Indigenous Cultures and Health Behavior

Running head: INDIGENOUS CULTURES AND HEALTH BEHAVIOR
INDIGENOUS CULTURES AND HEALTH BEHAVIOR
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1INDIGENOUS CULTURES AND HEALTH BEHAVIOR
Critical refection 1-Education and its influence on the health and well-being of
aboriginal and Torres Strait islander peoples.
The colonization has impacted heavily on different part of Australia throughout its
occurring and it has led different aboriginal communities and aboriginal people of Australia with
different forms of experiences (Paradies, 2016). For the aboriginal’s education, Australia has
very less to speak about. The country has no legislative laws that could stop aboriginal children
from going to School however, there are other factors that make education for the aboriginal
hard.
The situation has improved very minimally by the 1990s. There is still a large population
that are facing challenges therefore the total aboriginal students’ achievements are far below than
non-aboriginals (Hollinsworth, 2016). Often the causes for their less participation is related to
other social determinants. In the similar manner, the lack of knowledge among the aboriginals is
interrelated with other factors and influence on their health and well-being. Knowledge is the key
to health and well-being. Since there is high rate of illiteracy among the aboriginals, they are
unaware of the healthy as well as eating habits.
According to me, improving the education criterion among the aboriginals can help
improving health and well-being among the aboriginals. For example I know that I can rely on
Australia’s education system and the opportunity it provides to its citizen. I am privileged
enough to go to good schools and university which made me gain knowledge about various
aspects. However, it is not same for every person.
Aboriginals are faced with several challenges such as identity crisis, racism, social status
and related. Therefore, I feel the privileged people need to be humble enough to help, encourage

2INDIGENOUS CULTURES AND HEALTH BEHAVIOR
and motivate the aboriginals. According to the laws, they have similar rights like other citizens
however it is the societal issues that are main obstacle (Herring et al, 2013). While growing up
and interacting with people with diverse culture, I am easily adapted to different cultural norms
and values. This make me believe that no culture is better than other. Given a chance, I would
like to invest my time reaching more the aboriginal’s problems and make develop plan of
educating the aboriginal women regarding the basic health and well-being information. I will
develop my communication skills and become culturally aware about the aboriginal communities
that would make the interaction easy and without confusion. Communicating with people who
are already working to similar mission would be helpful as well.
Critical refection 2- Impact of racism on the mental health and social well-
being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
Racism is considered as one of the determinant of health for the aboriginal and in
Australia, the aboriginals and the Torres Strait Islander peoples are highly impacted mentally as
well as socially (Donato & Segal, 2013). Racism can be defined as an unfair treatment or
phenomenon mostly performed on the minority group by the people who claim themselves as the
superior. This phenomenon often leads to unequal distribution of resources and opportunities.
The reason for such behavior are stereotype, prejudices, discrimination and the belief of
superiority. There is involvement of systematic frustration and aboriginal politics in the process
as well.
Aboriginals faced with such discrimination constantly are exposed to stress and anxiety.
Individual begin to perceive its environments as a threat to him due to constant discrimination
and therefore, it results as a mental pressure. It becomes a continuous process of constantly