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Effects of Colonization

The effects of colonization on the health of Indigenous Australians are due to factors such as land dispossession, social marginalization, political oppression, incarceration, acculturation, and population decline. European colonization in Australia began with the arrival of the British in 1788. Their arrival introduced foreign diseases, warfare, and violence to the Indigenous population, and the immediate effect was widespread mortality and disease. By the end of the 19th century, Indigenous Australians were confined to remote reserves and missions. They were associated with disease, which led to exclusion from institutions and isolation from non-Indigenous society for fear of contamination. These colonial policies resulted in segregated oppression and a lack of access to adequate medical care, leading to further disease and mortality.

The Australian government proceeded to deny the Indigenous people of their civil rights, including property rights; the ability to work and receive wages; and access to medical care and educational institutions. Legislation also allowed for the separation of Indigenous families, with guardianship being awarded to government officials called Protectors. Indigenous children forcibly removed from their families under Protection legislation in the first half of the 20th century are referred to as the Stolen Generations. Many of these children were neglected, abused, and denied of an education. The Australian government forced the Indigenous populations to assimilate into the colonizers’ culture through schools and programs, where Indigenous languages were banned and any resistance to these practices could result in imprisonment or death. This process of acculturation has led to trauma, including historical, inter-generational, and social trauma. Issues such as anxiety, stress, grief, and sadness are produced from this trauma, which have led to higher suicide rates, violence, substance abuse and incarceration of Indigenous peoples today.

Social, political and economic factors that result from colonization present barriers to quality healthcare, health education, and health behaviours. Acculturation has produced xenophobia, which has socially marginalized Indigenous people and excluded them from society. Social inclusion is a social determinant of health, and social marginalization allows for injustices against Indigenous people to persist. Political disempowerment also prevented them from accessing social services, sickness benefits, and from voting until the 1960s. Colonial empires produced socio-economic inequality for Indigenous peoples, and in contemporary society this has resulted in poor employment opportunities, housing, education and healthcare. One in seven Indigenous Australians reported difficulty in accessing healthcare for their children, which include transportation costs and prescription costs. Displacement and disenfranchisement prevents access to healthcare resources such as screening programs, and results in delayed or inadequate treatment. An example of this can be seen through the disparities found among cervical cancer, where a meta-analysis of Indigenous women from Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States attributed these disparities to “socio-economic disenfranchisement resulting from colonialism”, rather than genetics.

The displacement of Indigenous Australians to reserves and the isolation from society led to generations suffering from starvation and malnutrition. This has had profound effects on physical and intellectual development; Indigenous communities today in remote locations continue to suffer from malnutrition and chronic health problems, as well as lower levels of education. European colonizers believed that Indigenous people were intellectually inferior, and education was denied as it was considered pointless. The persistence of inequality in educational attainment among contemporary Indigenous communities is viewed as a product of historical, political and social factors. Low levels of education increase the likelihood of engaging in high risk health behaviors, as well as lower rates of participation in health screening and treatment. However, poor health behaviours and low utilization of healthcare resources can be due to a combination of many factors. Racial discrimination towards Indigenous peoples that stems from processes of colonialism leads to a cumulative exposure to racism, and this is related to negative health outcomes. It produces feelings of anger and shame, which limits active participation in the mainstream healthcare system and society at large.