An eagle's view: perspectives about diabetes in Yekooche First Nation, a first nation's community in northern British Columbia

A substantial amount of quantitative literature documents the prevalence and incidents rates and causes of diabetes among First Nations, but few qualitative literature documents exist exploring First Nations perceptions about diabetes and its causes. This study utilized the Two-Eyed Seeing framework to explore Yekooche member’s perceptions about diabetes. The research objectives of the research were: 1) to understand how Yekooche members define diabetes; 2) to explore Yekooche perceptions of diabetes; and, 3) to examine their beliefs and understanding of diabetes education and diabetes educational materials. This qualitative research addressed these objectives through interviews conducted with Yekooche First Nation. Analysis of the interviews generated findings which are presented in story form, providing insights into how participants understand the causes about diabetes, their experience with diabetes related complications, their fears and concerns of children developing diabetes, and the unexpected finding of their experiences with the effects of clear-cutting on their health.