A Review of Gary Geddes’ Medicine Unbundled: A Journey through the Minefields of Indigenous Health Care'

Author and poet Gary Geddes surveys the state of health care for the Indigenous peoples of his Canadian homeland, showing that recent efforts to redress decades of systemic extermination and subjugation -perpetrated extensively through health care and educational agencies -indicate a long road ahead.Through interviews with several Indigenous individuals across the country, Geddes (a non-Indigenous, self-described "paleface") shares the experiences of those whose encounter with Western medicine and its attendant culture has been characterized by extreme violation, neglect, and marginalization.At the same time, Geddes concludes from his conversations with Indigenous interviewees that "the sharing of personal experiences provides a way of releasing...hope and its healing powers." 1 Geddes adds to an expanding and evolving body of work on restorative justice for Indigenous peoples, where dialogue between both Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives is slowly being forged.In a sense, Geddes' current trek continues his previous journey through the African continent, detailed in Drink the Bitter Root: A Search for Justice and Healing in Africa, where he reflected on the global economy's ethical and environmental impact upon African nations.Weaving personal narratives with historical highlights, Geddes unearths the root causes underlying Indigenous health care's horrific record -specifically racism, colonialism, and greed.The encounter between Indigenous peoples and European settlers throughout North America was predicated on the latter's goal of acquiring land and resources, and either eliminating or assimilating its native residents in the process.In Canada, a series of legislative efforts eventually produced the Indian Act of 1876, implemented less than ten years after the nation was formally established by the British Parliament. 2 The Indian Act sought to define Indigenous identity and the rights accorded thereto; although it specifies governmental responsibilities to Indigenous peoples, the act has been aptly described as a "paradoxical document that has enabled trauma, human rights violations and social and cultural disruption for generations of First Nations peoples."

Récupéré en direct depuis OpenAlex et désinversé. Les résumés ne sont pas conservés dans cette base de données : les index inversés représentent 8,6 Go des 9,3 Go de texte de la base, et le serveur dispose de 13 Go libres.