Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia

Question: Describe about the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia. Answer: Part A: a) The Aboriginals, like Brad now is suffering from social exclusion, police arrest and harassment by the police. He is also addicted to alcohol and drug. However, he is unwilling to take any help from the government. Being Aborigines by origin, he has been removed from his land, family and culture in an early age. Land, family and culture is of immense importance to Brad and other the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people. Social structuring in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people is based on the relationships between people. This structuring is also termed as kinship system (Attwood et al. 2015). A composite kinship exists where each member of the tribe is related to every other member of the group. In the kinship system, each person is named in accordance to the relation to the one another. Aboriginal had been moved to missionaries where they were not allowed to speak their own languages and follow their cultural practices. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island folks were forcefully removed from their traditional land and from hunting and gathering of foods (Beresford, Partington and Gower 2012). Brad is also among them who have been forcefully removed from his land and family. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people, like Brad, still live under poor socio-economic conditions including homelessness and poverty. Adverse government policies have Brad avert to take help from governmental organizations (Beresford, Partington and Gower 2012). b) The Aboriginal culture is very different from the culture of an average Australian. A caseworker should be aware of his own culture which is dormant within himself. Aboriginal culture is very different from the set of culture that is followed by an average Australian. Awareness about the culture of the average Australian and aboriginal culture will help to serve better service towards Brad. A direct eye contact is polite according to an average Australian but interpreted as admonishing in the Aboriginal society. Language again shows the difference in culture. An aboriginal like Brad often tend to say yes to questions they are unable to interpret the meaning. Again, the Aboriginals maintain direct link between abstract and concrete reality. This link often get reflected in their thought process. However, an average Australian culture shows no such link between the abstract and the real world. Each language uses its own metaphors and imagery, which cannot be translated to other lang uages. This leaves space for miscommunication (Geia, Hayes and Usher 2013). According to Aboriginal culture, it is considered impolite to contradict directly the proposition of the speaker. Thus, some Aboriginal clients including Brad respond in accordance to what the speaker wants to hear. Shyness is another factor which keep Brad including other Aboriginal to remain silent even in pain. c) Knowledge about the history, language and culture of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island community helps a caseworker to provide support to Brad. Brad, who belongs to the Aboriginal community is depressed and under the influence of drug. Addressing Brads problems with cultural competence would increase acceptability of the services provided. A service that will help to build clinical and therapeutic relationship with Brad might help him. Adopting strategies that are culturally compatible to Brad will help him. A non-traditional way of providing service to Brad might help him to overcome his depressions and poor mental health (Brimblecombe et al. 2014). 2: Brad is an Indigenous client of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island community. Aboriginal family and the kinship system are the main forces that bind the Aboriginal people together. This supports them both psychologically and emotionally. An aboriginal caseworker, being a part of the aboriginal community, works with the clients even after working hours. Sometimes they feel obligated to share their resources with the members of the Aboriginal family. As an Aboriginal caseworker, one should understand the concept of the kinship structure in the Aboriginal tribes. The traditional structure of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people including Brad is different from the family structure of the Western world (Browne-Yung et al. 2013). Aboriginal people respect their elders and their experiences. A good link with the representatives of the Aboriginal community not only creates referrals for the families but also enhances accessibility (Burridge 2014). A caseworker needs to und erstand the effect of Government policies and thus remove the misconceptions of the community. 3: The two key organizations that can help Brad and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island community are discussed below: Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) is a non-governmental and national childcare body of Australia, that takes care of the interest of the Aboriginal children and their families. The organizations functionality include crches, child-care service, pre-school and early child-hood education, family-support services and family group homes (Clendinnen 2012). The objective of the organization is to early childhood development in Aboriginal society. It also works towards elimination of poverty among Aboriginals and help them to confront poverty. They also promote awareness among the public to protect the Torres Strait Island children from being removed from their families forcibly. In our context, the client, Brad, has been removed forcefully from his family and community right in his childhood. The Healing Foundation is an independent organization that works for the aboriginals. The aim of this program is to ensure that to build cultural strength and develop skills of the workers (Dudgeon, Milroy and Walker 2014). The healing programmes include education and training to the children to build a workforce within the community. Brad is now under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Healing Foundation can also help Brad to get out of such hazardous health conditions and help him to lead normal life. 4: While considering the plight of the Aboriginal community, Brad, it is important to understand the framework of the Australian Aboriginal history. In the post colonization period the population has declined rapidly and by 1920s the number fell to 60,000. Hence, European colonization had a far-reaching effect on the Aboriginal society. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were forced to move from their traditional land and from hunting and gathering of foods. Brad is also among them who have been forcefully removed from his land and family. Resistance to such activity gave rise to violence. Many Aboriginal had been moved to missionaries where they were not allowed to speak their own languages and follow their cultural practices. Laws were enacted to separate the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islander people from other Australians (Duthie, King and Mays 2014). These laws also restricted the rights provided to Brad. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island workers were also prevent ed from keeping any kind of contact with their families. Thus, many lost their languages and cultural identity (Eades 2013). 5: The practice of removing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island children existed right from the period of British colonization. A national enquiry revealed the fact that this practice has been carried with the aim of segregating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island children from their unique culture and identity (Geia, Hayes and Usher 2013). Brad is also being isolated from his land, culture and community right from his childhood. Now he is under influence of drug and other health hazards. It is also evident that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island folks, like Brad, still live under poor socio-economic conditions including homelessness and poverty. All these factors together contributed poor physical health and depression of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island community (Gubhaju 2013). According to a study made by the National Health Survey, 29% of the adults in the in the risky zone of alcohol consumption (Hopkins, Taylor and Zubrick 2013). They are even prone to consump tion of drugs, which is also a cause for ill health as is the present state of Brad. 6: Connection with integrated family and culture, daily interaction between extended family members and cultural programs promoting their original identity are three different ways to provide these services to the Aboriginal community. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island children were removed forcefully from their families and land at an early age. Thus, providing facilities to these children so that they can spend more time with the members of their extended family help them to recognize their culture and tradition. In Australia, a growing number of children are under residential care. This is beneficial as it provides stability to the young and the children (Eades 2013). According to a census made by the Australian government the population of the Aboriginal society is increasing in each passing year. Aboriginal have a short life span. Aboriginals are more affected by aging because of their poor health. Planning to provide residential services to aged over 50 years is required. Many NGOs and other organization are trying to provide health and care support to the aged Aboriginals. Aboriginals give high respect to their elders. Hence, these elders can act as a key to reach and understand the Aboriginal culture. Providing service and helping them at their old age will diminish the gap between the Australians and the Aboriginal society. Residential care is also provided to the young people of the Aboriginal society. Targeted residential service is provided to the young generation of the Aboriginal society in accordance with their age. They were given education and training to join the work force, which will improve their social and psychological functionality. Indigenous society members need care for their extended family. The Aboriginals are usually very poor. The youth are often over-burdened with the family responsibility, which in turn might cause of mental and physical ill health. Including them in the work force and providing them with job will keep them engaged and keep them away from depression. 7: a) What has gone wrong: Accessible services are those that are available physically, economically affordable, and culturally acceptable. If the service provider that is Wings does not give respect and acknowledgement to the cultural factors and economic constraints, physical barriers would exist in providing the services to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island community. Charging fees for the services provided prevent poor Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island folks and Brad from accessing the service (Johnson, Nguyen and Roco 2013). Economic and financial backwardness prevents them from accessing the service. Time constraint can also act as a barrier to provide service to Brad and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island tribe. Chronic and complicated problems requires more consultation time. This problem can also be enhanced by health illiteracy. A pure and highly structured programs accepted by Wings fails to acknowledge and show respect to the Indigenous culture and well-being. This acts as a barrier in providing service to Brad and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people. Indigenous cultures are different from the non-Indigenous culture. Assuming that fluency in English implies good and effective communication often acts as a barrier to the service provider, Wings. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island including Brad have their own languages often are reluctant to accept any other language as their own. The service provider, Wings has ignored importance of kinship system in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island society. This can act as a communication gap between Brad and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island folks. