Discussion
The colonialism of Australia has created devastating effect on lives of the indigenous people who have been living in the continent for years. Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander cultures has made the First Nations Peoples custodians of oldest living culture of the world. The groups have been living in the close relationship with land and they were custodian of the country. The colonialism has created the way for inequity and racism for Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander cultures (Slater 2018). It has been detrimental for the health outcomes of the indigenous population. The indigenous Australians has been deprived of their sovereignty and it is crucial feature of the relationship to the settler-society, a deprivation which has made up foundational justification for the colonisation of Britain. The indigenous Australians has been disadvantaged on various elements- health, education and life expectancy. This essay argues that colonialism is the dominant social paradigm within the society of Australia in which other cultures are found to be on periphery of ‘mainstream’.
The British has decimated indigenous population of Australia to insignificant number of less than that of the million. There has been reduction of indigenous population of Australia and they are not able to make economic, cultural and the political effects within ongoing political process of Australia. The indigenous Australians had been violated as they had been marginalised and had been conditioned to the dependence on political dictates and various cultural forms of the colonial settler government (Drake 2018). There has been loss of indigenous population alongside with cultural powers and they are left under the deplorable conditions in the present times. The marginalisation has culminated in lack of equity and the equality in regard to socio-economic and educational opportunities. There has been demand for the self-determination and it left them in the frustrated conditions. There were cases of the racial discrimination and there was cultural genocide with the aid of reinforced programs of the assimilation (Anthony 2018).
The indigenous Australians makes up less than that of 3 % of population however it has been found that they represent quarter of the adult prisoners. It has been found that half of the children are sentenced to the juvenile detention within Australia which bears testimony to legacy of the colonialism prevailing in Australia (McKinnon 2020). There has been massacres of the indigenous Australians which has been created due to British settlement from late 18th century. Police has been instrumental in removing large numbers of the indigenous children from the homes so that they can be adopted by the white families or put within the institutions. There has been forcible removal of the indigenous children from families owing to government policies of the assimilation that assumed inferiority of blacks and superiority of white people (Blagg and Anthony 2018). Generations of children had been removed from homes and it has left legacy of trauma and the loss. It has continued to haunt the Aboriginal families till the present times and repercussions have culminated on over-policing of the indigenous people.
The Impact of Colonialism on Indigenous Health
There has been the implementation of humanitarian intervention programs however it has been found that there has been huge gaps in outcomes of indigenous and the non-indigenous Australians. The welfare service programs had been run by government and they had been assessed of being dysfunctional to family and socio-cultural values of indigenous Australians (Anthony and Blagg 2021). They have been affected by various issues like unemployment, low self-respect and welfare dependence that has paved the path for their intergenerational trauma. They are found to be profiled even in the present times and they are subjected to the repression by colonial state police. The settler-government of Australia has devalued colonial plights of indigenous Australians (Shirodkar 2019). The diversity has been guided by the indigenous Australians and it has made the empowered communities for making the own choices.
The indigenous Australians have to face interpersonal and the institutional racism that has helped in the creation of their lower socio-economic status. They have been excluded from enjoying economic opportunities and ownership of the land. It is expected that indigenous men and the women would live 10.6 and that of 9.5 years less in comparison to non-indigenous men and the women (Ketheesan et al. 2020). It has been revealed with the help of research that racism acts as the main determinant for health of the indigenous Australians. There has been reviewing of linguistic patterns of the contemporary speech and it has brought out that social taboo is found to exist against the open expression of racist beliefs which has created strategies that has presented negative views of the minority groups as being reasonable (Kairuz et al. 2020). It has exonerated speaker from charges of the racism and it has contributed to reinforcing of racism in the contemporary times in Australia.
The indigenous Australians are denied their existence and it has created negative influence on their lives. It has been found that at societal level, the groups claiming ethno-racial superiority at expense of inferior are found to derive the great benefits from inequitable social conditions which have been generated in the present times (Birch and Marshall 2018). They are held to be inferior and chronic experiences of the racism has proved to be harmful for the mental and the physical health. The indigenous individuals engage themselves in the unhealthy health behaviours in comparison to non-indigenous counterparts that has proved to be stigmatising for the dignity of indigenous Australians (Shepherd, Delgado and Paradies 2018). It has created the way for policies which wants to close gap in regard to health in between indigenous and the non-indigenous Australians. The racism still prevails against the indigenous Australians and it can be said to be related to lower educational attainment which have created the way for poor health outcomes for the indigenous populations.
