Module 2 Student Workbook
History and Policies affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health
(Readings, notes and student online activities)
Learning Outcomes for Module 2
| Upon successful completion of Module 2, students should be able to: Demonstrate an understanding of the role of history and past/present government policies have on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Understand the experiences of the Stolen Generations and the consequences on the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples Critically analyse how historical policies impact the provision of culturally appropriate health care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples |
Module 2 is divided into three sections
Section 1: Colonisation and government policies
AssignmentTutorOnline
Section 2. Native Title – Eddie Mabo
Section 3: Application to Nursing and Midwifery Practice
Please note: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that some of this content may contain images, voices or names of deceased persons in photographs, film, audio recordings or printed material.
Readings for Module 2:
Eckermann, A. K., Down, T., Chong, E., Nixon, L., Gray, R., & Johnson, S. (2010). Binan Goonj: Bridging cultures in Aboriginal health (3rd ed.). Chatswood, NSW: Elsevier Australia. Pp1-42 (the important policy areas are summarised for students in this document and will be explored in the tutorial).
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation (2017). Bringing Them home 20 years on: An action plan for healing.
Nursing & Midwifery Board of Australia & Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and Midwives (2018)
Uluru Statement from the Heart (2017)
N.B. These weekly readings are incorporated into the notes and activities in this module. Complete the Module 2 Workbook activities, read the notes, review the PowerPoint slides and then attempt the online quiz.
*As you move through this document, use the glossary of terms at pages 16-18. An understanding of these terms will enhance your understanding with regards to past and present Government policies.
Section 1: Colonisation & government policies
| Student Activity 1: Reflect and write. Before accessing the link below, make some notes on your thoughts about what you understand about ‘colonisation’ in Australia.
Student Activity 2: Watch: Episode 1 They have come to stay The first Australians and the British, the most powerful Empire in history, come face to face in Sydney on January 26, 1788. Their differences are immense, but apprehension quickly turns to curiosity. Friendships form, some between powerful men such as Governor Arthur Phillip and the Aboriginal man calledBennelong. But by the time this pair leave for London three years later, relations between the two races have soured. The bloodshed worsens as settlers spread out across the land. Student Activity 3: Reflect and write . Having watched this episode, what do you think about colonisation now? |
The following section offers a summary of some of the Government decisions/policies that have impacted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in the past and that continue today.
European colonisation/Invasion (1788-1880’s)
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have lived continuously on this continent since time immemorial. Recent genetic sequencing suggests the continuous occupation of this continent by modern humans for around 70,000 years.
At the time of British colonisation (1778), it is estimated there were over 750,000-800,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people living in Australia (Madden & Jackson Pulver, 2009). There were around 371 distinct languages spoken on the Australian mainland, Tasmania and in the Torres Strait (Bowern, 2011). Yet the land was designated by the British as ‘terra nullius’. Aboriginal land was taken over by British colonists on the premise that the land belonged to no-one. European Colonisation/invasion was not a peaceful process.
There was large-scale frontier war (Rogers & Bain, 2016). The frontier conflict lasted for over 140 years and the cultural divides remain prevalent today (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), 2015). Aboriginal resistance fighters emerged; such as Pemulwuy, of the Bidgigal nation located in today’s western Sydney, between 1788 and 1802. He was one of many Aboriginal people that led a guerrilla war against the British settlement at Sydney (Barani Sydney’s Aboriginal History, nd; AIATSIS, 2013).
Population numbers fell rapidly over the ensuing century to around 200,000. This was due to the impacts of war, dispossession and the introduction of diseases to which the people had no resistance such as smallpox, influenza and measles.
Today the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples represent 2.8 per cent of the population counted in the 2016 Census – up from 2.5 per cent in 2011, and 2.3 per cent in 2006. (ABS, 2017).
Unlike other British colonies (USA, Canada and New Zealand), no treaty was ever negotiated between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the Crown. On 26 January, 1938 a group of Aboriginal activists lead by William Cooper (Yorta Yorta) and Bill Ferguson (Wiradjuri) lead the now famous Day of Mourning and delivered their manifesto ‘Aborigines Claim Citizen Rights’ (National Museum Australia, nd). This was the culmination of decades of activism that continues to this day. But what are the policies and conditions Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are protesting, and why is this ‘unfinished business’ still making headlines today?
