New Book traces history and future of Aboriginal health

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By gaining control of local health resources and returning to traditional practices, Aboriginal communities are regaining their health. This is the message illustrated and encouraged in a recently released book, A Persistent Spirit: Towards Understanding Aboriginal Health in British Columbia.

Covering the history of British Columbia's Aboriginal people from contact until the present day, A Persistent Spirit chronicles the devastation of disease and the decline in health in the province's Aboriginal people. But First Nations communities and individuals throughout the province are reversing this history of health decline and the conclusion of the book, by Aboriginal writers in their own words, cites many examples.

Dr. Peter Stephenson, a medical anthropologist with the University of Victoria, is co-editor of the book. In researching the book, he visited deserted villages like Cumshewa on Graham Island in Haida Gwaii. Like many other Aboriginal villages along the west coast and throughout the province, it was ravaged by smallpox which killed its citizens or sent them fleeing to other communities, spreading the lethal disease even further.

But today, the Haida are addressing their health issues. Stephenson said the Haida Gwaii diabetes project is an example of their community-based approach to better health.

Non-insulin dependent diabetes in Aboriginals is as much as 17 times higher than that of the rest of the Canadian population, a result of less activity and different diets. Diets of high protein, low carbohydrate, and low sugar have been replaced by diets low in proteins and high in carbohydrates and sugar.

Recognizing the significance of this health problem, the Haida Gwaii community instigated the project to develop health initiatives to provide a culturally appropriate response. The principal workers in the project are Haida and the doctor involved has worked in the community for 18 years.

"The community has all kinds of control," Stephenson said. "They are really engaged in an important way instead of having the project delivered top down. After consulting with the community for a year, they created the kinds of interventions they're hoping to work."

A Persistent Spirit is being distributed to all First Nations band offices in British Columbia. Although a scholarly text, the book is written in language understandable to an intelligent lay reader with a glossary at the end of each chapter which explains technical terms. Stephenson hopes it will become a ready reference.

"People may want to attempt to reinstitute more traditional diets to control diseases related to diet. But they might be worried about getting contaminants in the fish they eat and see the need to better control fisheries resources. Or they might be worried about berries and spray from forestry practices," he said.. "The chapters on nutrition and the traditional diet of Aboriginal people would be a helpful reference."

He believes that Aboriginals can only regain their health if they regain control of their traditional land.

"A large underlying part of land claims is an attempt to reclaim better health," he said. "If you control the land, you control the resources and the food. You control the work and you earn better incomes. These are ultimately health as well as political issues."

Though the book centres on Aboriginal health in British Columbia, Stephenson is hopeful that someone will take the initiative and produce a similar text on Aboriginal health in the prairie provinces. Copies of A Persistent Spirit are available from UBC Press in Vancouver.