Revealing circumstances of epidemiologic transition among Indigenous peoples: The case of the Keg River (Alberta) Métis

Abstract

Rates of type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders are elevated among Indigenous peoples; however, no research has examined the origins of these diseases among the Métis. This case study documents a transition in lifestyle and health that affected the Keg River Métis of northern Alberta during the middle decades of the 20th century. This community began to experience previously absent diseases, including obesity, heart disease, gestational and type 2 diabetes, and preeclampsia. This shift in disease burden appears tied to rapid socio-cultural and economic change driven by a decline of traditional economic activities, access to government transfer payments and wage labour, an increasingly sedentary lifestyle, and a growing availability of non-traditional foods. This study points to earlier emergence of diabetes among Canadian Indigenous populations than commonly credited and presents the case for a rapidly evolving epidemic tied to environmental and cultural change. Underlying this were structural changes that emerged out of colonization.