Poverty and racism are other less obvious effects of colonisation but they are no less devastating. The incomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are generally lower than the average for other Australians. This results in many people having inadequate housing, water quality, food supplies and sanitation. These social determinants seriously affect the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (Marmot, 2011).
’ Protection’ and segregation policies (1880’s-1950s)
The protection regime meant that every aspect of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ lives was controlled by Government. In 1881 George Thornton MLC was appointed as the first NSW Protector of Aborigines and in NSW the Aboriginal Protection Board was set up in 1883. In 1909 the Aboriginal Protection Act was passed. The NSW Aborigines Protection Board was later renamed the Aborigines Welfare Board (Barani, Sydney’s Aboriginal History, 2013).
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander survivors of violent frontier conflicts were moved onto reserves or missions. The colonial government believed that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people would become extinct. This ‘Protection’ resulted in forced segregation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples from their land and had disastrous effects on the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as they were forced to give up their traditional diet, which was often replaced by flour, sugar, and tea. These were issued in the form of rations instead of wages and often included tobacco. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were prohibited and punished for sharing, learning and enjoying traditional culture, language and family associations. They were also forbidden from speaking traditional languages and practicing their culture in the form of ceremonies and rites of passage (Eckermann et al, 2010).
Assimilation policies (1950’s-1960’s)
Assimilation policies proposed that ‘full blood’ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be allowed to ‘die out’ through a process of natural elimination (social Darwinism), while ‘half-castes’ were encouraged to assimilate into the white community. This approach was founded on the assumption of black inferiority and white superiority (scientific racism) (Eckerman et al, 2010).
(* Note: Inappropriate Terminology : This logic lead to the usage of a range of offensive and persistent terms used to describe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including those that attempted to classify people according to parentage and skin colour, e.g., full-blood, half-caste, quarter-caste, quadroon, or part-Aborigine. These are extremely offensive to Aboriginal people and should never be used).
What was the aim of Assimilation?
The aim of assimilation was to make the ‘Aboriginal problem’ gradually disappear so that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people would lose their identity in the wider community.
How did Protection and Assimilation policies impact Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people?
Protection and assimilation policies included separate education for Aboriginal children, town curfews, alcohol bans, no social security, lower wages, State guardianship of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and laws that segregated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people into separate living areas, mainly on special reserves outside towns or in remote areas. Another major feature of the assimilation policy was stepping up the forcible removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families and their placement in white institutions or foster homes (Eckerman et al, 2010).
Bringing them home Report 1997
What were the consequences of the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in NSW?
‘Many members of the Stolen Generation reported during the Bringing them home Inquiry that they were forbidden to speak their languages, they were told their parents did not want them, they experienced neglect as well as physical, emotional and sexual abuse, they received little or no education, and were refused contact with their families. The effects of the separation from their parents and communities, being institutionalised and being abused, have been reported to impact on self-esteem, cultural identity, social skills and survival skills, developing relationships and parenting’ (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2010). Many members of the Stolen Generations still have not been reunited with their families. The legacy of forcible removal remains in the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals and communities today.
The NSW Aborigines Welfare Board controlled the lives of Aboriginal people until the 1960s, pursuing policies that are now acknowledged as having contributed to the destruction of Aboriginal families and society by separating children from their parents. These children became known as ‘the Stolen Generations’ (Eckermann et al 2010).
