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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

Health   Bush food: Gardang "You can pick this straight off the tree and eat it. You can crush it up, put it in hot water too." Yinjibarndi Nation, Pilbara region, W.A. Roebourne Primary School   Overview Resources Sample questions & marking criteria   Overview Students will need to study their local community, another Indigenous community within Australia and an overseas indigenous community. Students will need to study the ways in which Aboriginal peoples in these three communities use their specialised knowledge of the natural environment to maintain their health. Because of the wide geographic differences throughout Australia, students need to be familiar with the plants of their community and their uses, and with their Australian study. Students need to be very specific in their knowledge. For example, the use of sarsparilla as a general tonic and/or a self-cure-all for mild stomach complaints, by the Wreck Bay people (refer to resource list for more research information). The impact of invasion and colonisation and subsequent events, while the same in general terms throughout Indigenous communities, differs in its specifics. For example, the people of Wreck Bay were in contact with smallpox before direct contact with the British after 1788. Even though the community lived in isolation, they still were exposed to western diseases through trading and fishing. The usual pattern followed was introduced disease, loss of land and food resources. The dispossession of land had spiritual and mental impact as well. Dietary patterns changed; a diet high in fibre, low in fat, was replaced with processed food such as flour, tea and sugar rations along with what could be gathered from the land through traditional fishing and hunting. These generalisations must be specific, researched, detailed examples identifying each community and their differences. Health statistics vary greatly throughout Australia for Aboriginal peoples as do health standards. It is important to have accurate data, and information that is as current as is available, for each community. For the overseas indigenous community, it is important that the statistics relate directly to that community, not the overall community in that country. For example, collect specific statistics for Maori people in Christchurch, New Zealand, not statistics that apply to Maori people across New Zealand. It is important to know the names of particular government health programs and strategies to address Aboriginal health issues. It is particularly important to know how their programs and strategies are being implemented in the local communities. For example, the programs and strategies related to Otitis Media. In NSW, there are documents issued to schools and people in the health profession. Investigate and find out what is being done in the local community about Otitis Media. If the second Australian community is in NSW, check its response to Otitis Media. If the second community is out of NSW, see how that state government and the local community have approached the problem of Otitis Media. Thirdly, choose your overseas indigenous community and find examples of their implementation of similar government health programs and strategies at a local level. Compare the three samples. A number of programs are specifically designed for Aboriginal and other indigenous communities. Local medical centres are an excellent starting point to find out what services are operating in the communities that you have chosen to study. Much of the material that needs to be studied can be researched on the Internet. Aboriginal health programs frequently address lifestyle factors that impact on health. Some examples are diet, exercise, sexual health, smoking and substance abuse. Most of these programs put forward very positive messages to their communities. Students should have an understanding of the importance of land to the cultural and spiritual life of Aboriginal people, and the importance of regaining land to improve Aboriginal health. Students must be very specific here. An examination of successful land claims in communities studied should show how these have made an impact on the cultural and spiritual life of these communities, and have so influenced health in those communities. Students need to know the social and political changes Aboriginal and Indigenous leaders are proposing to improve Aboriginal health. They also need to know what governments are planning, and how their decisions will impose on these communities. Importantly, students need to hypothesise about the future of Aboriginal health, by close examination of their selected communities, seeing what has worked in the past, what the current situation is and make suggestions as to what future directions the communities may face. Students should compare (show similarities and differences) the three communities studied. The most effective way to do this is in a summarising table, as all the information has already covered. Students can write generalisations across the page where necessary and give specific examples under appropriate columns.     Three comparative communities Local Aboriginal  Community National Aust. Indigenous Community International Indigenous Community Examples Wagga  / Wiradjuri Casino / Bundjalung Auckland /  Maori Use of specialised knowledge       Impact of invasion and colonisation       Health standards       Health program strategies        Importance of regaining land       Social & political changes necessary         Resources Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Indigenous Australia today: an overview ATSIC, Canberra, 1996. Healey, J. (ed) Aboriginal healthSpinney Press, Balmain, NSW, 1998. Healey, J. (ed) Aboriginal health and welfare Spinney Press, Balmain, NSW, 2000. Horton, D. (ed), The Encyclopedia of Aboriginal Australia Aboriginal Studies Press, Canberra, 1994 (also available in CD- ROM format). Local Aboriginal Medical Services ( pamphlets) Looking after Yaimini 45 min. Environment Audio Visuals, Vic., (Video) Poad, West & Miller Contact: an Australian history (2nd ed) Heinemann Educational, Port Melbourne,1990. Read, P. The stolen generations: the removal of Aboriginal children in New South Wales, 1883 to1969 NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Sydney,1998. Wilson, R. Bringing them home: report of the National Inquiry into the Separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children from their Families Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, Sydney, 1997.   Related links Australian Institute Of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies Centre For Indigenous Research Australian Bureau of Statistics   Sample questions & marking criteria Outcomes assessed: H1.2, H2.2, H2.3, H3.3, H4.1, H4.5. In the answers to the sample questions the criteria by which the questions will be marked have been provided rather than a definitive written answer. There is no one correct answer!!   "There are very limited counselling or specific services available to Aboriginal people directed to assisting families and individuals who have been affected by separation as children.   General mental health services have been described as not being aware of or responsive to Aboriginal people’s mental health issues generally and to the issues of trauma and grief in particular." Using the source above and your own knowledge, answer the following: A. Identify two major contemporary issues which can affect the mental health of Aboriginal people. (4 marks) Criteria Marks • Identifies two major contemporary issues (not necessarily from the source) and briefly discusses each one. 4 •Identifies one major contemporary issue and briefly discusses it. 3 •Identifies two major contemporary issues but does not include any discussion. 2 •Identifies one major contemporary issue but does not include any discussion. 1   B. Explain the impact of ONE of the contemporary health issues identified in part (A) for Aboriginal people. (4 marks) Criteria Marks • Identifies one issue and give detailed explanation of the impact for Aboriginal people. 4 • Identifies one issue and describes that issue. 2-3 • Identifies one issue from (a). 1   C. Using your local Aboriginal Community and International Indigenous  Community Care Studies, compare the initiatives that Indigenous people in these communities have applied to improve their health status including mental health.  (12 marks) Criteria Marks • Clearly identifies two communities and compares initiatives.   • Discusses their direct application to the improvement of the health status of Aboriginal people.   • Uses community-specific examples in the response. 10-12   • Clearly identifies two communities and compares initiatives with at least one in depth, to two generally.   • Provides direct application to the improvement of health status. 7-9   • Identifies two communities and describes at least one initiative.   • Has a general understanding of its impact on the improvement of health. 4-6   • Identifies one community.   • Provides some relevant information regarding health initiatives. 1-3