Guidelines For Ethical Research On Australian Indigenous Studies

It is a commonly known issue in Australia that as a minority group, the people of Indigenous Australian ethnicity have always been treated, or at least perceived, differently to those of non-Indigenous disposition. This can be applied to different contexts such as social, economic, education, or in relation to this essay – legal contexts. Generally, Indigenous Australians face issues such as less opportunity for formal education, less access to sufficient income, more health issues, and higher rates of imprisonment (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service

The Australian Curriculum currently is struggling with incorporating indigenous perspectives as a key focus in the curriculum properly. It is lacking the ability to normalise indigenous knowledge and instead represents

Identity is often constructed based on affiliations with particular groups. When one identifies with a group, one mimics the perceived qualities of that group (Swann, Jetten, Gomez, Whitehouse & Bastian, 2012). For Indigenous Australians, they may conform to the above negative stereotypes partly because of how they are represented in the dominant culture. Forrest notes that dominant cultural perspectives bombard Indigenous Australians (Forrest, n.d.). Therefore, prevailing negative stereotypes and conformity with those stereotypes can be attributed to the dominant culture.

The rights and freedoms of Aboriginals have improved drastically since 1945 with many changes to government policy, cultural views and legal rules to bring about a change from oppression to equality. Unfortunately on the other hand, some rights and freedoms have not improved at all or have even worsened.

For the last 200 years Indigenous people have been victims of discrimination, prejudice and disadvantage. Poor education, poor living conditions and general poverty are still overwhelming issues for a large percentage of our people and we remain ‘as a group, the most poverty stricken sector of the working class’ in Australia (Cuthoys 1983).

Australian government today recognises that educational policies regarding Aboriginal people cannot be made without considering social and economic policies aimed at improving outcomes for Aboriginal communities in general (TICHR, 2006). Main contemporary issues facing Aboriginal communities are proving land ownership, remoteness, health status, education and employment status and social attitude of Non-Aboriginal population towards the Aboriginal communities (Challenges facing the Indigenous communities today, n.d.). Tackling this issue is not a simple task: the document “National Indigenous Reform Agreement” (2010) which aims to improve outcomes for all Indigenous Australians recognizes that this process needs approach from different aspects, taking into account “seven key building blocks: Early Childhood, Schooling, Health, Economic Participation, Healthy Homes, Safe Communities, and Governance and Leadership” (as cited in DET Queensland,

This essay will discuss the issues for Indigenous Australians only, this however, can be related to any culture, but for the purpose of this essay I will be referring to Indigenous Australians only.

To begin with, a clarification must be made. Although for the purposes of this assessment I will be using the term Indigenous Australians, it is not the most appropriate term to be using, as the technical definition of indigenous is ‘originating or occurring naturally in a particular place; native’ (‘Indigenous’, 1987). The more correct term would be Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

Through my life, I have seen several different approaches to Indigenous people’s rights and importance in Australia. I have been fortunate enough to visit Ayers Rock and undertake a tour which allowed me to see Aboriginal culture in art and drawings as well as hearing Dreamtime stories from guides. I have also witnessed family friends who have been severely racist and disrespectful of Indigenous heritage and history. I also was lucky to work with some Indigenous students who were in Reception during my Professional Experience 1, and I was able to see first-hand how a culture clash can affect a student’s behaviour. I feel that even before entering this course, I have had the privilege of being able to observe both positives and negatives

Cunneens (2007) articles showed relative statistics, showing the negative effects of the relationship between the two groups, whether it is one groups wrong doing or not, the evidence shows that there is an issue that needs urgent attention and resolving. “Indigenous people were 17 times more likely to be held in custody than non-Indigenous people in Australia” this raw fact can be looked at from two different perspectives; number one the indigenous community are victimised by the police, or two a major percentage of the indigenous community are being involved in crime. Considering the indigenous population compared to the non indigenous community is so small, it does

Education is fundamental to growth, the growth of the individual, and the growth of a nation. Anthropologically this can be seen from the earliest of developments of human societies where practices emerge to ensure the passing of accumulated knowledge from one generation to the next. In the centuries since the invasion and colonisation of Australia in 1788, colonist authorities and governments have dominated the making of policies regarding most major aspects of Australian life, including the lives of Indigenous Australians. The enactment of these policies and legislation, whether targeted at society as a whole or directly at education, has had significant and most often negative causal impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, resulting in not only poor educational outcomes, but the loss of cultural identity, the development of serious issues in health and wellbeing, and the restriction of growth of Aboriginal communities. Moreover, there has been an ongoing pattern of the adoption of ill-informed policies in Australia, resulting in these poor outcomes and cultural decimation. Aboriginal people have developed a wariness, a mistrust, and even an attitude of avoidance to engage with non-Indigenous officials and those who they associate as their representatives, i.e. personnel working within

It is important to build a credible relationship with the Aboriginal population involved in the study that will help to fetch the valuable study results, thus, the supportive and well negotiated study will be favourable for both the researchers as well as participants (Holst, 2004). As this is a qualitative study involving interviews which might require the recording of the interview sessions, therefore, the clearance need to be obtained from the participants for the recordings and the access of the rights and responsibilities in ownership need to be discussed and negotiated with the participant, in case, they want to withdraw themselves from the study at any particular time (Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies,

Human rights are the rights of humans, regardless of nationality, gender, race, or religion. We should all have this in common as we are all part of humanity. However, Indigenous people did not always have these rights (Ag.gov.au, 2015). Aside from basic human rights, Indigenous people also have their own rights specific to their culture. Before 1967, Indigenous people had different rights in different states and the Australian federal government did not have any jurisdiction over Aboriginal affairs until Australia’s constitution was amended for this purpose in 1967 (Moadoph.gov.au, 2015). Between 1900 and the present time, there have been significant changes to the rights of Indigenous Australians. The effects of the European Settlement on the Indigenous people of Australia have been devastating. When white people began arriving in Australia, the Aboriginal people believed them to be ghosts of ancestor spirits. However, once they realised the settlers were invading their land, the Aborigines became, understandably, hostile (Slater & Parish, 1999, pp.8-11). In 1788, the total Indigenous population was believed to be between 750,000 and one million. By 1888, the Indigenous population was reduced to around 80,000 Australia wide (Korff, 2014). The three main reasons for this dramatic decline were the introduction of new diseases, violent conflicts with the colonisers, and settlers acquiring Indigenous land (Digital, 2015). In 1848, the Board of National Education stated that it

I agree with Michael Dodson through establishing the twin projects for Aboriginal people. The first twin project is self identification which is essential that the Aboriginal people to self identify themselves and to actually break away from the representations that the colonisers’ gave implied on them. Michael Dodson argues that one has the right to control their identity to broader the right to self identification ( Dodson 2003, pg 22) that he is trying to make the Aboriginal people to develop an identity of their own. A Positive reinforcement that Dodson has placed that is found in the article is the Un study that gave recognition for aboriginal people’s right and that they are being heard an has made an impact for Aboriginal people to find their own self identity and It is a way to ensure that Indigenous peoples can direct their cultural, economic and social development and participate fully in the democratic life of the entire community

The Indigenisation and Economic Empowerment Act is not merely a moral initiative designed to redress the wrongs of the past, it instead serves as a pragmatic growth strategy designed to realise the nation’s full economic potential. However, neither the pasts wrongs nor future's promise can be addressed without prioritising indigenous people's economic empowerment.