The personal and communal desolation resulting from the removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families was recognised at the 1996 hearings of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families , which gave rise to the Bringing them home Report in May 1997 (Eckermann et al., 2010). In this report the experiences of the Stolen Generations were extensively documented. It stated that a deliberate policy of assimilation was fundamental to the removal process. The authors went on to say that:
‘the forcible removal of Indigenous children was a gross violation of their human rights. It … was an act of genocide contrary to the Convention on Genocide ratified by Australia in 1949’ (Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, 1997b)
Genocide is not only the mass killing of a people. The essence of genocide is acting with the intention to destroy the group, not the extent to which that intention has been achieved. A major intention of forcibly removing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children was to ‘absorb’, ‘merge’ or ‘assimilate’ them, so a distinct people group would disappear. Authorities sincerely believed assimilation would be in the ‘best interests’ of the children, but this is irrelevant to a finding that their actions were genocidal (Australian Human Rights Commission 2001)
There were 54 recommendations in total. The Report concluded that those affected had a right to reparations, including:
an acknowledgment of the truth
an apology
protection in the future in the form of guarantees that such a breach of their human rights would not occur again
that where possible there would be the return of what had been lost
that rehabilitation and compensation would be made available
The report also made findings about the contemporary removal of children from their families (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation, 2017).
The continuing effects of the Stolen Generations
There was limited implementation of the ‘Bringing them home’ Report recommendations. This failure has further added to a range of negative outcomes. For example, young people with parents, grandparents or great grandparents who were taken are:
50% more likely to be charged by police
30% less likely to be in good health
10% less likely to have a job
(Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation, 2017).
‘Australia’s lack of historical acceptance is a potential barrier to reconciliation. Until we accept our past, make amends for injustices and pledge to ensure that these wrongs are never repeated, Australia will not achieve true reconciliation … There is a continued perception by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that past wrongs have not been righted. This is a major barrier to reconciliation. The data supports this perception and shows that efforts to repair past wrongs have been slow, piecemeal, largely ignored, or are getting worse’ (Reconciliation Australia, 2016).
| Student Activity 4: Access the link to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation (2017) Bringing Them home 20 years on: An action plan for healing. Read pages 18-19 and answer the following questions: What was a realistic estimate for the number of Stolen Generation members? What are the continuing effects on the Stolen Generations and their immediate family and descendants? Access and listen to the following links audio stories. |
Healing centres are important for Stolen Generations members and their descendants. Many of the Stolen Generations have nowhere to call home. The centres offer a place of healing and renewal that helps to support members in a culturally safe place (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation, 2017).
Integration Policies (1967-1972)
In 1967 a successful constitutional referendum was held by the Federal government resulting in Aboriginal people being included in population counts (e.g., via the national Census) and in the Australian Government being able to make laws with respect to Aboriginal people. This success, reflecting the commitment and dedication of a core group of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people campaigning for over a decade, was a radical shift from previous assimilation policies to a period referred to as self-determination and self-management (1972-1990’s). It was also a period of frustration at the pace and quality of change, brought to a head by the establishment of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy on the lawns of Parliament House in 1972, to highlight the issue of Aboriginal land rights.
Self-Management/Determination Policies (1972-1990’s)
In 1972, with the election of the Whitlam Labor Government, the principle of self-determination began to be introduced into government policies. The aim was for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to have power and take charge of their own affairs and be involved in decisions that impacted their lives. While there was recognition and implementation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rights, self-determination was not fully achieved. There was intense pressure for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to become self-reliant, but there was still a bureaucratic ideology of ‘we’ll help you to do what we want you to do’. Despite this, Aboriginal community-controlled health, housing and legal services were established and many continue to this day. Increasing numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were able to access more meaningful education and employment opportunities (Eckermann et al., (2010).
In terms of its impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeing, short term government funding resulted in inefficiencies and uncoordinated service delivery and a government agenda, which did not truly support self-determination (Oxfam, 2017):
‘many of the fundamental rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have not progressed. The principle failure of successive governments has been the failure to listen to and effectively include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in decision-making about matters which affect their lives’ (Oxfam, 2017, p3).
During this period of self-determination terra nullius (empty land) was challenged and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples’ Land Rights (Native Title) established in Law.
Reconciliation (1996-2007) During this period, the government rejected the history of colonisation but committed to ‘practical reconciliation’ placing an emphasis on improving health, education, housing and employment.
Normalisation (2007-) Current policy period being characterised as ‘normalisation’.
