Health, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO), can be defined as ‘a
state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity.’ Using this definition of health, and others,
as guiding principles, this thesis, by Lisa Vicki Campbell of the University of Waikato in Hamilton, New Zealand, takes a thematic approach in order to
demonstrate how nineteenth and twentieth-century Australian government policies
have influenced the health of Indigenous Australians today.
The four key themes investigated are alienation, mental illness, alcohol
abuse, and crime. By weaving the narratives taken from a number of published
oral interviews, testimonies from various Australian reports, and other edited
collections, this thesis argues that from the perspective of numerous members of
the Stolen generations, the forcible removal of Aboriginal children and
the subsequent feelings of alienation produced by removal, have had significant
and on-going implications for the current state of poor health within Aboriginal
and Torres Strait Islander communities. (APO 29/10/12)
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