Challenges Faced By Indigenous Peoples In Australia

The Way of Life of Indigenous Peoples

Discuss about the Indigenous People.

Indigenous people exist in varied numbers throughout the world. The word indigenous in itself describes individuals who have retained their place of birth and somewhat there history. This individuals have stayed within their locale or dwelt in their country or place of origin for hundreds of years or for a long period of time. Other terms are preferred in various places of the world other than the use of the word indigenous. For instance in Australia, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders is the preferred term. Within the United States and vicinity of Canada, the preferred term for this group of individuals include the first nations to describe the Indians and the Metis and Inuit populations that are found situated in Huawei (Anderson I, Crengle S, Kamaka ML, Chen TH, Palafox N, Jackson-Pulver L., 2006).

These groups of Indigenous individuals have a shockingly similar way of life in most cases and come with a longer lifetime compared to the non-indigenous groups. Most of the indigenous groups dwell in seclusion or separate themselves from the general populations. However, some of the indigenous groups such as the Aboriginal people have been found to integrate themselves into the general populations. However, they are faced with many obstacles in their quest to integrate themselves into the general population notwithstanding (Freemantle J, Read A, de Klerk N, McAullay D, Anderson I, Stanley, 2006).

Human resource capacity and infrastructure is one of the many challenges experienced by this Indigenous communities within the Australia in general. Major gaps exist in the health information systems for Canada’s Aboriginal peoples (McDermott, R., O’Dea, K., Rowley, K., Knight, S., & Burgess, P, 1998; Smylie, 2008). This is in regard to universally accepted measures and sources of measurement as well as the process of development of measures that are culturally relevant and acceptable.  The issues of Jurisdiction and the exercise of the right of sled-determination require the collaboration   of authorities and health information agencies that are available. The infrastructure that needs to be developed for the Aboriginal people is tremendous and needs the inclusion of very many individuals within the health and infrastructure development sector (Smylie, 2008; McDermott, R., O’Dea, K., Rowley, K., Knight, S., & Burgess, P, 1998).

The need to have the indigenous people educated in various aspects such as medicine also rises. There are as few as 10 to 20 individuals who have an Aboriginal ancestry who have had a history of learning or education in such fields. Training in public health will be a necessity to be included in their integration with the common people.

Human Resource Capacity and Infrastructure

Poverty is yet another aspect the aboriginal people will have to deal with as they move to their new location. Considering that Australia is above the third world countries in terms of resources, the Islanders have to work harder to gain access to basic needs such as food and water when they move into the Australia. The likely even that many of them move into the country increases the population and completion for basic necessities such as food and water. As a results of competition for basic necessities, poverty is bound to face them as they have fewer opportunities of self-development due t to their history (Renwick, A. R., Robinson, C. J., Garnett, S. T., Leiper, I., Possingham, H. P., & Carwardine, J., 2017).

Cultural barriers with the general population may promote inequitable health access to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Considering that the Aboriginal people poses a different culture and way of treatment that has lasted for many decades, the disparity in the way healthcare services are provided for the people is highly likely to occur. However, nurses are the first contact persons in terms of healthcare provision and may have the ability to change their perceptions. Cultural barriers also interfere with the way the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders communicate and interpret communication with others (Robson B. & Harris R., 2007).

The amount of income that the Aboriginal people will likely get is also likely to be lower to that of the general population. For instance, during the year 2010 the mean income of the Aboriginal people was estimated to be twenty thousand, seven hundred and one dollars per annum while the median income for the non-Aboriginal people was estimated to stand at thirty thousand one hundred and ninety six dollars (Anderson I, Crengle S, Kamaka ML, Chen TH, Palafox N, Jackson-Pulver L., 2006).

Higher levels of incarceration is an additional problem that the Aboriginal people. During the year 2015 to 2016, the number of Aboriginal individuals within correctional units was found to stand at twenty six percent of the admissions. Nearly half of all the people who were incarcerated in correctional units came from indigenous groups. More women than men were incarcerated in correctional units during this period in time. This data shows that when indigenous people are mixed with the general population, there is a higher likelihood for conflicting ideas. The conflicting ideas can be seen in the way the people are arrested into correctional units (Anderson I, Crengle S, Kamaka ML, Chen TH, Palafox N, Jackson-Pulver L., 2006).

