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

4.0

A concise and well-researched examination of how structural racism contributed to the death of Brian Sinclair at the Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg. Reading about Brian's last hours moved me to tears, and I felt the horror as several bystanders attempted to find him medical help WHILE HE WAS IN AN EMERGENCY ROOM and were repeatedly ignored. This book is moving, but also stuffed full of important research into the history of Winnipeg, the hospital, and Indigenous people in Canada that contributed to medical staff's inexcusable treatment of Brian. I found the section on the hospital hard to get through as it was so dry and I found it hard to see the connections between it and Brian's situation. I wish there had been more exploration of how doctors and nurses are trained to work with Indigenous patients (as well as those who are homeless or using substances, as those were excuses given for the lack of services received) as the bias seems so obvious there.

4/5