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Mary-Ellen Kelm's "Colonizing Bodies" occupies its own particular niche, somewhere near the intersection of history and aboriginal health, however it is not about the history of Aboriginal health in the common sense. Rather than discuss the history of disease and epidemiology in Western Canada, the author focuses on the political epidemiology of colonial British Columbia. It is such an unusual and innovative approach to examine the relationship between the traditional lifestyle of First Nations and Western policies and medicines in the political setting of colonial British Columbia from the beginning of the twentieth century into 1950s. While first four chapters of this book contrast and distinguish detailed changes on Aboriginal lifestyle …show more content…
In order to help readers to understand the principle behind the institution of crescent hospitals, doctors, and field matrons within the living region of First Nations, each of the first four chapters deals with a particular aspect of how the change of the livelihood of Aboriginal people can be connected with the worsening of Aboriginal bodies over time. It is clear that First Nations who lived in British Columbia had their own ways of surviving and nourishing their bodies before the subsequent interference. For example, before the arrival of Europeans, Aboriginal people were able to hunt and fish freely without any restrictions. Even with the occurrence of famine, they had their own "systems of exchange through trade and feasting" (p. 19) and they could also eat plants to save lives. The author suggests "though the Aboriginal diet was not perfect, it was sufficient to support a relatively dense population exhibiting a rich and complex social organization, both on the coast and in the interior" (p. 25). In spite of a wealth of detail and the writer's deep understanding of Aboriginal ways of maintaining and supplying their lives in the early twentieth, it is crucial to know that although the arrival of Europeans led to the acquirement of harvesting by First Nations, European arrivals also introduced infectious diseases and enforced …show more content…
First, the restrictions on fishing and hunting limited Aboriginal access to their conventional food sources generating problems of malnutrition and hunger, mainly because "officials were less interested in ensuring that the First Nations had sufficient land to provide for their needs" (p. 27). In addition, the increasing number of European settlements had been further encroaching reserves of Aboriginal people, the author therefore comes to argue that "reserves were insufficient to sustain the food production" (p. 27) and "restricted access to the land meant that the people could no longer rely on the abundance of variety to see them through tough times" (p. 28). These limitation inevitably led to starvation and even death of habitants who lived inside reserves. Residential schooling is another controversial issue that arose during this period of time. Rather than protected Aboriginal children from exposure to disease, underfeeding and other forms of abuses, instead residential schooling was notorious for its mismanagement based on the fact that "at least one-quarter of students died while on school rolls, or shortly thereafter, from diseases, predominantly tuberculosis, which they contacted while in the institutions" (p. 64) according to Dr. Peter Henderson Bryce,
In the 1950s and 1960s, the government began abolishing the compulsory residential school education among Aboriginal people. The government believed that Aboriginal children could receive a better education if they were integrated into the public school system (Hanson). However, residential schools were later deemed inappropriate because not only were the children taken away from their culture, their families and their people, but the majority of students were abus...
“Clearing the Plains” begins set in the time period of 1100 C.E before Europeans ever settle into Canada. It depicts the laid back lifestyle that Indgienous people became accustomed to where everyone had a role and the community worked together to survive. However, as time goes on the Indigenous populations becomes thrust into a disease stricken society where there is no hope for survival due to minimal resources. The author, James Daschuk goes on to argue the reasons for this
In Whapmagoostui, “accidental and suicidal deaths, drug and alcohol related illnesses, infectious diseases, and chronic diseases such as diabetes mellitus and cancer are all found- sometimes in disproportionate number-in native communities across Canada” (14). By waamistikushiiu standards, such health conditions are deplorable; yet for the Cree, these ailments readily signify a deeper, perpetual ache of land and culture. For centuries, influences of waamistikushiiu culture have altered Cree living. Devastating fur trades, land usurpation, mercury poisoning in fish and waterways, and flooding damage are only a few of the casualties to Cree life in the whiteman’s pursuit of happiness. As “the only way to acquire [miyupimaatisiiun] strength is to eat Cree food, and the only way to get Cree food is by hunting,” the Cree are bound to defy whiteman devastation of their land and assert rights to survival on their own terms (94).
A reasonable way of understanding why aboriginal people in Canada are at a higher risk of contracting HIV/AIDS is to go back in time and revisit a few historical events that left an indelible mark on this population. To exemplify, colonialism, the 1876 Indian Act and the establishment of residential schools and Indian reserves, resulted in the loss of physical territory, cultural values and had a demoralizing and traumatizing effect on the indigenous peoples of Canada that extends to this date (Reading & Wien, 2009). Also deriving from colonization, were the losses of self-determination, power of voice and decision making as well...
“To kill the Indian in the child,” was the prime objective of residential schools (“About the Commission”). With the establishment of residential schools in the 1880s, attending these educational facilities used to be an option (Miller, “Residential Schools”). However, it was not until the government’s time consuming attempts of annihilating the Aboriginal Canadians that, in 1920, residential schools became the new solution to the “Indian problem.” (PMC) From 1920 to 1996, around one hundred fifty thousand Aboriginal Canadians were forcibly removed from their homes to attend residential schools (CBC News). Aboriginal children were isolated from their parents and their communities to rid them of any cultural influence (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Parents who refrained from sending their children to these educational facilities faced the consequence of being arrested (Miller, “Residential Schools”). Upon the Aboriginal children’s arrival into the residential schools, they were stripped of their culture in the government’s attempt to assimilate these children into the predominately white religion, Christianity, and to transition them into the moderating society (Miller, “Residential Schools”). With the closing of residential schools in 1996, these educational facilities left Aboriginal Canadians with lasting negative intergenerational impacts (Miller, “Residential Schools”). The Aboriginals lost their identity, are affected economically, and suffer socially from their experiences.
