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Home > Aboriginal Studies > Social Justice & Human Rights > Comparative Investigation > Social Justice & Human Rights Issues: A Comparative Investigation

 

Social Justice & Human Rights Issues: A Comparative Investigation

	Economic Independence Investigation Two Jan Ryan (Teacher - Tweed River High School) Statistics of economic independence For each case study students should collect statistics on Aboriginal and Indigenous peoples’ participation in the economy. These statistics need to be very specific for each case study. Statistics should include income, as well as other information relevant to a particular group. Some example areas could be employment, business, enterprises and initiatives, funding, investment and trends. (i) (Australia) The economic situation of Aboriginal people has only been comprehensively assessed since 1971, when Aboriginal people were first included in the Australian five yearly census. Statistically it has been clear since this time, in comparison with other Australians, Aboriginal people have a relatively low economic status. The key economic indicators used in this measurement are employment, education, occupation and income status. (ii) (International) In a 1986 Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) study it was found that 41% of Indians on Reservations lived below the poverty line. On average a Reservation Indian family lives on 40% of the income of a non-Indian family the US. Policy failures, corruption, bureaucratic incompetence and politics have gone a long way toward holding Native Americans back, economically, since the US became a nation. The causes of low Indigenous economic status are the consequence of an ongoing process of dispossession and marginalisation. They include: Remoteness of a large proportion of the Indigenous population from economic opportunities. The poor schooling of Indigenous people. The lack of resources that Indigenous people have accumulated to develop economic opportunities. Lower Indigenous participation in mainstream labour markets. Possible causes are: poor English language literacy, lack of willingness to migrate for employment, negative stereotyping, prejudice by potential employers. The Indigenous self-sufficient economy, which had sustained generations of Indigenous Australians, was destroyed quickly after 1788. In most areas of Australia Aboriginal land and water management was swept aside within a decade of the arrival of Europeans and this destruction occurred due to the dispossession of Aboriginal land and often life itself. The land and its resources were taken from the Indigenous people in two stages. Go to next section of Investigation Two Economic programs and strategies