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

health may seem self-evident. Many children are visibly malnourished, sanitary
conditions are primitive, drinking water is unclean, the food... is contaminated…
Our conclusions concerning the determinants of health can be epitomized by the
simple statement that people must have enough to eat, <strong>and</strong> must not be poisoned. 130
Finl<strong>and</strong>’s H. Hellberg (a former Division Director at the WHO) postulates that the success of
any genuine effort to alleviate disease in the impoverished countries must incorporate
"intersectoral <strong>and</strong> multisectoral action". In his words "involvement of specialists other than the
traditional healing professions; water, food, housing, sanitation <strong>and</strong> education are all important
prerequisites for health. If they are neglected curative repair... may even be impossible”. 131
Finally, K. L. St<strong>and</strong>ard Professor <strong>and</strong> Head - Department of Social <strong>and</strong> Preventive Medicine,
University of the West Indies strongly contends that to achieve mere survival is not enough.
Without improving the st<strong>and</strong>ard of living, <strong>and</strong> particularly nutrition status, children will
frequently succumb to infections, <strong>and</strong> have repeated relapses. For primary prevention, public
health education, enhanced food production <strong>and</strong> environmental sanitation deserve the highest
priority. Indeed,
For obvious reasons, the highest
priority must be given to
preventive measures... The final
<strong>and</strong> permanent answer to the
problem will rest in... social <strong>and</strong>
economic development... taking
into account the need for
nutritional improvement of the
present generation. If good
nutritional status is maintained in
the first years of life, successive
attacks of most infectious diseases
of moderate virulence will
probably produce no more than
mild effects.... 132
FIGURE V.
Statistical data for the United States found in FIGURE V above, which closely parallels Canada’s
experience, illustrates that a number of common infectious diseases underwent major declines
without vaccines or before specific vaccines were ever introduced (e.g. there were no vaccines
for either scarlet fever or typhoid). Very similar major decline patterns for a range of infectious
diseases occurred during this same time-frame in the Australia before vaccine programs were
initiated in there. 133 In other words it is self-evident that such declines were essentially due to
improvements in socio-economics, transportation, nutrition, <strong>and</strong> hygiene.
It can here be summarily stated that in the vast majority of cases where one observes significant
health problems among Indigenous peoples whether of an infectious or degenerative nature, one
will also find conditions of poverty. Such poverty is often associated with the <strong>historical</strong>
dispossession of traditional economies, livelihoods, l<strong>and</strong>s, <strong>and</strong> lifestyle patterns which includes a
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