The National Apology, 13 February 2008
On 13th February 2008, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd made a formal apology to Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, particularly to the Stolen Generations, whose lives had been blighted by past government policies of forced child removal and Aboriginal assimilation. The journey to national apology began with the Bringing them home Report – the findings of an inquiry instigated by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in 1995 and published in 1997 as highlighted above.
Recent campaigns
Several recent campaigns focus on improving the outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are:
Treaty … Recognition and
Close the gap campaign
Treaty … Recognition
The Constitution is the governing document of Australia. It outlines the rules by which government holds power, and the principles by which legislation should be created. Two hundred and fifty Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders met at Uluru in Central Australia from 23-26 May 2017 to discuss the best approach to constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This resulted in the Uluru Statement from the Heart which calls for constitutional reforms to empower Aboriginal people to take a rightful place in their own country. The request was for a constitutionally guaranteed advisory body to provide advice to Parliament. This body would have no voting rights and would not alter the make-up of the Australian Parliament, but would, for the first time, give Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples a voice to Parliament. It also requested a Makarrata Commission to commence treaty negotiations engaging with all Australian state governments and more active steps for ‘truth telling about our history’. This blueprint for Constitutional reform was rejected by Malcolm Turnbull’s government in October 2017 (Reconciliation Australia, 2018). Is history repeating itself?
Close the Gap Campaign
The national Closing the Gap initiative was implemented in 2008. The objective was to achieve health parity between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and non-Aboriginal Australians by 2030. The 2018 report produced by Close the Gap, which is a non-government body, stated that a decade of tumultuous political and bureaucratic change had, “all but halted the steady progress hoped for by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.” The annual reporting on seven key indicators (we looked at them last week) suggests that three are on track, but the reality is that progress is very poor (Holland, 2018).
Aboriginal and Torres Strait health professionals have been identified as playing a vital role in Closing the gap, yet they remain under-represented in the professions. Why?
| Student Activity 5: Reflect and write. A review of several major Australian nursing texts that incorporate chapters on the history of nursing will demonstrate there is little reference made to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives. Why do you think Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives are not recognised in Australian nursing history? What are the consequences for the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people when the knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives, which is based on holistic perceptions of health, is not integrated into mainstream health services? Google the first recorded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and midwives. Read their profiles or listen to their stories. Marilyn Lowe The first recorded Aboriginal Nurse honoured Edna Williams Emeritus Professor Maryann Bin-Sallik These first Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses, and the many others who have not been recognised, paved the way for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders in health today. Some of these include: Professor Lisa Pulver Jackson, AM, Janine Mohamed, Professor Roianne West, Professor Marion Kickett, Professor Rhonda Marriot. There are many more. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are represented in all health professional groups, eg. healthcare workers, medicine, nursing, midwifery, physiotherapy; and are working in mainstream healthcare and Aboriginal Controlled Health Services throughout Australia. Their vital role in ‘closing the gap’ is recognised, but the numbers qualifying and working within the sector are not adequately represented in relation to the population (Kruske, 2012). Student Activity 6: Reflect and write. Why do you think that there has been an underrepresentation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses in healthcare? What do you think the barriers are and how do you think they could be removed? |
Section 2. Native Title (Eddie Mabo)
Eddie Koiki Mabo was a gardener and civil rights activist who, while working at James Cook University, met historians Noel Loos and Henry Reynolds, who recalled:
“…we were having lunch one day when Koiki was just speaking about his land back on Mer, or Murray Island. Henry and I realised that in his mind he thought he owned that land, so we sort of glanced at each other, and then had the difficult responsibility of telling him that he didn’t own that land, and that it was Crown land. Koiki was surprised, shocked… he said and I remember him saying, ‘No way, it’s not theirs, it’s ours.”
This realisation led to a test case to claim land rights and on 20 May 1982, Koiki and fellow Mer Islanders – began their legal claim for ownership of their lands on the island of Mer with the High Court of Australia. This became known as the ‘Mabo Case’. On 3 June, 1992, the High Court of Australia decided in favour of Eddie Koiki Mabo and his fellow plaintiffs. The judgments of the High Court resulted in the legal doctrine of Native Title being introduced into Australian law. The Court recognised the traditional rights of the Meriam people to their islands in the eastern Torres Strait and also held that Native Title existed for all Indigenous peoples in Australia. The doctrine of terra nullius was overturned (Australian Institute of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Studies, 2017).
