Overview

This is a critical medical anthropological analysis of health theory in the social sciences with specific reference to the James Bay Cree of northern Quebec. It argues that definitions of health are not simply reflections of physiological soundness but convey broader cultural and political realities. The text begins with a treatise on the study of health in the social sciences and a call for a broader understanding of the cultural parameters of any definition of health. The core of the text is an ethnographic study of the Whapmagoostui Cree and their particular concept of ""health"" (miyupimaatisiiun or ""being alive well""). The concept is governed by history, cultural practices, and the contemporary world of the Cree, including their concerns about their land and culture. In the contemporary context, health for the Cree of Great Whale is an intimate fusion of social, political, and personal well-being, thus linking individual bodies to a larger socio-political reality.

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9780802047779

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Author Information

Naomi Adelson is Associate Professor of Anthropology at York University. She has been working with the Whapmagoostui Cree of northern Quebec since 1988.

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