Consequences of colonialism: A microbial perspective to contemporary Indigenous health. Issue 2 (29th August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Skelly, Emily; Kapellas, Kostas; Cooper, Alan; Weyrich, Laura S.
• Is Part Of: American journal of physical anthropology. Volume 167:Issue 2(2018)
• Page Start: 423
• Page End: 437
• Publication Date: 2018-08-29
• Subjects: dysbiosis -- Indigenous peoples -- microbiome -- public health -- social‐cultural change; Physical anthropology -- Periodicals; Anthropology -- Periodicals; Anthropologie physique -- Périodiques; 599.9
• DOI: 10.1002/ajpa.23637
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-9483

Abstract

Abstract : Nearly all Indigenous populations today suffer from worse health than their non‐Indigenous counterparts, and despite interventions against known factors, this health "gap" has not improved. The human microbiome—the beneficial, diverse microbial communities that live on and within the human body—is a crucial component in developing and maintaining normal physiological health. Disrupting this ecosystem has repercussions for microbial functionality, and thus, human health. In this article, we propose that modern‐day Indigenous population health may suffer from disrupted microbial ecosystems as a consequence of historical colonialism. Colonialism may have interrupted the established relationships between the environment, traditional lifeways, and microbiomes, altering the Indigenous microbiome with detrimental health consequences.