Student Activity 7: Watch Eddie Mabo . He challenged the doctrine of terra nullius and won.
Section 3: Application to Nursing and Midwifery Practice
When working with patients from diverse cultural backgrounds nurses and midwives work in the ‘intercultural space’. If there is a lack of recognition of differing worldviews and/or unconscious bias, patients will not feel culturally safe. Nurses need “to understand how their own culture, values, attitudes, assumptions and beliefs influence their interactions with people and families, the community and colleagues” (Nursing Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) and the Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Midwives (CATSINaM), joint article, 2018).
Summary
Figure 1 below offers a summary of past and current government policies affecting the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It places both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and the British colonisers within an ‘intercultural space’ (Nakata, 2007), and highlights their differing worldviews and power differentials.
| Aboriginal Peoples Collective Community orientated Diverse: languages, cultures, lifestyle, geography Complex kin systems and webs of obligations and responsibilities Well-developed law, lore Land / spirituality / stewardship / caretaker / part of the land |
British (Settlers + Convicts) Individual Industrial, Land ownership and dominion (dwellings + agriculture) Primarily Christian (future-looking, sin, worthiness, Protestant work ethic) Science, technology, progress, modernity Secularism |
||
|
Aboriginal World View |
The Inter-Cultural Space |
British & Australian World View |
|
| Aboriginal Experience | British & Australian Government Policy | ||
| Welcome the visitors then guerrilla warfare, frontier violence and resistance concession of much land and power | Dispossession Loss of tribal boundaries Culture, disempowerment Violence, Cultural violence, high mortality | Settlement (1788-1880s) Terra nullius Murder, warfare, take-over of land | Dying ‘race’, ‘scientific’ evolution Aboriginals: timeless, prehistoric, primitive, powerless Benevolent settlement/peaceful settlement |
| Formal Political Response Combination of submission and resistance (depending on location, experience) Political activism Pan-Aboriginal politics and rights movement Linkages with supportive people in dominant society Social/Cultural Response Focus on survival Some – withdrawal to remote locations and from interaction Lack of trust in dominant society Growing anger and pride in Aboriginal history and culture Coping with STRESS: » Dysfunctional families and communities » Breakdown of social structures » Loss of control & self-esteem » Worn down by racism and discrimination » Alcohol, drugs, cigarettes » Behavioral issues » Welfare dependency |
Loss of legal control over children up to age 16 Undermined adult roles and power No state schooling or financial report Social control: curfews, reserves Rations (flour, sugar, tea, tobacco, salt), little employment, hunting curtailed Families separated Some recognition of humanity ‘choice’ within parameters and power set by dominant society Housing policy – conflict and failure Held accountable when ability had not been developed Significant change or window-dressing? 2003 Nationally elected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission (ATSIC) closed 2005 ATSIC regional councils closed 2013 National Congress of First Peoples funds cut |
Segregation & Protection (1880s-1950s) Missionaries ‘protection’ Reserves for ‘full blood’ to prevent inter-breeding Removal of ‘mixed blood’ for civilizing, genocide (1937) | Social Darwinism ‘Smoothing the dying pillow” Civilizing the ‘savages’, teach sobriety, thrift and hard-working Removed white consciousness |
| Assimilation (1950s-1960s) Education Push for citizenship Start of human rights era | Humanitarianism | ||
| Integration (1967-1972) Choice for Aboriginal people Citizenship for Aboriginal people | [UN Declaration of Human Rights 1948] [Discovery of DNA] There is a much greater division in Australian thinking and responses to Aboriginal and TSI history, present and future. United Nations Declaration of Indigenous Human Rights (UNDRIP) (2007) UNDRIP not accepted until 2009 by the Australian government due to the reluctance to agree to self- determinant. Closing the Gap policy falters as it fails to meet all but one of the 7 targets Australian Government rejects Aboriginal Voice in Parliament |
||
| Self-Determination (1972-1975) Multiculturalism | |||
| Self-Management (1975-1989) Accountability for decision-making Management of all finances | |||
| Self-Management II (1989-1996) Mabo (terra nullius) Wik (land access) Fear of Aboriginal land claims | |||
| Reconciliation (1996-2007) Normalisation (2007- Demise of ATSIC Apology and Closing the Gap (2008-) NTER Constitutional Recognition (2017) |
9
Figure 1: Health Outcomes. Adapted by McCrorie, P. & Robertson, J. from Eckermann, A. K., Down, T., Chong, E., Nixon, L., Gray, R., & Johnson, S. (2010). Binan Goonj: Bridging cultures in Aboriginal health (3rd ed.). Chatswood, NSW: Elsevier Australia.
