Structural violence and the 1962-1963 tuberculosis epidemic in Eskimo Point, N.W.T.
In the winter of 1962-1963, an epidemic of tuberculosis broke out in Eskimo Point, an Inuit community on the west coast of Hudson Bay in the Canadian Arctic. The outbreak was made possible by bad living conditions, among the worst ever documented in the history of the Canadian Arctic. The epidemic r...
| Published in: | Études/Inuit/Studies |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
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Association Inuksiutiit Katimajiit Inc.
2012
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://id.erudit.org/iderudit/1015983ar https://doi.org/10.7202/1015983ar |
| Summary: | In the winter of 1962-1963, an epidemic of tuberculosis broke out in Eskimo Point, an Inuit community on the west coast of Hudson Bay in the Canadian Arctic. The outbreak was made possible by bad living conditions, among the worst ever documented in the history of the Canadian Arctic. The epidemic reveals the intersection of social attitudes, the economic logic of a postwar Canadian welfare state, and the difficult transition being made by Inuit moving from tents, igloos, and land-based camps to settlements along the Arctic coast. It is a case of “structural violence” where rules, policies, and social institutions operate in ways that cause physical and psychological harm to people lacking the power and/or resources necessary to changing the social systems and conditions in which they live. Both individuals and entire communities are affected. With regard to past—and present—Inuit housing conditions, we invoke the concept of structural violence to stress the importance of identifying and speaking about public health problems as a violation of internationally recognised human rights. Durant l’hiver 1962-1963, une épidémie de tuberculose se déclara à Eskimo Point, communauté inuit située sur la côte ouest de la baie d’Hudson, dans l’Arctique canadien. Cette épidémie résultait, entre autres, de conditions de vie déplorables, les pires qui aient jamais été attestées dans l’histoire de l’Arctique canadien. Cet événement est un révélateur des intersections entre les attitudes sociales, la logique économique du système de bien-être social de l’époque et la difficile transition que vivaient les Inuit, qui délaissaient alors la vie nomade des tentes et des iglous pour s’établir dans des communautés dispersées le long des côtes de l’Arctique canadien. Il s’agit ici d’un exemple de «violence structurelle» où les règlements, les politiques et les institutions sociales occasionnent des dommages physiques et psychologiques à des personnes dépourvues du pouvoir et/ou des ressources qui leur seraient nécessaires pour pouvoir ... |
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