A review by dashadashahi
Structures of Indifference: An Indigenous Life and Death in a Canadian City by Adele Perry, Mary Jane Logan McCallum

5.0

Perry and McCallum use three brief chapters, in addition to an introduction and a conclusion, to demonstrate how settler colonialism and its racist foundations impacted and continue to impact the treatment of Indigenous peoples in, predominantly, the healthcare system but the authors also touch upon the role of legal and media system in sustaining these beliefs. The first chapter focuses on “The City.” Winnipeg’s history as the industrial hub of the west included the direct marginalization and dispossession of Indigenous peoples from the urban centre. While Winnipeg underwent re-Indigenization after the Second World War, demonstrating the resilience of Indigenous peoples, the process was patterned by de facto (i.e. landlords directing Indigenous applicants to other parts of the city) and de jure (i.e. the Manitoba Liquor Act segregating Indigenous people from bars) which reinforced that Indigenous peoples were “others” requiring paternalistic laws to rule their existence. The second chapter moves to “The Hospital” and demonstrates how the hospital is rooted in colonialism, from the names of the institution’s buildings or the streets it stands to doctors and staff repeatedly demonstrating their biased treatment of Indigenous patients. The third chapter focuses on Brain Sinclair’s life, highlighting the real impacts of Canada’s Indigenous policies. By the end of the book, it is clear that Sinclair’s death was not a “one-off,” despite the conclusions of many media reporting at the time. Rather, his death represents the larger neglect of Indigenous peoples within Canada’s medical healthcare system and the ongoing racism ingrained within Canada’s institutions and culture.