Presently, access to programs and health care services is fragmented given the nature of the health care system for Aboriginal peoples (Wilson et al., 2012). The federal government is responsible for providing limited health services among Inuit living within traditional territories and status/registered Indians living on reserves (Chen et al., 2004). This responsibility is vested in the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch organizations to carry out protection activities and health promotion, and provide funding for community health programs in Inuit communities and reserves (Chen et al., 2004). Firstly, the complexity of the health care system for Aboriginal peoples has resulted in an unequal access to health services due to the First Nations and Inuit Health Branch program (FNIHB), which only applies to Inuit and Indians. Therefore, Metis and other Aboriginal peoples who do not qualify for registration under the Indian Act do not receive health services provided by FNIHB (Chen et al., 2004). Secondly, the transfer of responsibility to health boards, communities and other authorities has resulted in unequal supply of health services between territories and provinces, uneven distribution among communities, and leaves limited opportunity for increased funding (Loppie et al., 2009). It has also lead to controversy between various levels of government over the responsibility to pay for particular health services. Jurisdictional limitations, which have failed to recognize Metis identity and rights, have resulted in health disparities among the Metis population (Wilson et al., 2012). While the federal government recently decided to include Metis status in Aboriginal initiatives, the funding has not been equitable when compared to those of Inuit and First Nations or to the non-Aboriginal populations in Canada (Loppie et al., 2009). The Aboriginal health
Walter, M. (2007). Aboriginality, poverty and health-exploring the connections. Beyond bandaids: exploring the underlying social determinants of aboriginal health. [online] Retrieved from: http://www.lowitja.org.au/sites/default/files/docs/Beyond-Bandaids-CH5.pdf/ [Accessed 10 Apr 2014]
Though the film mentioned the impact that residential schools had and still has on the aboriginal people, I felt that this issue needed to be stressed further because the legacy of the schools is still extremely prominent in aboriginal communities today. The film refers to the fact that residential schools harmed the aboriginal people because they were not able to learn their culture, which has resulted in the formation of internalized oppression within in the group. “The...
The creation of the Residential Schools is now looked upon to be a regretful part of Canada’s past. The objective: to assimilate and to isolate First Nations and Aboriginal children so that they could be educated and integrated into Canadian society. However, under the image of morality, present day society views this assimilation as a deliberate form of cultural genocide. From the first school built in 1830 to the last one closed in 1996, Residential Schools were mandatory for First Nations or Aboriginal children and it was illegal for such children to attend any other educational institution. If there was any disobedience on the part of the parents, there would be monetary fines or in the worst case scenario, trouble with Indian Affairs.
The most harmful to the Indigenous society was the residential schools because the young Aboriginal children were taken from their homes, told their language and customs were not allowed, unacceptable and there would be consequences if they did. The Indigenous were separated from their families to assimilate the Indigenous into the so called “white culture.” There was a residential school called the Mohawk Institute Residential School in the area of Branford run by the government. It started as a day school for boys on the Six Nations reserve, then accepted female children later. Former students of the schools described suffering sexual, physical, and emotional abuse. There was low quality food, and they cut some Indigenous peoples hair off. This subject always changed the way I saw these schools because they were the most harmful the Indigenous underwent and I could never understand what it felt like or what happened
Statistics Canada reports that in 2017, the predicted life expectancy for the total Canadian population is projected to be 79 years for men and 83 years for women. Among the Aboriginal Population, the Inuit have the lowest life expectancy of 64 years for men and 73 years for women. Metis and First Nations people have a life expectancy of 73-74 years for men and 78-80 years for women.( 2015-11-30) There is a five to fifteen years life expectancy difference for men and three to ten years life expectancy difference for women when comparing aboriginal and general populations. This indicates that the health of first nation’s people is well below that of the general population. The socio-economic factors of living on a reserve like poor housing,contaminated
One of the reasons I chose to focus on health and education as well as premature death is because of their innate connection. That is, poor access to health and education can be understood as factors associated with an increased likelihood of premature death. Further, in the Canadian context colonization is linked to the “poor health, both physical and mental, substance abuse, suicide risk, and early death” (Million, 2013, 5), of Aboriginal people. For Million (2013), the problem in this particular context is that the Canadian government created a narrative of the colonized subject as a trauma victim
Secondly, the customary health beliefs of the aboriginal populace are interrelated with numerous characteristics of their customs such as kinship obligations, land policies, and religion (Boulton-Lewis, Pillay, Wilss, & Lewis, 2002). The socio-medical structure of health beliefs, which the aboriginal people...
Residential schools were first established in the 1880's to solve Canada's “Indian Problem”. Settlers in Canada thought of the First Nations people as savages, and the goal of the residential schools was to civilize them and integrate them in to white Canadian society. The first operators of residential schools thought of their forced integration as a benefit to native peoples. One of the overseers of residential schools wrote to the Sisters in charge of St. Joseph's Mission at Williams Lake that “It now remains for ...
In order to understand the impact of colonisation on Aboriginal health; it is important to recognize their worldview or set of beliefs on health (Tilburt, 2010). They practice a “holistic” approach unlike the Western Biomedical model where health is centred on biological functioning (Lock, 2007). According to this model the essence of being healthy relies on the mental, spiritual and social well-being rather than the absence of an illness (Hampton & Toombs, 2013). It is closely linked to spiritual and environmental factors; the heart of which is country, tradition and kinship. Land is a source of identity and spirituality for indigenous people (Hampton & Toombs, 2013). Kinship manages connection to land as well as ceremonial obligations and interpersonal relationships (Hampton & Toombs, 2013). For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders a healthy person consists of physical and spiritual elements. It’s evident that colonisation eroded the structures upon which Indige...