The indigenous Australians had been forced within ‘heart of darkness’ and they were not able to escape from it. The European imperialism did not have boundaries and the Australian nationalism has been able to perpetuate the imperialism in the present times. Indigenous Australians were unable to escape disastrous impacts and it has paved the path for their dispossession and the genocide in the present times (Dovchin 2019). The Australians working at the level of government had to shamelessly defend patterns of the colonialism and the imperialism has helped in the maintenance of superior habits for the ‘mainstream’ population of Australia. The colonisation is ultimate form of the trespass and it has repressed ability for acting without any kind of reference to the colonial terminology and paradigms.
Racism and its Effect on Indigenous Australians
The colonial processes has affected involvement of the indigenous people within the criminal justice system. The indigenous people are found to be over-represented as the offenders and the victims and over-representation caused by the colonial processes has paved the path for marginalisation of the indigenous population. The Aboriginal inmates has been found to comprise 20 % of population in prison and it has been found to comprise of 2.1 % of total population (Globalcitizen.org 2022). The imprisonment rate is found to be 15 times higher than that of non-Aboriginal population and their proportion is high in various state prisons like Northern Territory. It has taken place owing to marginalisation that has created disadvantages for the indigenous population of Australia.
The indigenous cultures have been pushed to periphery of ‘mainstream’ and racism acts as main determinant of the health inequity that is faced by the indigenous population of Australia. The discrimination still prevails against Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander population and it is the reality which has been increased by the collective experiences and the memories of the abuse of the indigenous population. It has been revealed by National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Survey that 33 % of the indigenous people above the age of 15 had to face unfair treatment within last 12 months owing to the indigenous origins (Australianstogether.org.au 2022). The study has been carried out among the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander children and it showed greater prevalence of the racism from the adults or the peers. The indigenous populations of Australia had to suffer from health disadvantage owing to the ongoing colonisation within Australia. It has been found that Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander people who were born in between 2015-2017 have life expectancy which has been estimated to be 8.6 years lower in comparison to male and the female counterparts in Australia (Slater 2018). The programmes have failed for improving the health inequities and it has been brought about due to lifestyle factors. It has been revealed by Australian Medical Association that institutional racism has to be addressed for bridging gap in between indigenous and the non-indigenous population of Australia.
It has been found that disadvantage has been faced by the indigenous Australians across various aspects like socio-economic, physical health, mental health and educational outcome. The Aboriginal Australians had to face colonisation and the oppression for many centuries and they have to face the widespread abuses of the human rights. The quality of life has been found to be low among the indigenous Australians as they are not able to get proper access to food, housing, education and housing. The major discrimination persists against Aboriginal Australians and they are denied from getting the job or they are discouraged from continuing with their education. It has been revealed with the help of survey that percentage of the Aboriginal Australians who had to report one kind of the major discrimination has been found to increase in a dramatic manner from 28.6 % in the year 2019 to that of 52. 1 % which bears testimony to the torture that they have to face in the present times (Drake 2018). 1 out of the 5 Australians had to experience some kind of the major discrimination and they have been denied promotion or the job in the present times. There has been rise in the direct discrimination at personal level and intersectionality has helped to influence discriminatory practices in the present times.
Marginalization of Indigenous Australians
The percentage of the Aboriginal Australians encountering one kind of the major discrimination has been found to virtually double in the year 2019 and it is found to be at the alarming high level of 49. 7 %. The Indigenous Australians who had to report everyday discrimination has been found to increase in a significant manner and it has increased from 30. 2 % in the year 2017 to that of 54. 1 % in the year 2018. It was found to be high in the year 2019 at 54. 9 % which has created profound disadvantages for indigenous people in the contemporary times in Australia (Dovchin 2019). The inequality has been found to be high and it accounts for 28 % of prison population of the nation. The life expectancy of indigenous Australians has been found to be 9 years and 8 years lesser than the non-indigenous males and the females in the respective manner. The child mortality rate of indigenous population is found to be twice that of rate for the non-indigenous children and it bears testimony to the disadvantage being faced by the indigenous population of Australia. They do not get access to the primary health care that has deteriorated lives of the indigenous population of Australia.
Conclusion
There has been marginalisation of indigenous Australians and it has made them face the miserable conditions in the recent times. The police had removed huge number of indigenous children for their adoption by white families and they have put within framework of the institutions. The government runs the welfare service programs however they have not been able to address the demands of the indigenous Australians. The racism has been found to prevail against indigenous Australians and it has created the way for lower educational attainment for the Aboriginal Australians. The lack of health care policies has paved the path for poor health outcomes for indigenous population of Australia.
References
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