Aboriginal Health in Canada: Historical, Cultural, and Epidemiological Perspectives

Kerry Abel is a professor of history at Carleton University. She is the author of Drum Songs: Glimpses of Dene History, co-editor of Aboriginal Resource Use in Canada: Historical and Legal Aspects, and co-editor of Northern Visions: New Perspectives on the North in Canadian History.

The appalling and persistent health problems of Canadian Native people
have been variously examined from the perspectives of medicine,
anthropology, and history. This book is a very useful compilation of
such information. A historical overview of the problem is followed by
helpful surveys of contemporary health-service delivery programs across
Canada. An interesting chapter entitled “Aboriginal Medicine in the
Contemporary Context” deals with the various steps that have been
taken to incorporate Native healers into the system.

While acknowledging the historical victimization of aboriginal people,
the authors also note their resistance to the pressures of colonization.
Their survey of the literature is generally even-handed. Although they
propose no specific solutions to the problems of Native health, they do
suggest several general areas to which remedial action should be
initially addressed. Their common-sense approach is a refreshing change
from the emotionalism that often drives discussions of aboriginal
health.