| Throughout this module you have been asked to reflect over the content. The next Student Activity offers you a framework through which you can develop your critical reflective writing skills in this unit. Don’t panic have a go an we will go over it in the tutorial. Student Activity 8: Identify an issue/topic in the Module 2 and critically reflect over it. Use the Gibbs Reflective Cycle to guide your writing. Gibbs (1988) The ‘issue’ that you select may relate to one of the topics listed below or something else that has caught your attention/effected how you think about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their health. The following are some possible areas on which to base a reflection, but you need to decide which ones are relevant to you, what has impacted you? The issue you select may relate to one of those listed below or something else that has caught your attention/effected and impacted you attitudes and beliefs about Aboriginal and Torres strait islander people. The following are some possible areas on which to base this week’s reflection but you need to decide which ones are relevant to you. What has impacted/confirmed/challenged your attitudes/beliefs about Aboriginal people? It could be: Something your heard in the lecture/video ‘They have come to stay’ Colonisation A government policy/report The Stolen Generations One of the Aboriginal Elders/nurses stories The Government Apology Description: Feelings: Critical Evaluation: Analysis and conclusion: Action plan: |
References
ABS (2017). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Population. 2016 census data summary. Accessed 2/3/19 from http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/2071.0~2016~Main%20Features~Aboriginal%20and%20Torres%20Strait%20Islander%20Population%20Data%20Summary~10
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation (2017). Bringing Them home 20 years on: An action plan for healing. Accessed 2/3/19
http://healingfoundation.org.au//app/uploads/2017/05/Bringing-Them-Home-20-years-on-FINAL-SCREEN-1.pdf
Australian Human Rights Commission (2001). Bringing them home. Frequently asked questions. Accessed 2/3/19 from https://www.humanrights.gov.au/publications/bringing-them-home-frequently-asked-questions-about-national-inquiry
Australian Human Rights Commission(2010). The effects across generation. Resource sheet. Accessed 2/3/19 from
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/sites/default/files/content/education/bringing_them_home/Individual%20resources%20and%20activities/4_RS_effects_across_generations.pdf
Australian Human Rights Commission (2017). Bringing them home. Stories of the Stolen Generations. Accessed 2/3/19 from https://bth.humanrights.gov.au/?_ga=2.160863805.1278452083.1518777644-1531958499.1517996643
Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) (2015). First encounters and frontier conflict. Accessed 2/3/19 from
http://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/first-encounters-and-frontier-conflict
Australian Institute of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) (2018). The National Apology. Accessed 2/3/19 from http://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/apology-australias-indigenous-peoples
Australian Institute of Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) (2017). Eddie Koiki Mabo. Accessed 2/3/19 from https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/eddie-koiki-mabo
Barani, Sydney’s Aboriginal History (2013). Government policy in relation to Aboriginal People. Accessed 2/3/19 from http://www.sydneybarani.com.au/sites/government-policy-in-relation-to-aboriginal-people/
Barani Sydney’s Aboriginal History (2013). Pemulwuy.
