Proceedings
Towards a Recuperation of Souls and Bodies: Community Healing and the Complex Interplay of Faith and History
Adelson N
For many First Nations peoples, the present is a period of recuperation: a time of both ‘taking back’ & of regainng the health & strength of individuals & communities. While mental health experts address individual expressions of & responses to social suffering (e.g. depression, substance abuse, suicidal ideation), the author parallels those works with an examination of community responses & focusses on the complexity & heterogeneity of recuperation in light of a history of missionization. Drawing from ethnographic interviews with eastern Cree church elders, the author discusses the active negotiation of faith as part of the recuperative process. (34 refs.)