Numerous studies, inquiries, and statistics accumulated over the years have demonstrated the poor health status of Aboriginal peoples relative to the Canadian population in general. Aboriginal Health in Canada is about the complex web of physiological, psychological, spiritual, historical, sociological, cultural, economic, and environmental factors that contribute to health and disease patterns among the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. 
 The authors explore the evidence for changes in patterns of health and disease prior to and since European contact, up to the present. They discuss medical systems and the place of medicine within various Aboriginal cultures and trace the relationship between politics and the organization of health services for Aboriginal people. They also examine popular explanations for Aboriginal health patterns today, and emphasize the need to understand both the historical-cultural context of health issues, as well as the circumstances that give rise to variation in health problems and healing strategies in Aboriginal communities across the country. An overview of Aboriginal peoples in Canada provides a very general background for the non-specialist. Finally, contemporary Aboriginal healing traditions, the issue of self-determination and health care, and current trends in Aboriginal health issues are examined.

Aboriginal Health in Canada: Historical, Cultural, and Epidemiological Perspectives

History

Waldram, James

Young, T. Kue

Herring, D. Ann

Americas

University of Toronto Press

Revenge of the Windigo: The Construction of the Mind and Mental Health of North American Aboriginal Peoples (Anthropological Horizons)

What is known about Aboriginal mental health and mental illness, and on what basis is this 'knowing' assumed? This question, while appearing simple, leads to a tangled web of theory, method, and data rife with conceptual problems, shaky assumptions, and inappropriate generalizations. It is also the central question of James Waldram's Revenge of the Windigo.
This erudite and highly articulate work is about the knowledge of Aboriginal mental health: who generates it; how it is generated and communicated; and what has been - and continues to be - its implications for Aboriginal peoples. To better understand how this knowledge emerged, James Waldram undertakes an exhaustive examination of three disciplines - anthropology, psychology, and psychiatry - and reveals how together they have constructed a gravely distorted portrait of 'the Aboriginal.'
Waldram continues this acute examination under two general themes. The first focuses on how culture as a concept has been theorized and operationalized in the study of Aboriginal mental health. The second seeks to elucidate the contribution that Aboriginal peoples have inadvertently made to theoretical and methodological developments in the three fields under discussion, primarily as subjects for research and sources of data. It is Waldram's assertion that, despite the enormous amount of research undertaken on Aboriginal peoples, researchers have mostly failed to comprehend the meaning of contemporary Aboriginality for mental health and illness, preferring instead the reflection of their own scientific lens as the only means to properly observe, measure, assess, and treat.
Using interdisciplinary methods, the author critically assesses the enormous amount of information that has been generated on Aboriginal mental health, deconstructs it, and through this exercise, provides guidance for a new vein of research.

Health, Fitness & Dieting

Mental Health

Numerous studies, inquiries, and statistics accumulated over the years have demonstrated the poor health status of Aboriginal peoples relative to the Canadian population in general. Aboriginal Health in Canada is about the complex web of physiological, psychological, spiritual, historical, sociological, cultural, economic, and environmental factors that contribute to health and disease patterns among the Aboriginal peoples of Canada. 
 The authors explore the evidence for changes in patterns of health and disease prior to and since European contact, up to the present. They discuss medical systems and the place of medicine within various Aboriginal cultures and trace the relationship between politics and the organization of health services for Aboriginal people. They also examine popular explanations for Aboriginal health patterns today, and emphasize the need to understand both the historical-cultural context of health issues, as well as the circumstances that give rise to variation in health problems and healing strategies in Aboriginal communities across the country. An overview of Aboriginal peoples in Canada provides a very general background for the non-specialist. Finally, contemporary Aboriginal healing traditions, the issue of self-determination and health care, and current trends in Aboriginal health issues are examined.

Aboriginal Health in Canada: Historical, Cultural, and Epidemiological Perspectives, Second Edition

University of Toronto Press, Scholarly Publishing Division

What is known about Aboriginal mental health and mental illness, and on what basis is this 'knowing' assumed? This question, while appearing simple, leads to a tangled web of theory, method, and data rife with conceptual problems, shaky assumptions, and inappropriate generalizations. It is also the central question of James Waldram's Revenge of the Windigo.
 This erudite and highly articulate work is about the knowledge of Aboriginal mental health: who generates it; how it is generated and communicated; and what has been – and continues to be – its implications for Aboriginal peoples. To better understand how this knowledge emerged, James Waldram undertakes an exhaustive examination of three disciplines – anthropology, psychology, and psychiatry – and reveals how together they have constructed a gravely distorted portrait of 'the Aboriginal.'
 Waldram continues this acute examination under two general themes. The first focuses on how culture as a concept has been theorized and operationalized in the study of Aboriginal mental health. The second seeks to elucidate the contribution that Aboriginal peoples have inadvertently made to theoretical and methodological developments in the three fields under discussion, primarily as subjects for research and sources of data. It is Waldram's assertion that, despite the enormous amount of research undertaken on Aboriginal peoples, researchers have mostly failed to comprehend the meaning of contemporary Aboriginality for mental health and illness, preferring instead the reflection of their own scientific lens as the only means to properly observe, measure, assess, and treat.
 Using interdisciplinary methods, the author critically assesses the enormous amount of information that has been generated on Aboriginal mental health, deconstructs it, and through this exercise, provides guidance for a new vein of research.

Prisons are an ominous fact of life for too many Aboriginal people. The Way of the Pipe explores how Aboriginal spirituality is finding its way into prisons and the role it is playing with Aboriginal inmates seeking to regain and to promote their heritages and identities.The book starts from the premise that this spirituality is not simply "religion" but is a form of therapy, know to medical anthropologists as "symbolic healing." Working from the results of hundreds of interviews with inmates in a number of prisons, Waldram traces the history of Aboriginal spirituality in and out of prison populations. Ironically, it is in prison that many come face to face with spiritual traditions such as the sweat lodge for the first time. The book looks critically at incarceration practices which have not always made it easy for inmates to explore their spiritual heritage. At the same time, it asks tough questions about whether this spiritual "therapy" actually makes a difference.
 Written in a highly accessible style, The Way of the Pipe combines scholarly perspectives with extensive narratives from the Elders and inmates to provide a unique understanding of the issues of symbolic healing and prison rehabilitation. It forces us to reconsider the goals and methods of prison treatment, especially for Aboriginal inmates. And on a broader level, it offers insight into the cultural divide between communities both behind the walls and beyond.
Royalties from the sale of this book will be donated to the Native Brotherhood at the Regional Psychiatric Centre (Praries) in Saskatoon.

The Way of the Pipe: Aboriginal Spirituality and Symbolic Healing in Canadian Prisons

Alternative Medicine

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Waldram, James. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Waldram, James

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Waldram, James. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Aboriginal Health in Canada: Historical, Cultural, and Epidemiological Perspectives

Revenge of the Windigo: The Construction of the Mind and Mental Health of North American Aboriginal Peoples (Anthropological Horizons)

Aboriginal Health in Canada: Historical, Cultural, and Epidemiological Perspectives, Second Edition

Revenge of the Windigo: The Construction of the Mind and Mental Health of North American Aboriginal Peoples (Anthropological Horizons)

The Way of the Pipe: Aboriginal Spirituality and Symbolic Healing in Canadian Prisons