In Phoenix, Arizona, there is a direct relationship between water displacement from the upper Gila River and the well-being of the local indigenous tribes such as Pimas and Maricopas. By the end of the 19th century, no water was flowing down the Gila River, which altered the lifestyle of these two tribes. Thus, affecting their cultural practices, health, and economic status.
Minorities are frequently left behind regarding safe housing, stable employment, and economic security. When people consider the causes of chronic diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, they think of known risk factors at the individual level. However, they are socially structured, and one of the dimensions it is patterned throughout is by neighborhoods (California Newsreel, 2008b). This causes socioeconomic and health inequities in certain neighborhoods with a lack of access to nutritious foods and secure exercise facilities.
The ethnicity of both tribes and Gwai Boonkeut significantly impacts their health. The tribes’ lack of access to water altered their diet and labor habits. The nearest supermarket is one hour away from the reservation. Once they lost access to water, they could not grow and provide for themselves. The government presented them with commodity boxes containing unhealthy food, which altered their cooking techniques. Fry bread, for instance, is not a traditional Native American food. The origin of fried bread can be traced back to the commodity food program.
Moreover, fry bread is essentially an attempt to make the most of the ingredients available: flour, lard, and vegetable shortening. When people grow up with something, it eventually becomes part of the culture. It assimilates into the community to the point where it is considered the norm (California Newsreel, 2008a). Native Americans were looked down upon and considered savages. Therefore the government did not care about their welfare. Gwai Boonkeut relocated to a neglected Black urban community. Gwai Boonkeut resides in a Laotian hamlet where over fifty percent of residents spend thirty percent of their income on housing. This results in financial stress, which can contribute to heart disease and diabetes. Health encompasses much more than a person’s physical body; it also includes their environment.
Gwai suffered a heart attack due to the stress of working two jobs and paying his family’s bills. He was treated for his illness and then returned to the environment that caused it. The river damming altered their eating and exercise habits; it harmed the lives of the indigenous population. Being Native Americans from impoverished communities places them at a disadvantage. Forty years ago, the tribe had the world’s highest incidence of Type II diabetes (California Newsreel, 2008b). The cause was a lack of access to sufficient healthcare, and nutritious food has resulted in a diabetes epidemic.
Native Americans’ socioeconomic position on reserves is crucial for their health and healthcare. Diabetes has become a big issue among Native American communities due to bad eating habits, a lack of exercise facilities, and inaccessibility to nutritious food. Social determinants of health include a sense of control and self-empowerment crucial to people. It affects a person’s self-identity and optimism for the future (California Newsreel, 2008b). Gwai Boonkeut resides in an unsafe environment that makes him unwell. The tribes’ separation from the river altered their eating and working habits. However, access to nutritious foods and safe locations to exercise, in addition to more affordable homes and higher-paying jobs, will contribute to the positive development of the population. Regular doctor visits and education about diabetes, obesity, and heart disease could help reduce health disparities in low-income neighborhoods.
References
California Newsreel. (2008a). Unnatural causes: Bad sugar. PBS. Web.
California Newsreel. (2008b). Unnatural causes: Place matters. PBS. Web.