Our first First Nations physician

In the end, biographers are bound to evaluate their subject. [Allan Sherwin] concludes that Jones made mistakes, especially by trying to lead his people but not from within the reserve. Jones was perhaps an "outsider" and a "romantic," yet he pushed for democratic freedoms for hi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Medical Association journal (CMAJ) 2014-03, Vol.186 (5), p.376-376
Main Author: Connor, J.T.H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biographies
Humanities
Jones, Peter Edmund (1843-1909)
Native North Americans
Nonfiction
Physicians
Sherwin, Allan
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:In the end, biographers are bound to evaluate their subject. [Allan Sherwin] concludes that Jones made mistakes, especially by trying to lead his people but not from within the reserve. Jones was perhaps an "outsider" and a "romantic," yet he pushed for democratic freedoms for his people and tried to educate them about the power of their newly gained fran- chise. Thus, "Jones's contributions to Aboriginal self-governance are consider- able," Sherwin concludes. He was also deeply committed to the delivery of health care to his people. As a historian, I believe this book to be a most worth- while contribution to the historiography of Canadian medicine; it also joins the growing literature on indigenous studies. Those interested in learning more about both these fields of study might wish to complement Bridging Two Peoples by reading Kristin Burnett's Taking Medi- cine: Women's Healing Work and Colo- nial Contact in Southern Alberta, 1880- 1 930 (2010 ) and Maureen Lux's Medicine that Walks: Disease, Medicine, and Canadian Plains Native People, 1880-1940 (2001).
ISSN:0820-3946
1488-2329
DOI:10.1503/cmaj.122078