Accessed 2/3/19 from http://www.sydneybarani.com.au/sites/pemulwuy/
Bowern, C. (2011). How many languages were spoken in Australia [Blog] Accessed 2/3/19 from https://anggarrgoon.wordpress.com/2011/12/23/how-many-languages-were-spoken-in-australia/
Eckermann, A. K., Down, T., Chong, E., Nixon, L., Gray, R., & Johnson, S. (2010). Binan Goonj: Bridging cultures in Aboriginal health (3rd ed.). Chatswood, NSW: Elsevier Australia.
Chatswood, NSW.
Gibbs, G. (1988) Learning by doing: a guide to teaching and learning methods. [London]: FEU.
Holland, C. (2018). Close the Gap 2018 – a ten-year review: the Closing the Gap strategy and recommendations for rest. Close the Gap Campaign Steering Committee. Accessed 2/3/19 from
https://www.humanrights.gov.au/our-work/aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-social-justice/publications/close-gap-10-year-review
Home, B. T. (1997). Report of the National Inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families. Sydney: Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission .
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) (1997b) cited in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation (2017) p 10. Bringing Them Home: 20 years on: An action plan for healing. Accessed 2/3/19 from https://healingfoundation.org.au/app/uploads/2017/05/Bringing-Them-Home-20-years-on-FINAL-SCREEN-1.pdf
Kruske, S. (2012). Culturally Competent Maternity Care for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Women Report, prepared on behalf of the Maternity Services Inter-Jurisdictional Committee for the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council.
Madden, RC and Pulver, LR Jackson. (2009). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Population: More Than Reported [online]. Australian Actuarial Journal, Vol. 15, No. 2, 181-208 .
Marmot, M. (2011). Social determinants and the health of Indigenous Australians. Med J Aust , 194 (10), 512-3. Access 2/3/19 from
https://www.mja.com.au/system/files/issues/194_10_160511/mar10460_fm.pdf
National Museum Australia (nd). Collaborating for Indigenous Rights. William Cooper. Accessed 2/3/19 from http://indigenousrights.net.au/people/pagination/william_cooper
NSW Department of Education (2017) Aboriginal Significant Dates. Accessed 2/3/2019 https://education.nsw.gov.au/teaching-and-learning/aec/aboriginal-education-in-nsw-public-schools/aboriginal-significant-dates-calendar
Nursing & Midwifery Board of Australia & Congress of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nurses and Midwives (2018). Cultural safety a focus of new code of conduct for nurses. Accessed on 2/3/19 from https://www.anmfsa.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/NURSE-Code-of-Conduct.pdf
Oxfam Australia (2017). Moving beyond recognition: respecting the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. Accessed 2/3/19 https://www.oxfam.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/OXF011-Indigenous-Rights-Report-Email.pdf
Reconciliation Australia (2016). The State of Reconciliation in Australia report tabled to Parliament. Accessed 2/3/19 from https://www.reconciliation.org.au/the-state-of-reconciliation-in-australia-report-tabled-in-parliament/
Rogers, T. & Bain, S. (2016). Genocide and frontier violence in Australia, Journal of Genocide Research, 18 (1), 83-100.
