During the beginning of my research, I came across one study that tried to determine if there is a connection between residential school attendance and diabetes among Indigenous peoples. I was both hopeful and worried that the study would answer all of the questions I was looking to answer. I was hopeful because the topic is so interesting and the possible connection between the subjects would be interesting to see. I was worried because if the study could answer all, or most, of my questions, there would be no reason to continue my research. The study showed that those who attended residential school did have a slightly higher prevalence of diabetes, but the difference was not significant [1]. At the end of the study, the researchers state that “it is possible that the detrimental impact of residential schools on the health of individuals within First Nations communities is so pervasive that it is difficult to find a truly unexposed comparison group.”[2]. Their results ultimately mean that we will most likely never know exactly what long-term effects on health residential schools had on the attendees and the subsequent generations.
[1] Roland F Dyck et al. “Do discrimination, residential school attendance and cultural disruption add to individual-level diabetes risk among Aboriginal people in Canada?” BMC Public Health. 2015: 4.
[2] Ibid., 10.