Page 22 - Colonization and Decolonization: A Manual for Indigenous Liberation in the 21st Century

In Canada, the leading cause of death among Indigenous peoples is categorized as resulting from injury, primarily motor vehicle accidents. As the Saskatchewan example shows, most o f these deaths result from alcohol abuse. Death by injury accounts for more than one-quarter of all deaths among Indigenous peoples, with a rate of 148 per 100,000, compared to the national average o f 46.9 per 100,000 (First Nations in Canada, p. 81).
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The next most common cause o f death are diseases of the circulatory system (i.e., heart attacks). This accounts for about two thirds of all deaths among Indigenous peoples. Rates of tuberculosis are approximately 47 per. 100,000, compared to the national average of 7.2 per 100,0000. Diabetes has been described as one of the
most prevalent chronic health problems among Indigenous peoples, causing numerous side effects including heart and circulatory disease, blindness, kidney and nerve damage, and obesity.
.Malnutrition, especially from protein deficiency, has become a major problem for Indigenous peoples around the world. In
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addition, poor health is compounded by conditions of urbanization & poverty, poor sanitation & housing, stress & trauma, as well as high levels o f alcohol & drug abuse.
Exposure to industrial pollutants, including chemicals such as mercury, cyanide, and uranium, as well as fertilizers, has also had disastrous impacts on the health of Indigenous peoples. In areas of extensive mining, industrial production (i.e., pulp mills, oil & gas wells), or agriculture, for example, Indigenous peoples suffer high rates of cancers, birth defects, stillborns, etc. This is a result of their proximity to natural resource exploitation, exposure to contamination through water and the food chain (hunting & fishing), and lack o f access to prop~r healthcare.
If You Stand for Nothing... You'll Fall for Anything!
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