The nuances within the youth of the Norway House Cree Nation along with the escalation in drugs, gangs and violence have led to climbing incarceration rates within the youth population. This has resulted in social devastation in the community over the last few decades. Statistics alone do not provide individual or community perspectives, or the nuanced understanding that insider qualitative research provides. In-depth interviewing provides personal accounts from the youth, community members, and respected Elders, and helps to provide insights on the complexity of community life that are absent from statistical accounts. By the time this thesis is defended, another noose will tighten, another fatal gunshot will be fired, and another youth will overdose on drugs or another suicide attempt might succeed. For many who manage to escape death, they will continue to face a life of abuse, poverty, and an uncertain future that may lead to a lifetime of incarceration, and premature death. This is the reality for too many youth of the Norway House Cree Nation. The community looks directly to their leaders not only to guide the economic development of the community, but at a very personal level. Our youth are very astute and observant; community leaders must demonstrate positive and healthy behaviour within the leadership in order for positive youth outcomes. Ekosani!

This thesis discusses the impact of the 1918 influenza pandemic at Norway House and Fisher River, Manitoba. Despite sharing similar overall mortality rates during the pandemic, the two communities showed substantial differences when the distribution of deaths are examined at the family level. Reconstituted family data show that deaths were more tightly clustered within a small number of families at Norway House, while at Fisher River they were distributed amongst more families. Adults perished more often at Norway House than Fisher River. Historical documentation suggests, moreover, that the day-to-day functioning of Norway House was more severely disrupted than was the case for Fisher River. I argue that the differences in the family distribution of mortality at the two communities is linked to differences in social organization and, specifically, to the presence or absence of the Hudson's Bay Company. To test this hypotheses the data are examined using aggregate techniques, reconstituted family data and a technique outlined in Scott and Duncan's 2001 work. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA)