Woman-Sensitive One Health Perspective in Four Tribes of Indigenous People From Latin America: Arhuaco, Wayuú, Nahua, and Kamëntsá

There is now a growing concern for the health and well-being of estimated 45 million indigenous people living in the region of America due to health inequities, poor environmental justice, poor social policies and programs, unfair economic arrangements, power relationships, and impacts of colonization, discrimination, and marginalization (1–3). According to the Health of Indigenous Peoples Initiative, five key principles are central to indigenous people's health: the need for a holistic approach to health, the right to self-determination of indigenous peoples, the right to systematic participation, respect for and revitalization of indigenous cultures, and reciprocity of relations (2, 4). Although they account for only around five percent of the world's population, they effectively manage an estimated 20–25 percent of the Earth's land surface. Indigenous people also own, occupy, or manage land, holds 80% of the planet's biodiversity and intersects with about 40% of all terrestrial protected areas and ecologically intact landscape. Biodiversity conservation and cultural diversity, therefore, cannot be dissociated from the stewardship of indigenous people over their natural resources, but this fundamental aspect of One Health has been neglected previously (5, 6). Indigenous women have been recognized to play a key role in sustainable development, biodiversity conservation, peace building, and food security despite multiple socioeconomic gaps they face (6–10). There is little knowledge of their relative influence on management of the Human-Animal-Environment interface in a One Health context. The objective of our article is to explore gaps and opportunities from a woman-sensitive One Health perspective in four tribes of indigenous people located in Colombia and Mexico, while recognizing the added value of integrating nonacademic knowledge into the One Health practice and draw attention to the need for including and considering indigenous women's voice, wisdom, and practices. The four cases describe the relationship of women with nature through their understanding of their natural environment, traditional knowledge, wisdom, practices, and current challenges. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with Arhuaco and Kamëntsá people while for Wayuú and Nahua people, secondary information was used fro