The Impact Of European Colonization On The Aboriginal People Of North America

The health of Aboriginal people in Canada is both a tragedy and a crisis (Aboriginal Affairs and North Development Canada, 2010). Aboriginals have a higher rate of death among aboriginal babies, twice the national average, higher rate of Infectious diseases example gastrointestinal infections to tuberculosis, and chronic and degenerative diseases such as cancer and heart disease are affecting more aboriginal people than they once did (AANDC, 2010). Availability of important medical facility is not enough to accommodate the growing medical needs of Aboriginals. A socioeconomic and cultural issue also hinders the access of aboriginals to access health care in the community.

The impact of colonization on First Nations peoples in Canada is unsurpassable, regarding every aspect of Aboriginal life and well-being. Throughout Canadian history, the government has been aiming to assimilate and annihilate Aboriginal people by way of racist policies, ethnocentric institutions, discriminatory laws and destructive capitalist behaviours. Because of this, Aboriginal people have suffered many losses, both physically and culturally. One of the main perpetrators of enacting this loss is the education system. The education system in Canada has and continues to threaten the relationship First Nations peoples have with the land. The connection First Nations peoples have with the land is crucial to their cultures, traditions, ceremonies and beliefs. Colonization and colonialism jeopardize this relationship and that is what this essay will address.

The deposition of their land, involvement in violent conflict and exposure to new diseases, resulted in the death of a vast number of Indigenous people. For the small population that did survive through this period of time, their lives were irreversibly changed, forever

The majority of health issues that the Aboriginal community faces are related directly and indirectly to social, economic, cultural and political areas. Infrastructure, housing, employment, income, environmental and education are connected to the individual and community based effects of health.

“The status of Indigenous health in contemporary Australia is a result of historic factors as well as contemporary socio-economic issues” (Hampton & Toombs, 2013, p. 1).

Further, low income, unemployment, racism, lack of education further deteriorate their quality-of-life and well-being (Carson, Dunbar, Chenhall, & Bailie, 2007). Therefore “closing the gap” on indigenous disadvantage is crucial for archive equality in life expectancy, health status, education and employment between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians (Black & Richards, 2009).

This paper will examine the healthcare of Indigenous Australian peoples compared to non-indigenous Australians. The life expectancy gaps between the two are a cause for alarm when statistics show Indigenous Australian peoples die on average 17 years earlier than non-indigenous Australians (Dick 2017). This paper will examine the social determinants of health to explore these factors and what interventions are in place to improve health status and life expectancy gaps for equality. The Federal Government has seen the implementation of the Northern Territory Intervention and the Closing the Gap Initiative. This essay will examine these two strategies and discuss the effectiveness of both policies. It will explain the differences, similarities and look at the success so far to

While many may argue that the Canadian health care system provides equal treatment to every Canadian, evidence shows that this is not the case. There are major discrepancies within the system regarding Indigenous people that need to be addressed including several factors such as: housing issues, stereotypes Aboriginals face and the lack of Aboriginal doctors.

The inequalities in today’s indigenous communities are still strongly evident. Heard, Khoo & Birrell (2009), argued that while there has been an attempt in narrowing the gap between Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians, a barrier still exists in appropriate health care reaching indigenous people. The Indigenous people believe, health is more than the individual, it is

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

From the underhanded acts of dispossession to the unintentional carriage of diseases, European settlement had an significant impact on the indigenous people of Australia. With neither party backing down and the indigenous people being throughly disadvantaged with their lack of technology, it is easy to say that the European settlement of Australia had a significant impact on them. Along with convicts and new technology, the First Fleet in 1788 also brought many diseases to the shores of the unknown land that is now called Australia. A disease like influenza that is now non-fatal in the modern era was deadly back in the day, even to the Europeans who had the more advanced technology at the time.

Since the Europeans set foot on North American soil in 1620,they have had a devastating effect on the native population. I will be discussing the long term effect of North American colonisation on the Native Americans, focusing on such issues as employment opportunities, the environment, culture and traditions, health, as well as social justice.

As stated in an article by the UN addressing health implications for indigenous people it is stated that: “Indigenous peoples’ lack of access to health services for indigenous peoples is a widespread problem in America for many reasons, which include geographical barriers, discrimination, stigma, lack of social and cultural adaptation to indigenous health needs, and a lack of integration of traditional medicine” (2014). Indigenous Peoples’ have many barriers they must overcome first before being able to access the health care amenities, even then they are not guaranteed to have access to these services. Where are we look on the other side of the spectrum which includes Non-Indigenous Peoples’ access to health care is done in a very different way. “Across the country, diabetes is having a devastating impact on Indigenous communities with rates of diabetes three times higher among Indigenous people than among non-Indigenous people”(Aspin, Clive; Brown, Ngiare, Jersey, Tanisha, Yen, Lauran, ).Leeder, Stephen 2). Non-Indigenous Peoples’ have notably better health than Indigenous Peoples’. As stated above the rates for health implications are much higher for the Indigenous peoples’ than it is for the Non-Indigenous peoples. This shows that there must be a gap between how the health services treat Indigenous

European Colonization was rapidly expanded after Christopher Columbus, an Italian explorer arrived in the Americas. The start of the Colonization is dated to 1492. The European Colonization of the Americas was a tragedy because, the Native Americans were living a peaceful life and the arrival of Europeans has led to the devastation of indigenous communities through diseases, violence and dispossession.

Throughout history, colonization has affected many societies. European colonization and colonialism greatly impacted the Canadian First Nations’ style of living. Alfred (2009) described European colonization as “the invasion and eventual domination of North America by European empires” (p. 45). However, colonialism is more complex. Alfred (2009) inferred that European colonialism was “the development of institutions and policies by European imperial and Euroamerican settler governments towards Indigenous peoples” (p. 45). This term describes the imbalanced relationship between the Europeans and the Indigenous. This relationship created long-lasting impacts for the Indigenous and created implications for social workers who help Indigenous peoples today. European contact and colonialism created both immediate and long-term impacts on Canadian First Nation peoples. The Europeans introduced commercial trade, creating capitalism and transforming the Indigenous political economy. The European imposition of capitalism forced Indigenous peoples to shift away from their traditional subsistence economy, creating four immediate effects: first, a disruption of their traditional pattern of economic life and a creation of economic dependency; second, a loss of their self-sufficient lifestyle; third, damage to the natural environment and animals; and fourth, poverty. European colonization impacted and continues to affect many aspects of Indigenous life.