This thesis examines the growing epidemic of native diabetes in Canada. The central argument of the thesis is that native diabetes is as much a disease of culture---and cultural loss---as of biology. It details the effects of the disease on one remote Oji-Cree community of Sandy Lake, where a diabetes study was conducted during the 1990's. The thesis examines the implications of the research, which found that both the community's genetic make-up and the drastic cultural change over the last 50 years have played a role in generating the third highest diabetes rate in world. Political decisions by native and federal leaders have done little to address the epidemic, which epidemiologists say will see a tripling of native diabetics in Canada by the year 2016. The thesis argues for a more comprehensive and integrated public policy, more co-operation among leaders, and sufficient resource allocation.
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