Uluru Statement from the Heart (2017). Accessed 2/3/19 from https://www.referendumcouncil.org.au/sites/default/files/2017-05/Uluru_Statement_From_The_Heart_0.PDF
Appendix 1
Definitions of terms for week 2
| Culture clash | Two important factors that impact whether cultures will clash: Recognition of each other as human beings Whether or not people share, or think they share similar values and beliefs Culture clash is more likely when people from different cultures loo and seem to be different. |
| Culture conflict | Difficulty understanding each other and therefore struggle to adapt to each other. If there is no shared language, lifestyles and expectations, similar goals and ambitions principles and philosophies then culture conflict will occur. One group with more power over another may enforce its values and beliefs over another via violence or legislation. |
| Ethnocentrism | ‘the tendency to view the world though one’s own cultural filters’. Everyone in the world is ethnocentric in that we all learn a specific way of behaving and interpreting the behaviours of others We all have our cultural filters through which we perceive others. |
| Institutional racism | Reflected in laws, norms and regulations that maintain dominance of one group over another. It is covert and relatively subtle. Because it originates within the societies legal, political and economic system and is sanctioned by the power group in that society sometimes unconsciously it receives very little public criticism or condemnation. |
| Protestant ethic | Value attached to hard work, thrift, and efficiency, a Calvinist view, were deemed signs of an individual’s election, or eternal salvation. Protestant ethic linked to the spirit of capitalism and economic development. |
| Racism | The idea that world can be divided into categories that are related to physical differences (predominantly skin colour) with genetic origins. There is a belief that there is an ordered hierarchy and that some of the world’s population are superior to others. |
| Scientific racism | ‘Scientific racism is research into physical, social, intellectual and moral qualities of culturally different people where such differences are equated with inherent, biological inferiority, when compared to qualities associated with scientists’ own in-group. Most frequently this in-group has been Western European’. This pseudo-science of scientific racism impacts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It has been used to justify a number of stereotypes about Aboriginal people, which, it could be argued, are still being perpetuated. These stereotypes include: ‘Stone Age culture and environment; survival by instinct rather than by intellect; ancient, archaic survivors of the ‘missing link’; rudimentary religion, history and government; childlike and unpredictable’. |
| Social Darwinism | theory of social selection that attempts to explain the success of certain social groups. It the interprets ‘survival of the fittest’ concept to mean that only the best adapted (those already well off) survive the ‘natural conflict’ between social groups and thereby enhance the survival capacity of the remaining society. Popular in the 19th and 20th century Europe and USA and embraced by the Nazis, it has nothing to do with the English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-82) or his theory of natural selection and precedes the publication of his book ‘Origin Of Species.’ |
| Stereotyping, prejudice and discrimination | Prejudices are based on half-truths, myths, rumours, overgeneralisations, quite resistant to change. Prejudices in their turn can lead to discrimination. Discrimination is the acting out of prejudice. The active speaking or acting against those who are different from us. But discrimination can also take the form of providing or not providing a service to an individual or family because we assume we ‘know’ what’s best for them. So discrimination can take the form of acts of commission as well as omission. |
| Terra Nullius | Empty land |
| Worldview | is the set of beliefs about fundamental aspects of Reality that ground and influence all one’s perceiving, thinking, knowing, and doing. It is a mindset, outlook on life, formula for life. One’s own cultural filter’ |
Source: Eckermann, A. K., Down, T., Chong, E., Nixon, L., Gray, R., & Johnson, S. (2010). Binan Goonj: Bridging cultures in Aboriginal health (3rd ed.). Chatswood, NSW: Elsevier Australia.
Aboriginal Significance Dates Calendar
| National Apology Day | Commenced in 2009. An opportunity to reflect on Australia’s shared history, the healing of past injustices, and commitment to a renewed and respectful relationship. | 13 th Feb |
| The National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) | Its origins go back to the 1920s with groups like the Australian Aboriginal Progressive Association that worked to increase awareness about the lack of citizenship rights and the poor living conditions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. | 1 st week in July |
| National Sorry Day | It is especially significant for those Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were forcibly removed from their families, communities and cultural identity to assimilate. Past government policies of forced removal remained in place until the early 1970s. The children, who were taken from their families, are known as the Stolen Generation. | 26 th May |
| National Reconciliation Week | NRW was established by the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation as a time for all Australians to learn about shared histories, cultures and achievements and a call to action to participate in national reconciliation. These dates commemorate two significant milestones in the Nation’s reconciliation journey – the anniversaries of the successful 1967 Referendum and the High Court Mabo decision. | 27 May to 3 June. |
| Mabo Day | On this day in 1992 the High Court of Australia delivered a landmark decision which recognised the traditional rights of the Meriam people to their Mer (Murray) Island in the Torres Strait. | 3 June |
| National Close the Gap Day | An opportunity to celebrate the successes of Aboriginal lead health initiatives and for all Australians to send governments a clear message that Australians value health equality as a fundamental right for all. | Annually in either March or April |
| International day of worlds Indigenous people | Recognizes the first United Nations Working Group on Indigenous Populations meeting in Geneva in 1982. | 9 th August |
Table 1. NSW Department of Education (2017) Aboriginal Significant Dates