I respectfully acknowledge the Elders and custodians of the Yuin nation, past and present, their descendants and kin of the land where I am living, studying and working. This is a warning that this journal may contain images, voices and names of deceased Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Island people. Whilst attending school with two Aboriginal students in my class, I was never exposed to people stereotyping Aboriginal people.…
As you are reading this article today, remember that although Aboriginal people make up only 3% of Australia’s total population, they represent over 28% (9,940 adult prisoners) of Australia’s prison population in 2015 and this number is rising. To combat this issue, the Murri Court was established. The Murri Court was founded in Queensland in 2002 in response to the increasing representation of Indigenous Australian people in prison. This court sentences Indigenous offenders who plead guilty to offences which fall within the jurisdiction of the Magistrates Court, for example assault or theft.…
Social determinants of health (SDH) are factors that determine health and wellbeing and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people these have been identified to be a history of health, racism, poverty, social class, education, powerlessness, employment, income, incarceration, housing and infrastructure, family separation, control over own health, land and reconciliation (Eckermann, Dowd, Chong, Gray, & Johnson, 2010, pp.168-169). This is why SDH are conditions where people born, grow, work, live and age and can are influenced by forces and systems like social norms (McMurray & Clendon, 2015, pp 10-11). Therefore, culture has a direct correlation with SDH as it shapes and defines how people see the world and their place in it. It is learnt…
In Australian history the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia were not treated with the respect and dignity that they deserve, they have been the protectors of this land for many years before British colonised here, they lived from the land and they had a very strong community based life. After years of demoralising them and taking their basic ways of life away from them, we now have certain policies and procedures in place to bring the equality back. From the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Health Plan 2013-2023 the government is committed to improving health and wellbeing through closing the gap in health outcomes with the wider Australian population. In the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders Health…
Indigenous Australian Youth refers to both Aboriginal and Torres State Islander individuals between…
Some structural issues within an Aboriginal community are triggered from the effects of colonization that was enforced by the Canadian government. Jordan and his family seem to be impacted significantly by these issues. Some impacts his family could be facing at the moment is “poverty, [unemployment,] lack of education, inadequate or lack of affordable housing and dependency on social services” (Ives, Denov, Sussman 2015, p. 214). Jordan seems to be struggling with alcohol issues along with his father, which could be triggered by being unemployed or having little income, One would need to investigate the case further to see if the statement is true. It seems to be true that Jordan is experiencing child poverty considering that he is resorting…
Due to the effects of colonization, discrimination, and racism, Aboriginal peoples, as well as their communities, have been experiencing adverse health outcomes that have been resonating across generations. The negative health outcomes are a result of years of damage to their traditions, languages, beliefs and self-identity. The high rates of HIV, depression and chronic diseases among Aboriginals are linked to experiences of poverty, unemployment, racism, and poor living conditions as well as the loss of community ties. Likewise, the participants in those studies found that reconnecting to their communities and cultures was an essential method of coping with their illness (Cain 2011). However, the extent and methods by which Aboriginals reconnected…
Aboriginal Protection Boards (“APB”) practiced different measures to control the lives of Aboriginal people in the twentieth century through a form of dispossession. Throughout their lives, Aboriginals, were humiliated, discriminated against and living substandard conditions and facing inequality, was a norm. The APB dispossessed of many imperative and meaningful influences within the Aboriginal people’s lives, work, families and place of residence. The Aboriginal Protection Boards were seen as the “legal” way to condemn the Aborigines, this defined the Boards as superior, granting them substantial authority. This power equipped them in controlling the Aboriginal people’s lives accordingly to their desires and undermining the true intellectuality…
There is still a considerable gap between Aboriginal people and non-Aboriginal…
Controversy – Australians travelling to Bali The picturesque natural landscape of Indonesia’s tourist hotspot Bali, has become a dumping ground for the filth flown in by the hundreds daily. Now am I talking about carbon emissions from those underwhelming Jetstar 737’s? I wish. No, unfortunately not.…
The United Aboriginal Struggle “Get over it!” A statement that has been repeated time and time again, with regards to Indigenous land. It’s a surprise that Aboriginals want their land back after centuries of not owning it. Is it not? Well, no, it is not.…
Health promotion and nursing interventions: Within the public health sector – aboriginal health is a national health priority. There are strategies, actions plans and initiatives that share a focal point of Aboriginal education/employment (Government of Western Australia, n.d.), health maintenance, disease prevention and management. A campaign that shares this goal is that of ‘Close the Gap’, a government funded promotion that employs a focus to reduce indigenous disadvantage with respect to life expectancy, child mortality, access to early childhood education, educational achievement, and employment outcomes in order to reduce and eliminate disparities between western demographic groups with indigenous populations (Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet,…
Over the last century the Indigenous Australians faced a lot of issues like health, education, unemployment, poverty and crime. Initially these people faced identity problems and the children of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders were forcibly removed from their families by the federal and State government till 1970. Age standardisation was used when they compared Indigenous and non-Indigenous Austrians because the population of the Indigenous Austrians was much younger than the non-Indigenous population. The life expectancy of the Indigenous people was lesser than the non-Indigenous people because their deaths were not identified. Before the life expectancy gap was nearly 25 years but in the recent time it has reduced to around 10years.…
Introduction Aboriginal people are culturally diverse with a substantial and convincing history. The Aboriginal Australians had an impact of colonisation, legislation and the stolen generation which has created a major hardship for them. These problems are continuing today with an impact on Aboriginal people and their mental health. As a result, of the impact of their history, problems such as anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder and depression are becoming more ordinary in Aboriginal communities across Western Australia.…
Throughout decades, healthcare in Australia have worked hard through both on individuals and populations to improved the Aboriginal health compared to non-Aboriginal. In the past, many of Aboriginals generations have neglected as a result of discrimination and deficiency of healthcare services in remote areas (National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organization). Hence, the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) (p.9), has announced in 2010, one of their priorities is to improve Aboriginal health by understanding their history and culture and defy racism in GPs practices. There are three main determinants associated with the poor health of Aborigines. First, mental health, which considered a fundamental component…