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Dispersed Throughout Australia’S Short History There Are

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Dispersed throughout Australia’s short history there are ten policies which impacted the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. These policies began with Colonisation in 1788 and are ongoing today within the Indigenous Advancement Strategies. Throughout the duration of this essay the impact that two of the ten policies, Colonisation (1788- 1880) and Assimilation (1950-1960) had, will be discussed. Analysis of how these policies affected First Peoples contemporary health and the consequences the policies have on the relationships between First Peoples and health practitioners will be specifically discussed. In 1770 Colonisation interrupted over 500 different First Peoples nations in Australia with the introduction of foreign…show more content…
For a non-indigenous person health means the condition of the body and the degree to which it is free from illness, or the state of being well (Cambridge University Press, 2017). However, for First People the definition of health and wellbeing is much more than a physical form. Kinship, Descent, Connection to land and Country as well as tradition are all factors which combine towards a balanced life (REF). With disruption of these factors the balance is tilted and subsequently there is a decline in health. Therefore, with destruction of land, communities and tradition colonisation dismantled the meaning of health for the First People leading to increased illness and deceased. This disruption is still affecting First Peoples’ health today as the disconnection to the above factors are ongoing. This disconnection has lead to First peoples’ having 1O year life gap to their non-indigenous counterparts (Australian Bureau Statistics, 2013). Between 1950 and 1960 the Assimilation Period occurred in Australia . This policy was a, “policy of absorbing Aboriginal people into white society through the process of removing children from their families. The ultimate intent of this policy was the destruction of Aboriginal society.” (George G. and George K. , 2013) This policy was adopted after segregation as the First People were not dying out as the settlers believed (Smith. J, 2016). Assimilation was originated as it was
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