Inventing the thrifty gene : the science of settler colonialism

Summary: "Though First Nations communities in Canada have historically lacked access to clean water, affordable food, and equitable healthcare, they have never lacked access to well-funded scientists seeking to study them. Inventing the Thrifty Gene examines the relationship between science and settler colonialism through the lens of "Aboriginal diabetes" and the thrifty gene hypothesis, which posits that Indigenous peoples are genetically predisposed to type-II diabetes and obesity due to their alleged hunter-gatherer genes. Hay's study begins with Charles Darwin's travels and his observations on the Indigenous peoples he encountered to set the context for Canadian histories of medicine and colonialism, which are rooted in Victorian science and empire. It continues in the mid-twentieth century with a look at nutritional experimentation during the long career of Percy Moore, the medical director of Indian Affairs (1946-1965). Hay then turns to James Neel's invention of the thrifty gene hypothesis in 1962 and Robert Hegele's reinvention and application of the hypothesis to Sandy Lake First Nation in northern Ontario in the 1990s. Finally, Hay demonstrates the way in which settler colonial science was responded to and resisted by Indigenous leadership in Sandy Lake First Nation, who used monies from the thrifty gene study to fund wellness programs in their community. Inventing the Thrifty Gene exposes the exploitative nature of settler science with Indigenous subjects, the flawed scientific theories stemming from faulty assumptions of Indigenous decline and disappearance, as well as the severe inequities in Canadian healthcare that persist even today."--

Record details

ISBN: 9780887559402
ISBN: 9780887559341
ISBN: 0887559409
ISBN: 0887559344
ISBN: 9780887559389
ISBN: 9780887559365
ISBN: 0887559387
ISBN: 0887559360
Physical Description: 1 online resource (196 pages)
remote
Computer data.
Publisher: Winnipeg, Manitoba : University of Manitoba Press, [2021]
Copyright: �2021

Content descriptions

General Note:	CatMonthString:april.23 Multi-User.
Bibliography, etc. Note:	Includes bibliographical references and index.
Formatted Contents Note:	Introduction Underserviced and Overstudied -- On the Origins of Thrifty Genes: Charles Darwin and the HMS Beagle -- Operation of Being Civilized: Sir Francis Bond Head and the Foundation of Federal Indian Policy -- Studied to Death: Chief Medical Officers and the Scientization of Federal Indian Policy -- Marrow Thief: James v. Neel and the Invention of the Thrifty Gene -- Chief Josias Fiddler: Remembering the Hunger Strike of '88 -- Return of the Thrifty Gene: From the DNA Deal to Its Curious Afterlife -- CONCLUSION -- Grandfather Rocks of Josias Fiddler -- AFTERWORD -- Josias Fiddler's Life and Legacy / Teri Redsky Fiddler.
Restrictions on Access Note:	Access restricted to LAC onsite clients. Online access with authorization.
Type of Computer File or Data Note:	Text (HTML), electronic book.
System Details Note:	Mode of access: Internet.
Terms Governing Use and Reproduction Note:	Access requires VIU IP addresses and is restricted to VIU students, faculty and staff. Access restricted by subscription.
Issuing Body Note:	Made available online by EBSCO.
Source of Description Note:	Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (viewed on October 07, 2021).