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island clan including Brad are strongly bonded with their family members and extended family members. Kinship system is a integral part of the Aboriginal society. Many Aboriginal had been moved to missionaries where they were not allowed to speak their own languages and follow their cultural practices. b) Why has it gone wrong: Studies have revealed that Indigenous health hazards are the effects of post colonization. Brad who is a part of the Aboriginal and Indigenous community is addicted to drug have different health hazards. Past injustice and adverse government policies often make the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander reluctant to avail the services provided by Wings. Forced removal of children, fear of relocation of families are the factors that prevent Brad from taking help from Wings. Shame and shyness also have negative impact on accepting services from Indigenous organizations like Wings. There are many causes for the feeling of shame. It sometimes originates from being singled out from the immediate society. Shame is often the chief reason behind the the Aboriginal and Indigenous folks and Brad in not attending specific health programs. Again shame from having talked down and subject to harsh behavior and judgments on different parental and child rearing practices, low self-esteem, and lack of confidence often prohibit them from getting the available services. Indigenous service providers also often fail to provide service to all without making any discrimination. It is evident that the number of non-indigenous clients is more than the number of indigenous clients. Shyness is also a factor that obstructs the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people like Brad to access the services (Lowe and Yunkaporta 2013). The reluctance to interact with the service provider due to perceived social distance and difference in power between the service providers, Wings and Indigenous people, Brad often manifest into inhibition towards accessing the service. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people also suffered from sexual abuse and physical torture. They were also forced as domestic workers and laborers. Aboriginal and the Indigenous workers were also prevented from keeping any kind of contact with their families. Thus, many lost their languages and cultural identity. c) What needs to change: A wide range of strategies are under taken to improve and hence overcome the hindrance caused by different issues which prevents Brad and other the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people to access the services. Thorough analyses of the factors could provide for an affirmative step. Physical availability, appropriateness, affordability and acceptability are some the factors that should be taken into account to improve and undertake positive steps towards accessibility of the services provided. Several authors attempts to find out the reasons that are need to be changed to increase the availability of the services. Only the physical presence does not assure that the health services are provided to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people, Brad. Economic backwardness and high cost related to the services provided often obstruct them from actually providing the service. Complicated and complex issues combined with high cost make the health services unaffordable (Maclean et al. 2013). Services provided should be non-discriminatory and comprehensive by nature. The degree of acceptability of the service often depends on the respect and acknowledgement of the culture of the community as a whole. The services provided by Wings are often culturally sensitive to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people and Brad. A cross-cultural miscommunication exists between the Indigenous clients and the service provider (Malaspinas 2016). Language and barriers to communication obstruct the Aboriginal client Brad from availing the services. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people also suffered from sexual abuse and physical torture. Power imbalance is another factor which needs to be changed. They were also forced as domestic workers and laborers. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workers were also prevented from keeping any kind of contact with their families. d) How can it be changed: In the scenario of long-run effects of colonization, injustice in the past and societal racism, Wings need to take special measures to develop a culturally acceptable and secure service for Brad and other the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Some of the strategies like: Involving the Aboriginal community people in the framing and delivering of the services. Show respect to the Aboriginal relationships and gender biased behavior rules Undertake flexible and coordinated services. Design health oriented programs that are drafted by the Indigenous community and are appropriate to their culture Engage Indigenous staff in non-Indigenous activity Train a non-Indigenous staff in accordance to culture that prevailed in the Indigenous society. Specific health programs to serve the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health problems. Wings can provide culturally acceptable health services to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island community (Markwick 2014). These programs generally run by the Indigenous communities are aimed at providing multi-disciplinary health services. Training the non-Indigenous and making them culturally compatible to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people will ensure better quality of the service provided. A non-Indigenous people require knowing about the imbalances that exist between a health professional and the client. Adopting cross-communication skills are also crucial for improving the services provided to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people. Flexible programs are more successful as they can attract people that are more indigenous. Indigenous societies have clear demarcation of gender to avoid interaction between males and females or between different groups/kin. Indigenous people refuse to accept the services, which breaches this rule. Hence, going by the gender p rotocol helps to improve the services provided to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island community (McWhirter 2014). Trust and understanding are the fundamental pillars of making the services effective and accessible. Working with the elderly people in the Indigenous society is extremely important, as it is useful to build the level of trust. 