Indigenous Health

"This project involved several components: a review of the national and international literature in regard to the transition to school; an analysis of quantitative data, and consultations with a range of key stakeholders including a series of case study visits to different kinds of prior-to-school education settings. The objective of these research elements was to ensure the reports and guidelines developed through the project are well grounded in practice".
The project also involved visits to a range of settings where Aboriginal children were transitioning into school that were recommended as best practice by the state and territory based education departments. These are written up as case studies within the report.

Community members have identified secondhand smoke exposure among young women and children within First Nations communities as a concern. As part of a community-based research project, we analyzed experiences related to establishing smoke-free public spaces and the challenges related to smoking and bingo. The purpose of this study was to a) describe and compare community smoking at bingo in First Nations communities, and b) draw implications for assessing and supporting community readiness for comprehensive tobacco control policies (TCPs). Data were collected using individual interviews, group discussions, and observations in the community. The establishment of smoke-free public spaces in communities evolved out of concern by people traditionally responsible for the well-being of the community. Despite close proximity and similar socioeconomic contexts, readiness to extend these successes to bingos held in community halls was influenced by three main factors: a) economic drivers, b) the smoking majority, and c) grassroots support. Although models for assessing community readiness provide a useful starting point for understanding local TCP development and implementation in First Nations communities, other factors also need to be considered. Using a comprehensive approach to assessing community readiness has the potential to increase success in extending TCPs and practices in First Nations communities in ways that are culturally relevant, address local conditions, and build on existing efforts.

Em 23 de setembro de 1999, foi aprovada a criação do subsistema de saúde indígena no âmbito do Sistema Único de Saúde. Neste trabalho, analisamos as bases discursivas de convergência e conflitos entre discursos indigenistas e da Reforma Sanitária, que nos permitem refletir sobre esse processo que consideramos configurar uma ‘longa’ Reforma Sanitária indígena. Utilizamos como referencial teórico a perspectiva da teoria de Stephen Ball, para analisar documentos produzidos por atores indigenistas (Fundação Nacional do Índio - Funai, Conselho Indigenista Missionário - Cimi e União das Nações Indígenas - UNI) e pelo Movimento da Reforma Sanitária. Apontamos evidências da utilização por indígenas e indigenistas dos argumentos e das propostas da Reforma Sanitária, e, por outro lado, o envolvimento estratégico de Sergio Arouca nos debates da saúde indígena. Os pontos de convergência se localizam principalmente na crítica ao modelo biomédico, à aproximação das propostas da atenção primária e do conceito ampliado de saúde. Os conflitos se relacionaram principalmente quanto à operacionalização do subsistema, mas o discurso indigenista, contrário à municipalização, encontrou na distritalização uma proposta legitimada na Reforma Sanitária.

This article concerns public health policies for the Indigenous peoples of Brazil, focusing on relations of violence observed by the authors during their research. We draw attention to different types of violence through an analysis that articulates fieldwork on primary health care in Indigenous Areas with observations of political negotiations concerning health issues involving Indigenous leaders and government workers. There is, on the one hand, the habitual symbolic violence that can be observed in daily interactions between health workers and Indigenous patients, and, on the other, the contradictions of an official political rhetoric that assents to Indigenous authority and then systematically dismisses it when decisions that involve public health are put into practice. The research combines different methodological strategies (intensive fieldwork, research on public policy documents, participant observation of political meetings, interview with indigenes and managers, etc.) to ...

