Christopher Manson
Sandy Lake First Nation, Ontario, Canada: Grave markers such as this blue cross are a constant reminder of the Catholic Church’s colonial legacy in First Nation communities, whose government-backed Indian Residential School system actively stripped locals of their language and traditions.
Sandy Lake First Nation, Ontario, Canada: I met Mo outside the main Sandy Lake grocery store. He told me he had been diagnosed diabetic four years ago, about fluctuating blood sugars and how his eyesight is failing. “I know my diabetes isn’t doing so well when I feel it in my stomach, I feel hungry. And when I’m hungry I start shaking, I don’t know why I’m shaking. Doctor tells me I’m hungry, that’s why I’m shaking. So, I have a teaspoon of sugar, or sometimes a little candy. Now I don’t have sugar in my coffee, I don’t have salt when I eat. That stuff’s no good when you’re diabetic. I quit drinking too, but I did that a long time ago. I’ve never smoked. The one thing I can’t quit is women. Look at this (show me a polaroid). That’s me, in the 60’s and my girlfriend. For three years we used to play at the casino, eh? In Winnipeg on the slot machines.”
Sandy Lake First Nation, Ontario, Canada: Horses play a major role in Canadian First Nation culture and identity in Alberta, where cowboys and rodeos are a staple of ranch life. This grave marker was photographed in a cemetery beside Driftpile’s St. Rose de Lima Catholic Church.
Driftpile First Nation, Alberta, Canada: I met young Sohkies Bellerose outside his parents’ house. “I don’t practice the drum much, it’s easy to play. Nobody taught me. I taught myself. I’d heard it at gatherings, in roundhouses, at pow wows and sweat-lodge ceremonies. My sisters don’t do it, it’s usually only for guys.” Driftpile has a history rich in hunting and woodcutting, among other things, activities that kept them fit, but pushing the traditional way of life is difficult when the modern way is so convenient.
Driftpile First Nation, Alberta, Canada: Community Elder, George, shows me his tattoos at the Elder’s lodge. “When I first got diabetes, I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t want to be a diabetic, but then I had to slowly work on it, I accepted it. I think that’s what you have to do, you have to accept it. It’s changed my life, you know, it’s a completely different lifestyle, there’s certain things you can’t eat and certain things you can’t do. You gotta watch your feet, you gotta watch your eyes, your kidneys, your heart. But the bad eating habits are difficult to manage when the only fruit and veg the local store sells is bananas and potatoes.” Elders like George hold crucial roles in supporting both formal and informal education in First Nations communities.
Moose Factory First Nation, Ontario, Canada: I first met Paris at TJ’s Gas Bar, her cousin Chris’s workplace on the north side of Moose Factory. Paris offered to take me to see her favorite part of the island – the rope swing – to watch her swing out over the Moose River. Paris is healthy, whilst Chris is borderline Type 2 Diabetic – like many teens I met during my time on the Island – but had controlled its onset by making dramatic changes to his diet. “I used to drink a crate of pop every day”. He confessed. Now he drinks only water and eats at regular mealtimes. “I have a cousin, Mia, who has diabetes,” said Paris. “My other friend, Mason, he’s 13 and he has diabetes. For Mia it runs in her family, for Mason I don’t know – he’s short and filled out, Mia is my size.”
About the Photographs
These images are part of a long-term photo-documentary project exploring the unique challenges faced by diabetics living in Canadian First Nation communities, where historical events and socio-economic determinants have led to unusually high rates of the disease among the indigenous populations – often ten times higher than the national average.
Facing the possibility of such complications as kidney disease, nerve damage, blindness and heart disease, diabetic residents struggle with the difficulty of lifelong treatment in remote territories.
Christopher Manson will be speaking about this work at Yorkshire’s first Socially-Engaged Photography Network Meeting on 24 November.
About the Artist
Christopher Manson is a photographer and educator with a focus on the narrative documentary genre and the book medium. His photographs have been published in a number of publications including The Observer on Sunday (London), Time Out Magazine (Dubai), and on The New York Times LENS blog. He is the author of numerous self-published documentary photobooks focused on diabetes and First Nation health in remote northern regions of Canada. Manson’s bookworks can be found in numerous collections including the AGO Art Gallery of Ontario, Dorothy H. Hoover Library (Ontario College of Art & Design), Ryerson Archives & Special Collections, Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections (York University), and many others.