Healing Histories: Stories from Canada's Indian Hospitals

Healing Histories: Stories From Canada's Indian Hospitals By Laurie Meijer Drees (Edmonton, Alberta, Canada: The University of Alberta Press, 2013) (244 pages; $29.95 paper, $23.99 digital)This fascinating book gives an Aboriginal perspective on the history of tuberculosis (TB) and health care in Western Canadian Indian hospitals from the point of view of Aboriginal people themselves. The main objective is to provide the history of Canada's Indian Health Services in the mid-20th century as told by individuals who experienced the system, the treatments, and their impact, including former patients nurses; auxiliary hospital personnel, such as ward aides and kitchen personnel; and family members. It includes Western and Aboriginal perspectives on medicine, health, and health care shared by people who were hospitalized or worked in the Indian hospitals and by family members who visited. The book employs Aboriginal approaches to the sharing of stories, and hence of history, by presenting carefully conducted oral history interviews, which have been recorded according to Aboriginal expectations and ways of storytelling. The interviews form the basis of the perspectives offered in each chapters, along with an analysis of many other historical documents and records. As such, the book goes much beyond colonial interpretations of victimization and oppression. The book's aim is not only to provide a history but also to help include this important part of Canadian history into our collective memory. As the author explains, "These stories are more than historical facts; they embody an opportunity-a process-for understanding a period of time that has not been fully described or appreciated, a time that occasionally has slipped into shadow" (p. xxv). As such, this historical account also contributes to better understanding and healing. Including the stories and experiences of Aboriginal people themselves is a major part of this process and hence this account.Carefully juxtaposing stories and perspectives, in the first chapter, the author describes the disease and history of TB and the way the TB epidemic affected Aboriginal communities. Chapter 2 describes the history of the Indian Health Services beginning with the time period from 1890 to 1945 (Department of Indian Affairs) and then that of the Indian Health Services after 1945. Thereafter, the Medical Services Branch, 1962-1970s, and the dismantling of the system after 1970 are examined. The chapter gives a balanced and realistic overview of the development and dismantling of the Indian hospital system. …