Book

Diabetes mellitus and Oklahoma Native Americans: a case study of culture change in Oklahoma Cherokee

University Microfilms International • Ann Arbor, Michigan • Published In 1987 • Pages:

By: Wiedman, Dennis William.

Abstract

The author's stated goal is to indentify the factors which may underlie the high rate of diabetes mellitus among the Oklahoma Cherokees. To this end, the author adopts a cultural ecological perspective, of which he provides a theoretical discussion. The disease, its causes, and etiology are extensively treated.The study centers around the Lee's Creek area of Oklahoma. Included is a history of the Cherokee from the earliest contacts to the present (1975). The historical outline is presented from the perspective of the Lee's Creek area, and not of the Cherokee per se. The author thus weaves together the history and interaction of Lee's Creek, the Cherokee, other Native American groups, and Euro-Americans. Particular attention is paid to land use patterns, change in subsistence patterns, and the integration of Lee's creek and its people into the U.S. economy. The source ends with a discussion of the relationship between cultural change and increasing rates of diabetes. Bio-cultural reasons are offered to explain the disease's prevalence. The piece concludes with recommendations for lowering the incidence of diabetes among the Oklahoma Cherokees.This document is thorough in its treatment of Lee's Creek history, and faithful to the ecological perspective. A good deal of information irrelevant from the perspective of of the Cherokee file is, however, included.

HRAF PubDate

2019

Region

North America

Sub Region

Eastern Woodlands

Document Type

Book

Evaluation

Creator Type

Ethnologist

Document Rating

4: Excellent Secondary Data

5: Excellent Primary Data

Analyst

Christopher Latham ; John Beierle ; 1988

Field Date

1978

Coverage Place

Lee's Creek drainage area in eastern Oklahoma, United States

Notes

Dennis William Wiedman

UM7918742

Includes bibliographical references

Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Oklahoma, Norman, 1979

LCSH

Cherokee Indians