling of belonging (Solangon, 2019).  It also deepens connection to the land.  In my culture the land and the animals gave us our language.  We also identify ourselves by our landbase.  For example, the bands I come from from the colville tribe are the snʕickstx (people of the dolly varden trout), sx̌ʷy̓iłpx (people of the sharp pointed trees), šntiyatkʷəxʷ (people of the grass in the water), snpʕilxəx (people of the grey mist), and šnpəšqʷawšəxʷ (people of the in between).  Our identity comes from the land and by knowing and speaking the language it deepens our connection to the land which then expands our sense of community and place.  There is a lot of research coming out around place based attachment and that we can bond to land bases the same way that one can bond to their own mother.  I am sure many of you can relate to the loss and grief of losing a childhood home or a piece of land that is no longer accessible that you grew up close to.  Bonding and having a relationship with land has similar benefits to having relationships with people (Wolf, 2014).

Authentic connection to language contributes to each resilience factor and can strengthen people neurobiologically, epigenetically, spiritually, and physically.  Language strengthens youth and it really is about building resilience in mental health, and mental health is the cornerstone of a healthy and abundant life.  Starting with education, studies show that mental health issues are linked to poor educational outcomes and mental health is a predictor of educational achievement.  Studies also show that Native children who learn their language have significantly higher educational outcomes, in particular, immersion education.  Next, there is physical health.  Ancestral and personal trauma can lead to many health issues through epigenetic modification. The hormone cortisol, in toxic levels, weakens the immune system and, "Exposure to stress can modify DNA methylation which may alter gene expression and therefore contribute to disease phenotypes. Early-life stress, such as childhood abuse and stress-related disorders, have lasting effects on methylation that may persist into adulthood" (Vidrascu et al., 2019).  Since language contributes to resilience and is shown to reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and generally improve sense of wellbeing it can have physical health benefits.  It is a domino effect.  Language (and inherently culture) improves mental health, good mental health facilitates mental state conducive to learning and engaging in educational activities, positive educational outcomes then open up opportunities for socioeconomic stability, socioeconomic stability contributes to quality of life, and quality of life reduces stress to increase health and longevity.  Other studies connect language continuity to lower levels of domestic violence, substance abuse, cigarette smoking, diabetes, and suicide (Whalen et al., 2016).

There are substantial economic impacts that language revitalization can positively affect due to its ameliorative effect on trauma.  

Economic development starts with early childhood development, and the best investments ensure all children have access to high-quality early childhood education. Evidence shows that increased access to high-quality early learning and care programs results in short-and long-term benefits to individuals and society. Research shows that for every dollar investment in high-quality early childhood education, society gains up to $7.30 in economic returns over the long term.

Participants in high-quality early childhood education also show long-term gains in the form of lower rates of incarceration (46% reduction), lower rates of arrest for violent crimes (33% reduction) and a reduced likelihood of receiving government assistance (26% reduction).  (Quality Early Childhood Education – Economic Impact).

Mental distress has negative effects on the workplace such as absenteeism, loss of productivity, loss of profits, and increase in health care costs. Research is revealing that “organizations spend over $15,000 on average annually on each employee experiencing mental health [issues]” (McPherson, n.d.).  Many Indigenous communities are impoverished, which can cause stress that leads to poor quality of life and repetition of trauma of the next generations.  Community healing through language and culture can reverse poor socioeconomic trends of Indigenous Communities.