historical and scientific perspectives on the health of canada's first ...

physique of those forced to live on it, <strong>and</strong> the same pattern of disease <strong>and</strong> physical
degeneration shown by the Indian people has been exhibited by the Inuit to the
north, <strong>and</strong> by indigenous peoples throughout the world. 36
Given the considerable importance of the post-colonial bio-physical degeneration of Indigenous
peoples in Canada <strong>and</strong> throughout the world, this issue is afforded special attention in Section II
- Scientific Perspectives, sub-section 2.4 titled “A Worldwide Phenomenon of Progressive
Degeneration.”
1.4 TWENTIETH & TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY HEALTH CONDITIONS
The establishment of the reserve system, the transfer of Inuit to confined settlements, <strong>and</strong> Metis
to segregated communities clearly had a deleterious impact on the minds <strong>and</strong> the bodies of
Canada’s first peoples. Referring to the impact of this on First Nations, the National Commission
Inquiry on Indian Health comments:
The health of Indian people became further impaired when they were forced to a
confining <strong>and</strong> demoralizing reserve life. Most of the l<strong>and</strong>s assigned by treaty
were not arable, <strong>and</strong> were of insufficient size to provide sufficient fish <strong>and</strong> game.
Dependence on commercial <strong>and</strong> junk food thereby became solidly established. By
crowding the Indian population into limited areas, sanitary conditions were made
worse, <strong>and</strong> contagion became more inevitable <strong>and</strong> widespread Lack of a sound
economic base for the reserves led to unemployment, with resultant lack of
physical work. The result of this combination of adverse factors has lead to a new
kind of epidemic, that of degenerative disease. A host of ailments, never
experienced by Indian people previously, are now common <strong>and</strong> becoming
increasingly so: obesity, dental caries, diabetes, peptic ulcers, gall bladder
disease, heart disease, cancer <strong>and</strong> the like. 37
So as we fast forward to more current times we find that Canada’s first peoples are now afflicted
with a range of degenerative diseases commonly associated with modern “civilization”. The
greater prevalence of these diseases in Aboriginal populations than is occurring in the general
population gives pause for serious concern. “High levels of diabetes <strong>and</strong> end-stage renal
disease, cardiovascular disease, <strong>and</strong> some forms of cancer as well as injury <strong>and</strong> pneumonia have
been identified as more common in Aboriginal populations than the general Canadian
population.” 38
In light of this egregious situation, Commissioners to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal
Peoples raised the following concerns.
We are deeply troubled by the evidence of continuing physical, mental <strong>and</strong>
emotional ill health <strong>and</strong> social breakdown among Aboriginal people. Trends in
the data on health <strong>and</strong> social conditions lead us to a stark conclusion: despite the
extension of medical <strong>and</strong> social services… to every Aboriginal community, <strong>and</strong>
despite the large sums [billions] spent by Canadian governments to provide these
services, Aboriginal people still suffer from unacceptable rates of illness <strong>and</strong>
distress. The term ‘crisis’ is not an exaggeration here. 39
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