Education and Poverty

The inclusion of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait islanders in the day to day activities is significantly affected by this factors. For instance, the culture of the Aboriginal people affects how they live with other people. Cultural practices that do not support the use of modern medicine through the use of traditional medicine, reduce their access to healthcare facilities (Downing, R., Kowal, E., & Paradies, Y., 2011). In this way, the Aboriginal people do not easily access healthcare. They are unusually secluded in their reserves even when they are sick. This aspect not only affects their health but also their wellbeing. Aboriginal populations experience poorer health compared to the non-Aboriginal groups of people. They have lower cancer screening, experience a later diagnosis of cancer and possess a poorer continuity of care at the end of the day. Their health seeking behavior is very poor (Anderson I, Crengle S, Kamaka ML, Chen TH, Palafox N, Jackson-Pulver L., 2006).

Owing to the fact that technology is the hallmark of progress in the current error and that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders are poorly educated, they have little or no access to technology. Technology and social media are necessary for sharing of views and acculturation into the community. The lack of sufficient opportunities to utilize technology makes the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders a secluded group within the community (Freemantle J, Read A, de Klerk N, McAullay D, Anderson I, Stanley, 2006).

In addition to the factors already discussed, discrimination severely hampers the inclusion of the Aboriginal and Torres Islanders in the Australian community (Booth, A. L., Leigh, A., & Varganova, E., 2012). The persistent racial inequality within the Australian community affects a wide sphere of domains. The domains affected include the inclusion of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in the employment sector. The provision of housing is also serve rely affected. The healthcare system and their access to health as a basic need is also severely derailed. In addition, their social inclusion is also affected, that is their ability to easily socialize with other people because of the associated levels of discrimination (Robson B. & Harris R., 2007)..

1. Improving their access to health care- the indigenous groups have fewer avenues to access health care. There is a need to improve access to healthcare by making it culturally and socially acceptable to the groups and also reducing its cost.(Vos, T., Barker, B., Begg, S., Stanley, L., & Lopez, A. D, 2009).
2. Providing land rights, territories and resources to the groups- most of the indigenous groups suffer from the effects of land grabbing. Land grabbers take away their land and territories. Land rights and avenues should be provided for to this groups(Zander, K. K., & Garnett, S. T., 2011).
3. Participation and representation in decision-making within the relevant bodies- The indigenous groups should be included in the decision-making processes that pertain to their own wellbeing. This is basically because they understand their community better(Downing, R., Kowal, E., & Paradies, Y., 2011).

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Aboriginal people and Torres Islanders are bound to experience a lot of resistance and discrimination when they move into new communities. However, by recognizing these instances of discrimination, ways and means can be put in place to enable them to be self-aware and deal with the circumstances. A lot still has to be done for the indigenous groups to be accepted nationally and internationally.

References

Anderson I, Crengle S, Kamaka ML, Chen TH, Palafox N, Jackson-Pulver L. (2006). Indigenous health n Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific. Lancet, 367(9524):1775–1785. [PubMed].

Booth, A. L., Leigh, A., & Varganova, E. (2012). Does ethnic discrimination vary across minority groups? Evidence from a field experiment. Oxford Bulletin of Economics and Statistics, 74(4), 547-573.

Downing, R., Kowal, E., & Paradies, Y. (2011). Indigenous cultural training for health workers in Australia. International Journal for Quality in Health Care, 23(3), 247-257.

Freemantle J, Read A, de Klerk N, McAullay D, Anderson I, Stanley. (2006). Infant mortality among Australian Aboriginals—authors’ reply. Lancet., 368(9539):916–917. [PubMed].

McDermott, R., O’Dea, K., Rowley, K., Knight, S., & Burgess, P. (1998). Beneficial impact of the Homelands Movement on health outcomes in central Australian Aborigines. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 22(6), 653-658.

Renwick, A. R., Robinson, C. J., Garnett, S. T., Leiper, I., Possingham, H. P., & Carwardine, J. (2017). Mapping Indigenous land management for threatened species conservation: An Australian case-study. PloS one,, 12(3), e0173876.

Robson B. and Harris R. (2007). editors. Hauora: Maori Standards of Health IV. New Zealand:: Wellington,.

Smylie. (2008). The health of Aboriginal people. In: Raphael D, editor. Social Determinant of Health – Canadian Perspectives. 2nd ed. Toronto, Ontario. Canadian Scholars Press;, pp. 41–43.

Vos, T., Barker, B., Begg, S., Stanley, L., & Lopez, A. D. (2009). Burden of disease and injury in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples: the Indigenous health gap. International journal of epidemiology, 38(2), 470-477.

Zander, K. K., & Garnett, S. T. (2011). The economic value of environmental services on indigenous-held lands in Australia,. PloS one, 6(8), e23154.