Description
Book SynopsisThis detailed but highly readable ethnohistory shows how a pluralistic medical system evolved among Canada’s most populous Aboriginal population.
Trade ReviewColonizing Bodies is an innovative and engaging book … an important contribution to the history of First Nations and to health care history … Kelm critically examines the available evidence, suggesting that government reports and letters do not describe the “truth” of aboriginal health but do provide an indication of what was shaping federal health policy … the book is rich in detail … Kelm grounds this book in a breadth of archival documents and she skillfully and strategically deploys evidence from aboriginal elders to make her arguments even more compelling … Persons interested in the history of First Nations and the provision of state health services will certainly find this to be a fascinating study, but it should also enjoy broad appeal as a case study of how colonialism is culturally constructed. It is, in sum, a tremendously important contribution. The analysis is elegant and it is a book that serves both as model and inspiration for the sophisticated study of health care in the twentieth century. -- Peter Twohig * Canadian Bulletin of Medical History *
By discrediting the destructive and paternalistic deficit model, Kelm plays an important role in pointing communities, academics, and public health officials to the vital task of continuing to recognize and support the sources of community resilience and, ultimately, health. * BC Studies *
A worthy read, a sophisticated, interdisciplinary analysis of the health situation of Aboriginal peoples and the way in which whites and Aboriginals themselves responded to it … What is fascinating about Kelm’s analysis is her ability to make apparent the interconnectedness of issues … She has had to detail the many ways in which First Nations people were victims, but never totally lost agency. While Native agency is certainly present in the study, the overwhelming tone is one of condemnation for what was done to the First Nations. -- Wendy Mitchinson * The Canadian Historical Review *
Table of ContentsContents
Illustrations, Figures, and Tables
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Part 1: Health
1 The Impact of Colonization on Aboriginal Health in British Columbia: Overview
2 “My People Are Sick. My Young Men Are Angry”: The Impact of Colonization on Aboriginal Diet and Nutrition
3 “Running Out of Spaces”: Sanitation and Environment in Aboriginal Habitations
4 A “Scandalous Procession”: Residential Schooling and the Reformation of Aboriginal Bodies
5 Aboriginal Conceptions of the Body, Disease, and Medicine
Part 2: Healing
6 Acts of Humanity: Indian Health Services
7 Doctors, Hospitals, and Field Matrons: On the Ground with Indian Health Services
8 Medical Pluralism in Aboriginal Communities
Conclusion
Notes
A Note on Sources
Select Bibliography