Statistics about Indigenous peoples are a common feature of Anglo-colonizing nation states such as Canada, Australia, Aotearoa New Zealand, and the United States (CANZUS). The impetus for the production of most Indigenous statistics is the shared position of Indigenous disadvantage in health and socioeconomic status. In this chapter, we contrast statistics about Indigenous peoples with statistics for Indigenous people and statistics by Indigenous people. There are very significant differences between these categories of Indigenous statistics. At the heart of these differences is the methodology that informs the research processes and practices. Statistics about Indigenous peoples often reflect the dominant social norms, values, and racial hierarchy of the society in which they are created. In the CANZUS states, these statistics are deficit focused and, at times, victim blaming. Also missing from these statistical portrayals is the culture, interests, perspectives, and alternative narratives of the Indigenous peoples that they purport to represent. We contrast these statistics with those from statistical research using processes and practices that are shaped by Indigenous methodologies. Indigenous methodologies are distinguished by their prioritization of Indigenous methods, protocols, values, and epistemologies. We conclude with two examples of what Indigenous quantitative methodologies look like in practice from Aotearoa NZ and Australia.

Relationships to land and nature have long been recognized globally as a central Indigenous determinant of health. As more Indigenous peoples migrate to larger urban centers, it is crucial to better understand how these relationships are maintained or function within urban spaces. This article outlines the results of a year-long collaborative study that qualitatively explored Indigenous young peoples' connections between "land," nature, and wellness in an urban Canadian context. Thirty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 Cree and Métis Indigenous youth living within Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. A strength based analysis focused on re-imagining miyo-wicehtowin; that is, the processes of youths' self-determination and agency that build positive human-nature relationships and enact "land-making" amidst their urban spaces. This research critically engages environmental dispossession and repossession to more readily consider decolonizing land-based approaches to health and wellness among urban contexts. Future empirical and methodological directions for exploring human-nature relationships in urban health research are also offered.

THE LEGACY OF COLONIZATION

When discussing the problems of development many indigenous communities face, I always make a point that the root of such disastrous conditions is, in part, in the colonial legacy affecting indigenous peoples even now. I often, however, get to hear that (1) I should get over it as colonialism is in the past; (2) it’s not the first time it happened that a weaker group was colonized and abused; or (3) governments have apologized (e.g., New Zealand, Canada, Taiwan), they have been pouring resources to those areas, what else do you want?

I personally want such individuals to understand that:

1. Colonialism may well be in the past, but its effects are not: indigenous peoples worldwide lost their land, resources, connection to ancestors in burial places, and control over their lives. This in turn broke down traditional structures, institutions, and families. Residential schools established to ‘civilize’ indigenous people destroyed indigenous education, cultures, languages, identities, and ties to communities.

Reconciliation efforts have been superficial and on the terms established by dominant groups – those who colonized and created top-down racist power structures in the first place. Apologies are window-dressing – Taiwan’s president apologized last year (2016) and promised the establishment of a historical and transitional justice commission. Qualitatively nothing has changed. Not in Taiwan, not anywhere else.

A continuing injustice is what indigenous people have been suffering from despite the fact that on paper colonization ended.
2. The fact that this happened in the past only means it shouldn’t happen again. For this we need to ensure that minority rights are protected, past legacies and their impacts are assessed and addressed.

3. In spite of the aid proffered, who owns the land and control the resources? Once a Chinese person in Taiwan told me everyone would like to be indigenous in Taiwan because of all the perks indigenous people get. Let’s take a look at the so-called perks and development projects and aid.

Background. Anemia affects the lives of more than 2 billion people globally, accounting for over 30% of the world's population. Anemia is a global public health problem occurring at all stages of the life cycle but the burden of the problem is higher in pregnant women particularly in developing countries. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of anemia and associated factors among pregnant women attending antenatal clinics in north western zone of Tigray, northern Ethiopia. Methods. A facility based cross-sectional study was employed. A systematic random sampling procedure was employed to select 714 pregnant women who were attending antenatal clinics in health facilities found in the study area from April to May 2014. The data was entered and analyzed using Epi-info version 3.5.1 and SPSS version 20.0 statistical software, respectively. Logistic regression analysis was used to identify factors associated with anemia among the study participants. All tests were two-sided and p value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results. The overall prevalence of anemia (hemoglobin < 11 g/dL) among the pregnant women was 36.1% (95% CI = 32.7%-39.7%) of which 58.5% were mildly, 35.7% moderately, and 5.8% severely anemic. In pregnant women, rural residence (AOR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.01-3.04), no education/being illiterate (AOR = 1.56, 95% CI = 1.03-2.37), absence of iron supplementation during pregnancy (AOR = 2.76, 95% CI = 1.92-5.37), and meal frequency of less than two times per day (AOR = 2.28, 95% CI = 1.06-4.91) were the independent predictors for increased anemia among the pregnant women. Conclusions. Anemia was found to be moderate public health problem in the study area. Residence, educational status, iron supplementation during pregnancy, and meal frequency per day were statistically associated with anemia among the pregnant women. Awareness creation and nutrition education on the importance of taking iron supplementation and nutritional counseling on consumption of extra meal and iron-rich foods during pregnancy are recommended to prevent anemia in the pregnant women.

