“…Idle No More is an ongoing protest movement originating among the Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprising the First Nations, Metis and Inuit peoples and their non-Aboriginal supporters in Canada…” Wikipedia.

Education, health care, jobs. All will be re-examined.
Example: One of 700 native villages: Igloolik.
3,000 km north of Ottawa.
1,720 inhabitants; 96% Inuit. They have been there for 5,000 years.

Suicide rate: ten times greater that the Canadian general population;

Tuberculosis: seven times greater

Parkinson’s Disease?

Nobody knows. There are several PubMed papers about studies of Parkinson’s among Inuit in Greenland, and that seems to be where we picked up the rumour about it being double. This is important for native people who have Parkinson’s, because the “Idle No More” campaign will result in changes to education and health budgets, services, and organisation. Native PWP in Canada need to make sure that the special needs of PWP will be provided for. And this is issue is important for all PWP…. Is there more PD the further north you go? Is it diet, genetic?
Who knows? Certainly Health Canada has no clue.
Igloo-lick is not a popsicle that they can test for sugar content. And nobody ever thought of counting the PWP.

But I did get an answer from Barbara Snelgrove.
Director, Education & Service, Parkinson’s Society Canada.
Barbara did some research and said:

“To date, there has not been an epidemiological study in Canada for Parkinson’s disease; however, as part of the Neurological Health Charities Coalition (NHCC) and Public Health Agency research study which is currently underway, we hope to have data later in 2013. The impact of neurodegenerative diseases on aboriginal peoples will be included in this study.”

Thank you, Barbara. I will pass this on to some of my contacts among the Inuit and the First Nations, who mostly do not have Parkinsons, but who can help spread information among their people. A major factor is that Canada has 70 native languages.

Maybe someday Canada will see them with the heart