Assembling scholars from nursing, women's studies, geography, native studies, and history, this volume looks at the experience of nurses in Newfoundland and Labrador, northern Saskatchewan, northern British Columbia, and the Arctic and features essays on topics such as Mennonite midwives in Western Canada, missionary nurses, and Aboriginal nursing assistants in the Yukon. Contributors illuminate the larger themes of religion, colonialism, social divisions, and native-newcomer relations. Special attention is paid to nursing in Aboriginal communities and the relations of race to medical work, particularly in connection to ideas of British ethnicity and conceptualized meanings of "whiteness." An informative collection of fascinating works, Caregiving on the Periphery provides insight into the history of medicine in Canada and the long-established importance of women for the country's wellbeing.

Myra Rutherdale (1961-2014) was associate professor of history at York University.

Myra Rutherdale's profile page

"Caregiving on the Periphery provides an excellent introduction to some of the best in nursing and midwife history in Canada. It also provides students and specialists with new avenues for further research on the multidimensional history of caregiving." B

"This collection is a major contribution to the growing body of literature on the social history of medicine in Canada... Highly recommended." M. L. Charleroy, University of Minnesota