Aboriginal people, often known as Indigenous people, refers to the original people of North America and their descendants, including First Nations, Inuit, and Métis. Data showed that 4.3% of Canada’s population is represented by Aboriginal people, which increased by 20.1% between the 2006 and 2011 (Statistics Canada, 2011). Ontario, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, and British Columbia had the largest numbers of Aboriginal people (Statistics Canada, 2011). The median after-tax income for Aboriginal people aged 15 years and older in 2010 was $20,060 (Statistics Canada, 2015). In a 2014 Canadian income survey conducted by the Government of Canada (2016), 8.8% of Canadians were below the low-income cut-offs and were living in poverty, 18.7% of Canadians were Indigenous people on living on a reserve. It is important for sociologists and health care professionals to be aware of the income issues of Aboriginal people in Canada to better understand the social context and health issues that aboriginal people face daily.
A large number of Aboriginal Canadians struggle with diabetes. According to Gionet and Roshananfshar (2013), four-percent of Métis, two-percent of Inuits, and six-percent of First Nations living off reserve are living with diabetes in Canada. Diabetes affects the body’s production of the hormone, insulin, that works to regulate the amount of glucose in the body (Canadian Institutes of Health Information 2015). Without the proper treatment, diabetes can lead to heart
Canada is a nation of opportunity and freedom. People from all around the world immigrate to Canada to start a new life, to get away from war or poverty. Canada opens their arms to them and accepts them, and gives them money to get them started. But how about those who were here from the very beginning, before anyone else landed in Canada; the ones that are called First Nation people, or Aboriginals? What is the government doing for them? Why are First Nations people suffering the worst in Canada? “55.6% of the poor are aboriginals and a lot of them live in reserves around Canada that Canadian government have put them in. For those who leave the reserves to get a better living the suffer from racism from Canadian society” (“Aboriginal”).
Over the past decades, Aboriginal people (the original people or indigenous occupants of a particular country), have been oppressed by the Canadian society and continue to live under racism resulting in gender/ class oppression. The history of Colonialism, and Capitalism has played a significant role in the construction and impact of how Aborignal people are treated and viewed presently in the Canadian society. The struggles, injustices, prejudice, and discrimination that have plagued Aboriginal peoples for more than three centuries are still grim realities today. The failures of Canada's racist policies toward Aboriginal peoples are reflected in the high levels of unemployment and poor education.
The prevalence of diabetes is increasing in Canada, and is growing health concern. This increase is especially apparent in Canadian Aboriginal population where the estimated prevalence of diabetes is three to five times higher than in the general Canadian population. Because of the risk of several health complications such as coronary heart diseases, neuropathy, eye damage, kidney failure, and peripheral arterial diseases, diabetes is a one of the leading causes of mortality and morbidity. Developing health complications increases when diabetes is undiagnosed and represents unseen, but important burden with significant long-term impact on the people’s health status. First Nations individuals have more diabetes risk factors and suffer more diabetes-related health complications than non-Aboriginals. Therefore, accurate data on diabetes prevalence are essential for government, health care and research organizations.
Since the arrival of Columbus in 1492, American Indians have been in a continuous struggle with diseases. It may not be small pox anymore, but illnesses are still haunting the native population. According to statistics, Native Americans have much higher rates of disease than the overall population. This includes a higher death rate from alcoholism, tuberculosis, and diabetes than any other racial or ethnic group. Recent studies by Indian health experts show that diabetes among Indian youth ages 15-19 has increased 54% since 1996 and 40% of Indian children are overweight. Even though diabetes rates vary considerably among the Native American population, deaths caused from diabetes are 230 percent greater
Diabetes is a growing health concern within Aboriginal communities across Canada, it is a health concern that is often an underlying condition secondary to many other health issues and often goes undiagnosed or untreated. Many individuals within these communities choose to leave their diabetes untreated until it becomes life threatening and becomes too late to treat or control. According to Health Canada (2013), Aboriginal peoples who are living on reserves have a rate of diabetes that is three to five times higher as compared to Non-Aboriginal Canadians (Para. 1). The growing rate of diabetes is especially concerning amongst the Inuit communities, and is a growing concern; the rate of diabetes within this community is expected to steadily increase over the coming years from contributing factors such as lack of activity, poor nutrition and obesity (Health Canada, 2013). For these reasons alone it is important to raise awareness and educate these communities about diabetes and healthy lifestyle so that positive steps can be taken in order to maintain healthy living. Aboriginal peoples living in Canada have higher rates of diabetes as compared to non Aboriginal Canadians, and of the two types of diabetes, type 1 and type 2, the latter is more prevalent in First Nations communities (Brooks, Darroch, & Giles, 2013). With diabetes uncontrolled, an individual can come across many health problems such as poor circulation, foot ulcers, and sometimes even amputation (American
Although Cherokee nation Clinics and medical centers offer all kinds of treatments to various diseases, effort is more coordinated to common health issues like diabetes. Diabetic related issues are common health issues in the Cherokee Nation. It a serious threat that is known to be one of the top ten cause of death in the United State. Yet, The Cherokee effort and the A1C, a test for the amount of glucose in a person’s blood, are exceeding the national average. Additionally, because healthcare is a high priority for the Cherokee Nation, a huge
Health has become a growing issue among individuals around the world due to a variety of social determinants such as diet, lifestyles, environment, and level of education that impact one’s health. These factors determine whether an individual receives health problems or not – such as diabetes. Among indigenous individuals, diabetes is an issue that is prevalent because of dietary changes in Canada, different lifestyles compared to indigenous ancestors, and whether one lives on or off reserves. Indigenous individuals like First Nations, Metis or Inuit people overtime have adapted to lifestyle changes, which in the end has impacted their health. As the result of being more sedentary in the West, indigenous individuals have developed poor eating habits along with the lack of exercise that comes with living in the West. The environment is a key influencer in the development of diabetes, which will be discussed in this paper by explaining how society and the physical environment are interconnected with diabetes. This research paper will discuss the reasons for an increased prevalence of diabetes among indigenous peoples in Canada compared to individuals of non-Aboriginal status. Furthermore, the prevalence of diabetes among indigenous individuals in Canada results from factors like poor diet, lack of exercise, colonization, lack of access to medical care, and whether one lives on or off the reserves.
