Overview

Healing Histories is the first detailed collection of Indigenous perspectives on the history of tuberculosis in Canada's Indigenous communities and on the federal government's Indian Health Services. Featuring oral accounts from patients, families, and workers who experienced Canada's Indian Hospital system, it presents a fresh perspective on health care history that includes the diverse voices and insights of the many people affected by tuberculosis and its treatment in the mid-twentieth century. This intercultural history models new methodologies and ethics for researching and writing about Indigenous Canada based on Indigenous understandings of story and its critical role in Indigenous historicity, while moving beyond routine colonial interpretations of victimization, oppression, and cultural destruction. Written for both academic and popular reading audiences, Healing Histories is essential reading for those interested in Indigenous history in Canada, history of medicine and nursing, and oral histories.

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9780888646507

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Reviews

Dreess balanced research provides evidence that good and caring work was done by some staff in these hospitals, despite much of it having been premised on assumptions of inferiority and a complete lack of respect for aboriginal culture. According to Drees, the legacy of the authoritarian approaches can no longer be ignored. A lot of research remains to be done. Not only on abuses, but on our attitudes to First Nations and their problems. Gary Geddes, The Victoria Times Colonist, February 24, 2013 A new book about the trials and tribulations in Indian hospitals is hitting close to home for aboriginals across Canada. Healing Histories chronicles the stories of Indian hospitals in Canada through the eyes of those who lived through it on a daily basis. Laurie Meijer Drees wrote the book to raise awareness on the medical issues facing our Indian population...and was inspired to share the story of native hospitals from her mother who previously worked at the Charles Camsell Indian Hospital in Edmonton. She says these stories have a significant connection with the issues in Alberta's native residential schools. - 880 News, April 7, 2013 ...Healing Histories is a strong addition to any Canadian history collection focusing on relations with first nations peoples. - Wisconsin Bookswatch, April 2013 These accounts are poignant and at times heartbreaking; however, the stories are the primary strength of this book and serve as a model for 'new methodologies and ethics for researching and writing about indigenous peoples. Rather than continue the tired (but true) narrative of aboriginal peoples as victims of colonization and oppression, Meijer Drees emphasizes resilience, perseverance, and adaptability and offers insights into how traditional healing practices, specifically those of Coast Salish peoples, persisted despite Western medical hegemony. This adds color to existing literature by privileging marginalized voices in a social history that goes beyond the usual complex political and administrative history of health care and Native peoples. Highly recommended. G. Bruyere, CHOICE Magazine, October 2013

Dreess balanced research provides evidence that good and caring work was done by some staff in these hospitals, despite much of it having been premised on assumptions of inferiority and a complete lack of respect for aboriginal culture. According to Drees, the legacy of the authoritarian approaches can no longer be ignored. A lot of research remains to be done. Not only on abuses, but on our attitudes to First Nations and their problems. Gary Geddes, The Victoria Times Colonist, February 24, 2013 A new book about the trials and tribulations in Indian hospitals is hitting close to home for aboriginals across Canada. Healing Histories chronicles the stories of Indian hospitals in Canada through the eyes of those who lived through it on a daily basis. Laurie Meijer Drees wrote the book to raise awareness on the medical issues facing our Indian population...and was inspired to share the story of native hospitals from her mother who previously worked at the Charles Camsell Indian Hospital in Edmonton. She says these stories have a significant connection with the issues in Alberta's native residential schools. - 880 News, April 7, 2013 ...Healing Histories is a strong addition to any Canadian history collection focusing on relations with first nations peoples. - Wisconsin Bookswatch, April 2013

Dreess balanced research provides evidence that good and caring work was done by some staff in these hospitals, despite much of it having been premised on assumptions of inferiority and a complete lack of respect for aboriginal culture. According to Drees, the legacy of the authoritarian approaches can no longer be ignored. A lot of research remains to be done. Not only on abuses, but on our attitudes to First Nations and their problems. Gary Geddes, The Victoria Times Colonist, February 24, 2013

Author Information

Laurie Meijer Drees is Co-Chair of the First Nations Studies Department at Vancouver Island University. She lives in Ladysmith, British Columbia.

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