Aboriginal Social Environment

As stated by the World Health Organization (WHO), ‘health’ is defined as “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” (WHO, 1948). The health and wellbeing of individuals is generally determined by their circumstances and environment, a phenomenon referred to as the social determinants of health. WHO describes the social determinants of health as:

Social determinants of health impact many areas of people’s lives and the absence or presence of them can have negative effects on a person’s environment, wellbeing and success in life. In the novel Ragged Company, written by Richard Wagamese, the poor childhood development of the character Digger, contributed to his inadequate education, low income, and poor health. These factors ultimately led to and sustained his homelessness.

Recognition of Aboriginals in the Constitution to the Prime Minister, there has been growing momentum in the campaign for the referendum on this issue.

Both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal had valuable and reasonable arguments against the federal government’s decision. The technique the federal government should have used instead was to keep the rule that Aboriginal people have a right to fish when they wanted without a license and keep the fishing industry continuing their success. Since the fishing industry has been running for hundreds of years and Aboriginals come from a family of survival and fishing, then why not both work with each other in the same industry. This means that Aboriginals will still have a right to fish when they want and the fishing industry will still be running, therefore Aboriginals would find more employment.

2. Discuss the sociocultural, socioeconomic and environmental determinants that lead to these inequities Whilst there has been progression made in the area of improving Indigenous health, numerous ill-advised and previous ineffective programs of integration, separation, education and welfare have hindered the health equality of Aboriginal and ATSi’s. This is reflected through the sociocultural, socioeconomic and environmental determinants for Aboriginals and ATSI’s that lead to these inequities that they suffer. For example, nearly half of indigenous households were in the lowest income quintile whilst less than 5 percent were in the top income quintile.

Study has shown that the health of individuals are affected by a wide range of factors relating to the community, environment and social situation in which people live, along with the health behaviours that individual adopt, referred to as the determinants of health. The key determinants of health are: Individual factors which are knowledge, skills, attitudes and genetics. Sociocultural factors which are family, peers, media, religion, culture. Socioeconomic which are, factors, employment, education and income and environmental factors, geographical location, access to health services and technology. Individual factors are those factors exclusive to each person that can regulate their level of health.

From a sociological lens, sociological theories can be applied to the drug usage of Aboriginal people. According to the structural functionalist theory, drug abuse is a response to weakening of societal norms. In relation to Aboriginal peoples, the absence of bond between some Aboriginal people and society, may be one reason why drug use is a common occurrence among people of Indigenous backgrounds. The anomie in some Aboriginal people who use drugs may exist at the individual level, which can be from biological or physiological reasons and/or psychological reasons. The norms created by society, the perception that doing drug is bad, may not be felt by some people, thus there is a weakening of a consensus of what is considered acceptable.

Social determinants of health encompasses ethnicity, gender and social class. It is seen as the essential

As Beard recognizes, "Native peoples often serve as reminders of a place, an occasion, or, most often a mythic past, and they are expected to perform that identity in the present" (494), what this quote speaks to is a kind of conspicuous performance, a social construction of Aboriginal peoples that pivots around a variety of stereotypes and systemic racism. Writing from the position of a pre-service secondary English language arts (ELA) teacher, my motivations in this paper involve using Marilyn Dumont 's poetry as a way to address Beard 's concerns, "[building students '] capacity for intercultural understanding, empathy, and mutual respect" (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, 7), while simultaneously teaching them how to analyse poetry. More specifically, Dumont 's series of beading poems, in her collection The Pemmican Eaters, provides an opportunity to engage high school students in a discussion around the significance of cultural practices, while at the same time revisiting the interplay of Canadian histories, both Aboriginal and colonial. At the same time, I will also describe Dumont 's use of irony, which Andrews explains as a cultural ethos that is a unique element of Plains peoples’ Indigenous art (3). Introducing this uniquely First Nations brand of irony to students may work to give life to Aboriginal culture, bringing "Native peoples . . . [out] of the mythic past" (Beard, 494) and into the present. Finally, the act of beading itself ties directly to

Social inequities in health result from unequal distribution of social, economic, cultural and historical determinants. It is vital to identify these factors to reduce health inequalities and to improve health status of people. This essay depicts information on two social determinants of health that affect different vulnerable groups in terms of their socioeconomic position and ethnicity.

Social determinants of health often look at different reasons that underlines how the distribution of health among different social groups. Wade et al. (2016) explains that social determinants of health are more than an individualist approach, it focus on the social structures of the cause of health, decease, and morality. Social determinants of health is often described at different factors such as income, gender, ethnicity, work environment, culture, social roles and aging influence the course and outcome of disease. It looks the social, structural, and environmental factors that influence people health outcome.

The World Health Organisation posits that the social determinants of health (SDoH) are the conditions in which people are born, grow, work, live, and age, and the wider set of forces and systems shaping the conditions of daily life which are in turn responsible for health inequities, the unequal and preventable disparities in health within population groups and between countries (WHO 2015). This broadly means that a person’s health can be negatively impacted or enhanced depending on their social status, educational attainment, level of income, living conditions and access to resources and social support networks.

Oral tradition exists in day to day life, from telling children stories or singing lullabies, which are usually learnt in early childhood, to get them to sleep. Stories that are told to children by non-Aboriginal individuals are usually meant for entertainment purposes and do not carry any deeper value, nor are they given any cultural or spiritual importance. For many Aboriginal groups, however, stories and songs have a much greater significance. “Aboriginal peoples’ communities are often founded on stories that are characteristically sustaining: communicating the epistemologies and norms that constitute their worldviews”

The Aboriginals are the indigenous people from Australia, and they are the oldest living culture in the history of the world (Australian Government 2008). Their ability to adapt and change over time are one of the reasons why their culture has survived for so long (Australian Government 2008). The indigenous communities in Australia kept their culture alive for so long by passing down their knowledge of arts, rituals, and performances from one generation to another (Australian Government 2008). The speaking and teaching of languages are other key aspects of the Aboriginal culture as well as the protection of cultural materials, sacred and significant sites and objects (Australian Government 2008).

The determinants of health are economic and social conditions that affect people’s health status. These influence the living and working conditions that impacts people’s everyday living condition. Factors such as the place and the environment we live in, genetics, educational level or work status and income, as well as friends and family are some of the aspects that affects our health condition. On the other hand, the people that have an access to good health care and have financial stability are less susceptible and are often less affected. (NANB, 2009)