POWER AND POLITICS:

THE IMPACTS OF SETTLER COLONIALISM ON HEALTH INTERVENTIONS TARGETING INDIGENOUS CANADIANS

Abstract

Since the colonisation of their land in 1534, Canada’s Indigenous
population has suffered adverse health outcomes of colossal
magnitude. The intergenerational impacts of such events
persist in the current day, with contemporary Indigenous Canadians
experiencing extreme health disparities in comparison
with their non-Indigenous counterparts. Consequently,
Indigenous Canadians are targeted by numerous health interventions
which, despite claiming to improve health outcomes,
often see no benefit and more concerningly, reinforce negative
health behaviours and spur discrimination, thereby propagating
Canada’s neo-colonial political agenda. This narrative
essay employs Patricia Hill Collins’ matrix of domination to
explore the power relations underpinning such health interventions
and provides recommendations for reforms within
Canada’s healthcare system. Although Indigenous activism
and sovereignty are occurring within the hegemonic and interpersonal
domains of power, the studies analysed herein reveal
that many health interventions fail to yield positive results due
to persistent racist legislations and establishments within the
structural and disciplinary domains of power. As such, nationwide
political reforms must move beyond encouraging simple
‘partnerships’ between Indigenous and Euro-Canadian healthcare
officials, to foster true Indigenous healthcare leadership
and autonomy.