Cultural Beliefs In Aboriginal Communities

In many aboriginal communities, the practice of their own cultural beliefs is still used today. This includes medicinal, which can be a problem, as their cultural remedies and especially their beliefs for disease producers are behind the times and may not actually work or exist. For example, in today’s society, many health care providers who treat the ill on the reserves have great difficulty treating the aboriginals due to “the cultural distance between mainstream culture and Aboriginal culture, particularly in regard to health and belief systems” (Maher, P., 1999). In the modern and western society we live in, we know that the right drugs, whether it be prescription or store bought, can help aid in healing or treating our illness. In addition, we have understanding as to what causes our illnesses, such as pathogens or genetics. However, in some native American cultures, such as the ones in Attawapiskat, they still believe that “supernatural intervention is the main cause of illness” (Maher, P., 1999). In addition, they also believe that in order to cure the illness being caused by the supernatural being, they call upon other supernatural healers to make the illness go away.
Therefore, the cultural determinant of health remains a big problem amongst the people of Attawapiskat, as well as other reserves in Canada, as they are resistant to accepting modern medicine and healthcare advice from health care professionals from outside of their culture, since it goes against their