Portrayal of Indigenous People in the Media

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Portrayal of Indigenous People in the
Media
Newsarticles Items Reviews
i. An Aboriginal Approach to Mental Health is Helping Farmers Deal the with Drought-
Quartz Media
ii. We need to do more about cyber bullying against Indigenous Australians- The
Conversation
iii. Mental Health Crisis among Indigenous Australians- Borgen Magazine
Introduction
Media holds a powerful position in the society that informs and shapes perception of the people.
Media portrayal has continually impacted the relationship of Aboriginals and Torres Islanders
People with the mainstream Australian society by shaping perceptions and understanding of
Indigenous People that socially determine their health (Cunneen, 2018). Negative, positive, or
neutral media reporting impact how their readers view and understand issues facing Indigenous
Australian. McCallum and Waller (2017) stated that media should have balanced reporting to
effectively report on facts and create the right perspective to it readers. Australian public health
has high disparities between Indigenous Australian and Non-Indigenous Australian of upto 11
years difference in life expectancy and closing the gap requires major changes in negative
discriminatory media portrayal of Indigenous people. The following write-up reviews three
media items on mental health among Indigenous Australians to identify the positive, negative, or
neutral qualities and link the issue to unit learning outcomes. The write-up will also explore the
impact of the media item reporting to its readers.
Media Items
1. Quartz News- An Aboriginal Approach to Mental Health is Helping
Farmers Deal the with Drought
https://qz.com/1609807/an-aboriginal-approach-to-mental-health-is-helping-farmers-deal-with-
drought/
The following media item discusses the right Aboriginal approach to mental health and how it
can be incorporated to help famers deal with drought. Drought cause food insecurity as wildlife
and livestock die making farmers to struggle that raises rates of anxiety and depression. The
author details how drought cause exacerbating of the underlying trauma and grief that Aboriginal
people experienced in the past such as loss of culture and land. The author concluded that the

mental issues of Aboriginals can be addressed by addressing the environmental degradation to
enable them thrive. Land is part of Indigenous Australians health and their treatment requires a
holistic approach to achieve positive health outcome (Paradies, 2016).
2. The Conversation- We need to do more about cyber bullying against
Indigenous Australians
https://theconversation.com/we-need-to-do-more-about-cyberbullying-against-indigenous-
australians-115297
The media item brings into attention the issue of cyber bullying and how it leading to increased
suicide cases amongst Indigenous Australians. The author outlines the Indigenous People’s
experiences online that establish a link between mental ill-health, cyber bullying and indigenous
racism. The media report concluded that more attention need to be paid on the issue of cyber
bullying as it is related to legacy of colonisation and racism in Australia that lead to mental ill-
health. Proudfoot and Habibis (2015) in their study found that 21% of Indigenous Australians
experience harassment online with 17% being affected when offline.
3. Borgen Magazine- Mental Health Crisis among Indigenous Australians-
Julianne Russo
https://www.borgenmagazine.com/mental-health-crisis-among-indigenous-australians/
This media item discusses the mental health crises among the Indigenous People of Australia.
The discussion puts forward that the level of mortality and morbidity caused by mental health is
higher as compared to Non-Indigenous Australians. According to this media report,
discrimination, inequality and racism are causes of poor mental and physical health, suicide and
self harm among Indigenous people. The reporter concluded Indigenous Australians stills face
discrimination, disempowerment, and marginalization that negatively impact their social,
emotional, and physical wellbeing and the government should solidify and fight historical
injustices and constitutionally recognize them to improve their mental health. According to
Paradies, Y. (2016), 30% of Indigenous Australians have psychological distress and 12% above
45years suffer dementia.
Learning outcomes
Mental health issues among Indigenous People can be linked to colonization, identity difference,
diversity and racism. Colonisation caused and continues to cause feelings of despair. The
colonial masters’ policies and actions interfered with the Indigenous Australians way of life.
They alienated them from their land, locked them in one place, separated their children from
them and undermined their cultural practices (Cunneen, 2018). Colonisation also took the
Indigenous People’s self determination. Indigenous people have special connection to land and it
degradation cause distress to them. According to Sarnyai, Berger, and Jawan (2016), lack of self
determination that lead to sense of hopelessness that is passed to other generations cause high