Examining HIV/AIDS among the Aboriginal population in Canada in the post-residential school era : Examen de l'incidence du VIH/SIDA au sein de la population autochtone au Canada

EXAMINING HIV/AIDS AMONG THE ABORIGINAL POPULATION IN CANADA in the post-residential school era By J. Kevin Barlow, 2003 Introduction The purpose of this review is to examine current literature to determine whether there is a link between the legacy of residential schools and HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome); to outline how HIV/AIDS is affecting the Abori [...] In 1920, the intentions of the government was expressed in a statement made by Duncan Campbell Scott, then Deputy Superintendent-General of the Department of Indian Affairs: “Our object is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no question, and no Indian Department” (Ponting, 1989:26). [...] Most of the documents reviewed did not examine whether the Legacy of physical and sexual abuse in residential schools is related to HIV/AIDS among the Aboriginal population, given what is known about the effects of physical and sexual abuse. [...] In the absence of any substantive and direct evidence that links HIV/AIDS with residential schools, this study must rely on the chain of events that began generations ago and essentially set in motion a vicious cycle of multi-generational physical and sexual abuse. [...] Source :. Health Canada, 2003:4 To better explain the figures contained in the table above, the majority of Aboriginal HIV infections (39.5%) fall into the 30-39 age range, which would be the lower end of the age group that Survivors could fit.