Indigenous Australians

referendum was an important part of Aboriginal history as it finally allowed them to be acknowledged as Australians, and demonstrated that the majority of Australian people accepted Aborigines in society. This event is historically significant as it is recognised to be one of the largest ‘yes’ votes ever recorded in a federal referendum and is therefore seen as a momentous occasion in Australian history. This referendum helped to demonstrate to the government and the white population that they…

overall lifestyle for all Indigenous Australians. Injustice and inequality for Aboriginals were common and dated back to the first settlement in 1788. Momentous protests, Day of Mourning and the Freedom Ride successfully promoted against the prejudice and discrimination towards the Aboriginals. Other memorable events of protest include Eddie Mabo Land Rights. All of these events successfully made significant changes to Aboriginal Australians and shaped their Australian lifestyle. Eddie…

9 Theme 3: The Impact of Racism on Indigenous Health Health among human populations is a multifaceted and complex phenomenon, and this is no less so for Indigenous peoples. For Indigenous peoples, unlike white Australians and Pākehā New Zealanders, racism is a fundamental driver of health. Pathways from racism to ill-health may include: reduced and unequal access to the societal resources required for health (e.g. employment, education, • housing, medical care, social…

Introduction (110) The current health status of Indigenous Australian children and youth is poorer across a broad range of health, including physical, mental and social health, compared with non-Indigenous young people (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW] 2011). The poor health status of Indigenous young people contrasts with their holistic model of health that involves physical, mental and social well-being of the whole community (Taylor & Guerin 2014). One of the factors…

understanding the complexities of providing culturally competent Aboriginal health, physiotherapy and rehabilitation care within the Australian primary health care system. Non-Indigenous health care professionals cannot truly understand the true complexity of the past impacts of colonialism, the political process and the community’s prejudice effects on the Indigenous health status. This report intends to inspire health care professionals to understand the development of cultural competency…

Introduction Prior to enrolling in the unit ‘Indigenous issues in criminal justice,’ I was only aware of minor details in relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders in the criminal justice system. The information I have been previously fed was enforced by negative and stereotypical representations. I had assumed indigenous people were unwilling to conform to expectations of modern society as a retaliation to the actions of the white settlers. However, Indigenous issues in criminal…

monitored and controlled. The fear of an essential genocide scarred an identity of victimhood within the Indigenous people (Laqueur, 2010). While the Indigenous narrative was grounded in victimhood, the Australian master narrative at the time was one of the savior. This narrative was perpetuated by cultural leaders and maintained by the government, as few individuals had personal memories of Indigenous people and history was written by mainstream…

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. His Honour, Judge Irwin quoted, “there is a way we can do better for indigenous people and reduce their level of over representation in the prison population,”…

During the years of 1910 to 1970 children of Indigenous or mixed descent were forcefully removed from their communities, families and mothers with the intention of integrating them into white Australian culture, this is now known as “The Stolen Generation(s)” (Kennedy, 2011, p.333). This happened to an estimated one in three to one in ten Indigenous Australian children and then sent to organisations run by churches or government missions (Atkinson, 2005, p.73). This review will discuss the…

Indigenous peoples do not have an equal opportunity to be as healthy as non-Indigenous Australians There has been very little progress in reducing this inequality gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Indigenous Australians over the past decade, for example in relation to long term measures such as life expectation Death rates from cardiovascular disease in the general population have fallen 30% since 1991, and 70% in the last 35-years16 whereas Indigenous people do not…