The Implications of the Biomedical Model on Indigenous Health

Abstract

The biomedical model focuses solely on biological causes with regards to illness and disease. Adopting this model when investigating the alarmingly high levels of diabetes among Indigenous peoples in Canada points to a genetic predisposition or a biological cause. However, this perspective acts as blinders to the real culprit of the diabetes epidemic: colonization, assimilation, prejudice, racism, and cultural genocide.

Faculty Mentor: Nancy Digdon

Department: Interdisciplinary Dialogue Project