Different ethnic backgrounds immigrate to Canada making it a very multicultural society. Immigrants coming to Canada have made it progress to a more multicultural society, making other nations believe that this is the case, however this does not include native societies that have been living in Canada for the longest period of time. The purpose of this paper is to analyze how Aboriginals live in Canada. This paper argues that aboriginals in Canada are not treated with the same equality as non-aboriginals livening in Canada, even though Canada is known as a multicultural society. By studying the history of Aboriginal settlement in Canada
Aboriginals in Canada are also known as indigenous people. They consist of First Nations, Métis and Inuit. Approximately 4.3% of the Canadian population is considered Aboriginal. Most of them can be found in the province of Ontario. However, even though they have a strong presence in the country’s population, they have and still do go through a variety of issues. One of those issues would be education. The gap between Aboriginals and other Canadians on school-related achievements has gotten wider over the past decade, even though, more Aboriginals have been completing their secondary, as well as post-secondary education than ever before. Another issue would be the housing conditions for Aboriginal people living in Canada. The 2006 Census revealed that Aboriginal people were much more likely than non-Aboriginal people to live in houses that were in need of some major repairs. Research done from 1996 to 2006, highlighted the fact that around 20% of First Nations, Métis and Inuit people lived in less than desirable housing. The number of non-Aboriginal people, on the other hand, that needed some major repairs, went from 8% in 1996, to 7% in 2006. Another major issue in Aboriginal communities is violence. More specifically, domestic violence. More often than not, the violence usually comes from one side of the relationship, the male side. In 2006, it was reported that only 7% of non-Aboriginal women had been assaulted by a current or former spouse, compared to
The diabetes epidemic within this demographic is being combated via multiple channels by a host of characters. The federal government, for one, has been active in addressing this issue. The CDC currently works to reduce diabetes-related health disparities in Native American communities by funding and supporting national organizations to engage and collaborate with local partners in nearly twenty communities (CDC, 2014b). For instance, the CDC provides funding to the Association of American Indian Physicians (AAIP), which works closely with communities in Louisiana, Michigan, and Kansas to create culturally appropriate and long-term diabetes interventions. One intervention in Kansas, the Better Health Cooking Skills Class, teaches community
One of the biggest barriers facing Aboriginals is that the government does not consider health an Aboriginal right, and instead endorse that a special relationship exists between themselves and the First Nations people regarding health (Adelson, 2005). Aboriginal people regularly have negative experiences within the Canadian health care system since they have been marginalized and oppressed from the dominant system of care due to centuries of injustice (Hole et al.,
Native Americans are mainly affected with type 2 diabetes. This is are mainly due education barriers. Not fully understanding the diagnosis usually leads to further problems, like not being able to treat the diagnosis
In Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug, for example, there is no year-round road access to this Native community contributing to an exaggerated cost of living and a low standard delivery of services essential to survival such as healthcare, education and community infrastructure. This seems to be the case in many Aboriginal societies. This highlights the gap between today’s modern society, and that of a Native culture—that there remains a general lack of help from a modern government in order to aid their lives. It is estimated that one in five Indigenous Canadians live in run-down and often overcrowded mould-infested homes, unsafe drinking water and a suicide rate five times greater than the national average. These extreme situations drives one to ask: why does this ‘third world’ exist in a country that consistently boasts about its abundance; why has Canada’s government chosen the path to politically, culturally and economically frighten these Aboriginal communities?
Diabetes has consistently been a top health issue in Indigenous communities across Canada and the fly-in community of Sandy Lake, Ontario is no exception to this concern. In fact, the First Nations community of Sandy Lake has had alarmingly high rate of diabetes: in 1999 over 26% of its residents were diagnosed with diabetes - over five times the Canadian average.
The substance of this paper will be to discuss the discourse regarding the inequalities facing aboriginal peoples living on reserves in the northwestern corner of Ontario. Inequality is not naturally occurring; poverty is not an innate cultural trait that accumulates at the feet of the marginalized (Schick & St.Denis, 2005, p.304). Stephens, Nettleton and Porter stated in the Lancet (2005) “Aboriginal people in Canada suffer enormous inequalities in health and in accessibility to health