Carolyn Smith-Morris, a medical anthropologist and assistant professor of anthropology at Southern Methodist University, provides an academic, outsider;s point of view in ”Diabetes among the Pima: Stories of Survival.” In her pioneering book, she gives a glimpse of the profound morbidity – diabetes – that ravages the Gila River Indian community in Arizona.
In her own words, this academic-type book is ”for those who study this epidemic, diabetes in the Pima people.” She uses the research methodology of interviews and combines her study of diabetes among the Pima, otherwise known as the ”Akimel O’odham,” with other aspects of science research and medicine to discuss the numerous factors that contribute to the Gila River Indian Community’s battle with diabetes.
She mentions a few times during the early chapters of the book that she is using the ”ethnography” method of research for this book. Ethnography is a branch of anthropology that deals with the scientific description of specific human cultures.
Smith-Morris discusses to some degree the story of the 12,000-member Gila River Indian Community and diabetes.
”The story of diabetes at Gila River might begin from any one of three time periods: prehistoric, historic or contemporary,” Smith-Morris writes. ”But because the influences on Pima diabetes span millennia, a meaningful snapshot of the Pimas’ experience today must also be a narrative reflecting all three periods. This ethnography is such a snapshot.”
That is key to remember while reading this book because although this research is pioneering, it’s a tedious read that requires dedication.
There is one cultural oversight that Smith-Morris wasn’t able to grasp in this snapshot of the Gila River Indian Community: She didn’t include the Maricopa, otherwise known traditionally as Pee Posh, members of the community. Smith-Morris discusses her three-year research in her book, and at times when she is discussing the Akimel O’odham members of the community, Smith-Morris doesn’t mention the Pee Posh or ”Maricopa.”
The Gila River Indian Community consists of two Native American tribes, the Pima or ”Akimel O’odham,” and the Maricopa or ”Pee Posh.”
The Maricopa tribes lived along the lower Gila and Colorado rivers; and during the early 1800s, they migrated toward Pima villages. The Pima, who have a historical legacy of hospitality and friendship, established an alliance with the Maricopa. Both tribes provided protection against the Yuman and Apache tribes.
Smith-Morris uses pseudonyms for Gila River Indian Community mothers-to-be for interviews to give the reader an understanding of the community members’ perspective and mindset concerning diabetes. Throughout the book, she explores the different influences that contribute to the diabetic crisis in the community. She discusses the profound change and adaptation the Gila River Indian Community members have to undergo to survive in today’s world.
This book is recommended for scholarly reading or those who are interested in medical anthropology, ethnography and American Indian contemporary culture.
