Can language and cultural continuity protect against diabetes in First Nations communities?

• Main Authors: Oster, Richard, Lightning, Patrick
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: First Nations
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10125/42065

Here is a plethora of deficit-focused literature and research detailing the many health conditions that disproportionately and negatively impact Indigenous peoples in North America and around the world. Type 2 diabetes in particular is often front and center, given that its incidence and prevalence have increased dramatically over the past three to four decades and its complications continue to wreak havoc in many Indigenous populations. At the same time, Indigenous peoples have been voicing a message of an association between the loss and destruction of their traditional cultures and ways of life, and the subsequent impact on their health. Focusing primarily on Canadian Indigenous populations, in this session we will 1) provide an brief overview of the burden of type 2 diabetes and its complications in Indigenous peoples; 2) describe a simple model for the underlying causes drawing attention to the fundamental role of colonial domination and cultural/language genocide; 3) detail some of our recent research related to cultural continuity, traditional language, and type 2 diabetes; and 4) provide a Cree community specific perspective on the disease. 42065.pdf 42065.mp3