Epistemic Racism

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One of the academic sources I will be using for my term paper is "The cultural erosion of indigenous people in health care," by Richard Matthews. In this article, Matthews argues that Canadian healthcare is not culturally safe for indigenous people because the laws and practices erode their cultural identities but that is it also possible to stop this. This paper will begin by showing how both systemic and epistemic racism continue to hurt indigenous peoples. Next this paper illustrates the value of the different solutions Matthews suggests. Finally, this paper will present a downfall to one of the points brought up in the racism argument. Although presenting an ineffective example, Matthews argument that healthcare is hurting indigenous identities …show more content…
This problem is epistemic racism, which is the imposition of one world view over another. Matthew shows this in his article by talking about how the western biomedical model of healthcare is privileged over the traditional healing practices and ceremonies of the first indigenous people. Canadian Health laws and policies do not allow the traditional practices to be used as a method of healing. Moreover, they are not accepted by most western medical professionals as being valid. This erodes indigenous culture because it hinders people from experiencing their own cultural healing and forcing them to see western workers as the only true authority in healthcare. Matthew also talks about how epistemic racism effects where funding is allocated. If a healthcare centre wants to upgrade technology they can get funding but if there has been a requested for a culturally related feature, like a sweat lodge, they cannot get the resources to build one. This also shows the public that their health practices are not valid because one might think that if they were then they would receive proper funding. The only way this can be reversed is if the validity of cultural practices is presented to indigenous people and the …show more content…
The first solution he mentions is that indigenous health care rights must be added into national law. This will help people get adequate care and will allow for more trust in the governments as they are allocating proper care and funding to indigenous peoples. Second, he states that there must be dialogue with the peoples to acknowledge, respect and address their distinct needs. This will stop cultural erosion because having proper communication will make it possible to learn what is needed amongst the communities. Next, he mentions that traditional healing practices must be recognized as medically legit and that they must hire and retain indigenous professionals. This will allow indigenous and non-indigenous people to understand that the culture and its people are valid and deserve the same respect as western people and
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