The Cree Tribes Understanding Of Health Essay - 993 Words

The Cree tribes understanding of health is something very much different from what a modern North American society would understand it as. This is because health is not a universal entity, but it is a social reality constructed by different people using different social meanings and symbols. Health can then be seen as a complex, dynamic process that can incorporate religion in contrast to the baseline standard thought of health as a biomedical or epidemiological practice. The Cree’s practice of health is political in a sense where it acts as a strategy for cultural assertion and resistance with a balance of power between the state, the individual, and disenfranchised groups. The Cree’s understanding of health cannot be seen outside of colonialism. The forced displacement, pervasive racism, and failed attempts of assimilation have set up a historical, cultural, and social context that subsists today. Health to the Cree is identification, a realization of self that exists because of historical confrontations that developed beliefs and practices over time. The term white man or waamstikuushiiu represents how through history and even today, the constant oppression colonization has had on the Cree’s way of life. The Cree have given meaning to this idea of white man that is beyond the universal meaning through the senses. Through changes and threats, each generation has been able to learn, embody and envision ways of life and being Cree. The idea of health andShow MoreRelated Ongoing Injustice: The American Indians Essay3233 Words   |  13 Pagespeoples. The injustices and their effects are still occurring today and need to be made known to spare the Native Americans’ future from the tear stained stories of today. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;To prevent such reoccurrence there must be an understanding of the horrors that took place in the beginning. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;â€Å"The entire history of the relationships between the indigenous People nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;and Europeans has been one of conflicts and justifying variousRead MoreImportance Of The Numbered Treaties And The Native Relations At The Time1402 Words   |  6 Pagessign the treaties. One of the big reasons for the conflict in the treaties and native relations were caused from lack of knowledge of the terms of the treaties. The agreements were hard to comprehend to the aboriginals which resulted in lack of understanding of what they were signing. An example of this is the signing of Treaty 7 with Black Foot nations in the Alberta prairies. To the Black Foots, the Treaty 7 was understood to be a peace agreement and not land surrender. Along with many culturalRead MoreThe French And English Europeans2488 Words   |  10 PagesBefore Europeans made initial contact with the First Nations tribes who resided in what would be later christened Canada, the First Nations tribes had a spiritual relationship with the land surrounding them, practicing methods of preserving both the land and the animals. Additionally, they also had a structural government that consisted of men dictating political matters and women controlling the economic results. The European ideology differed immensely; they saw the land as property to own andRead MoreThe Medicine Wheel As A Culturally Relevant Solution Substance Abuse Essay2086 Words   |  9 PagesMedicine Wheel, when influenced can become imbalanced. Such influences on a Medicine Wheel may be the social determinants of health or historical determinants. If the Medicine Wheel becomes imbalanced due to these determinants, it has the potential to â€Å"†¦reverberate through individua ls, families, and entire populations,† (National Collaborating Centre for Aboriginal Health, 2015, para. 1). Unfortunately, many individuals who have experienced this kind of multi-generational trauma are at a higher riskRead MoreImpacts of Historical Globalization.6706 Words   |  27 Pages Yield and Surrender: A History of Indian Treaties in Canada One morning in 1817, in what is now southern Manitoba, representatives of the British Crown prepared to meet with members of the Cree and Chippewa Nations. The intention was treaty making, the object was land. The British authorities told the Cree and Chippewa they needed land for settlement. The Indians asked, how much land? The phrase used in the reply was, As far as one can see day light under the belly of a horse. This poetic description