8: a) Indigenous Australians have different cultural models, which includes language and communication. Evidence showed that health professional often fails to comprehend the language of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander. Hence, a communication gap exists. Direct eye contact is considered polite in the Western culture, but in Indigenous culture, it is interpreted as admonishing someone. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island people stay silent while in pain during treatment, as they were unable to comprehend fully the language of the non-Indigenous professional (Montagu 2013). Avoiding such situation will help the people from the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island society. In the Aboriginal and Torres Strait, society gives respect to the elders for their experience and wisdom. Elders are considered to have highest spiritual and cultural knowledge. These aged people of the Aboriginal society can only ensure that the services delivered are relevant culturally (Nguyen and Cairney 2013). Communication with these elders will help the non-Indigenous to understand the culture of the aboriginals. Arranging to serve the Aboriginals through flexible health oriented program will attract the Aboriginal community people to accept the services provided. More time is given while consulting with the Aboriginal clients having chronic health issues. This will help the service provider to understand the culture and characteristics of the Aboriginal society. b) Kinship is a fundamental feature of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait society. A child might not be living in the same address at the time of next appointment. Therefore, an Aboriginal should visit the kin to make sure that they have clearly understood the process of treatment. It is essential to understand the value of kin in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait society (Pickering 2014). Gender discrimination is given extreme importance in the Aboriginal and the Indigenous society. It involves about choosing the appropriate gender to discuss certain issues related to health. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait females feel it inappropriate to share health related issues to male non-Indigenous worker (Pillans and Fifield 2013). 9: a) Cultural safety is to fabricate an environment where the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island society can be provided health services in a culturally compatible manner. Cultural competent service is to maintain sensitive and efficacious health care behaviours. To improve the outcomes of the health service provided, Wings should be conscious about the direct and indirect impact of racism in the Aboriginal society (Sherwood 2013). To learn and gather knowledge about the customs and social behavoir of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait society is important to understand, as it would make Wings services culturally competent. b) Client participation is essential in providing service to the culturally Aboriginal society, as it would enhance the process of building trust and respect for their culture. To improve health services to the Aboriginal society, the staffs construct a level of trust. The Aboriginal society gives immense respect to their elders (Young et al. 2013). A link established through them can help the workers to make their services more acceptable. Involving the elders will also help Wings workers to better, understand the culture of the community. c) As an organization Wings has developed culturally compatible policies and methods while dealing with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait individuals. Wings has consulted with the Indigenous community representatives, leaders and service workers while fabricating strategies to enhance the service delivery. Wings incorporates cultural diversity among the staffs with culturally compatible policies and strategies (Montagu 2012). Wings also analyses the extent to which it can adopt and reflect the needs of the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait islanders. Wings has also incorporated the cultural knowledge in planning and delivery of their services. 10: The Aborigines and Torres Strait Island people suffer from extreme economic backwardness in the post colonization period. The rate of unemployment of the Aborigines and Torres Strait Island people has increased constantly since 1990s. Skill deficit, low level of education contributed to this low level of unemployment for long period. The rate of participation is also lower in case of Indigenous people. A long-term unemployment might lead to poor physical and mental health. Poverty is also associated with long run unemployment. Workers unemployed for a long time often tend to lose their skills. This makes them all the more difficult for them to re-enter the work force. Long run unemployment makes the Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders forget the skills they have acquired in the process. Employers, hence, tends to screen them against more skilled labour. Low level of education, outdated skills and skills related to declining industries all contributed to the long-term unemploym ent (Dudgeon, Milroy and Walker 2014). Long-term unemployment is one of the major reasons behind poverty and economic backwardness in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island society. Specific and chronic diseases are also associated with long-run unemployment. Mental illness and depression are all effects of long-term unemployment. Depression often leads to addiction to drug and other substances. Unemployment also contributed to the alienation of a huge number of young adults. 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