Multiplying and Dividing - The University of Auckland

Study of mortality seasonality reveals a noticeable peak in deaths during the late-summer andfall and a minor peak in deaths from airborne diseases during the winter months. The majorityof deaths (over 70%) occurred between September and November and were comprised mostlyof individuals 18 years of age and under who perished from non-specific causes of death(fevers and diarrhea) or waterborne diseases. This trend is also observed in the late-summermonths. Jamieson attributed deaths from “fevers” during the late summer and fall to thewetland ecology of the island, which he believed was conducive to the spread of vectorborne(e.g., malaria) and waterborne diseases (cholera, dysentery). Mortality from airborne diseases(including tuberculosis) was consistently high throughout the year (accounting for more than50% of deaths with causes recorded), although it appears to peak during the winter and earlyspring. Herring and Hoppa (1999) have identified a similar, statistically significant pattern ofmortality seasonality among the James Bay Cree at Moose Factory. They conclude that a peakin summer deaths reflects a higher frequency of infectious disease outbreaks (due to increasedpopulation density and the introduction of pathogens through long-distance summer trade tothe coast), while a weaker winter peak suggests a significant excess of tuberculosis-relateddeaths clustered in the winter months, relative to all other causes (Herring and Hoppa 1999,Hoppa 1998:180). The paucity of comparative data hinders a comprehensive analysis ofwhether the Walpole Island parish population’s health trends are similar to or different fromother segments of the Walpole Island community and surrounding Native and non-Nativepopulations. This fact alone underscores the pressing need for more research on therelationship between morbidity, mortality and social change within and betweenSouthwestern Ontario communities.DiscussionTB at the national levelTuberculosis mortality on Walpole Island mirrors trends for First Nations communities acrossCanada throughout the 19 th and 20 th centuries. The dwindling Aboriginal population wasattributed to “the presence of tuberculosis and kindred scrofula, aggravated by the conditionsattending the earlier stages of transition from aboriginal to the civilized environment”(Canada 1905:20). Many government officials and medical personnel adopted a ‘racialparadigm’ when interpreting the incidence and prevalence of tuberculosis in Nativecommunities. TB was perceived as a “racial trait” and an inherent feature of “Indian-ness”(Moffat and Herring 1999:1828). The disease was also described as being “sown in theconstitutions” of young Indian children, “owing partly to insufficient diet, and partly toexposure to all kinds of weather” (Jones 1861:142). More often than not, tuberculosis wasseen as the genetic legacy of an evolutionary past that would eventually contribute to theextinction of Aboriginal peoples in North America (Waldram et al. 1995:262-269).Although there was clear recognition that poverty, deprivation and crowded living conditionsfacilitated the spread of TB, blame for these conditions and the poor health outcomes thatflowed from them was often ascribed to Native people themselves (Moffat and Herring1999:1829). Living in ‘wigwams’ rather than ‘Western-style homes’ and leading a ‘traditionallifestyle’ were often cited as the causes for high rates of TB in Aboriginal communities(Stephens 2004:126-140). Health problems were often attributed to the ineptitude of Indianmothers who were viewed as “ignorant of the diseases common to children and of the propertreatment of them” (Jones 1861:143). Arguments couched in biological determinism and139