Child care is the most indigenous health system that has to draw strength from folk culture beliefs and health practices. Thus, our future exploration should examine child care from multiple perspectives of sociology, anthropology, developmental psychology and preferred healthy practices.

Indigenous Peoples associate their own laws with the laws of the natural world, which are formally known as or translated as Natural or First Law. These laws come from the Creator and the Land through our ancestral stories and therefore, they are sacred. All aspects of life and existence depend on living and following these natural First Laws. Since colonization, Indigenous Peoples’ Natural Laws have been forcibly replaced by modern-day laws that do not take into account the sacred relationship between the Earth and all of her inhabitants. The force of societies who live outside of Natural Law has ensured the modern-day consequences of not living in balance with nature. Pandemics and global environmental change, including climate change, are all consequences of not following the Natural Laws that are encapsulated by the interconnected nature of the universe. Here we discuss Natural Law from an Indigenous paradigm and worldview which carries implications for planetary health and wide...

INTRODUCTION Indigenous communities across Canada report that transformations in Indigenous health research are needed, where the benefits of research shift intentionally, collaboratively, and with transparency from the researchers directly to Indigenous communities and partners. Despite its challenges and potential for harm, research, if done ethically and with respect and partnership, can be a force for change and will strengthen the efficacy of data on Indigenous Peoples&#39; health and wellbeing. PURPOSE To characterize the nature, range, and extent of Indigenous health research in Atlantic Canada, and to identify gaps. METHODS Eleven databases were searched using English-language keywords that signify Indigeneity, geographic regions, health, and Indigenous communities in Atlantic Canada between 2001 and May 2020. All references were reviewed independently by two reviewers. Of the 9056 articles identified, 211 articles were retained for inclusion. Data were extracted using a col...

he primary aim of this study was to investigate the effect of a community and school sport pro-gram (SCP) on Indigenous adolescents&#39; life skills and physical activity levels within program ses-sions. A secondary aim was to determine the acceptability of the SCP. Participants in the SCP (n = 34; 89%) participated in a 10-week case study (age = 13.7 ± 1.16; 58% girls). Systematic observa-tions of SCP sessions were conducted to determine physical activity levels and a life skills ques-tionnaire was implemented. Acceptability measures included retention, implementation, atten-dance rates, and interviews with participants [n = 18] and key stakeholders [n = 6]. Systematic observations indicated that Indigenous students were engaged in MVPA for 58% of lesson time. Participants&#39; life skills remained unchanged (p = 0.93). Interview data showed that Indigenous students and key stakeholders believed the SCP was acceptable. This study highlights the need for partnerships between Indigen...

Academic Reference:

Zuckermann, Ghil'ad & Monaghan, Paul (2012). "Revival linguistics and the new media: Talknology in the service of the Barngarla language reclamation", pp. 119-126 of Foundation for Endangered Languages XVI Conference: Language Endangerment in the 21st Century:Globalisation, Technology & New Media. Auckland, New Zealand.

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Revival Linguistics and the New Media:
Talknology in the service of the Barngarla Language Reclamation


Ghil‘ad Zuckermann

Chair of Linguistics and Endangered Languages
School of Humanities, University of Adelaide, SA Adelaide 5005, Australia
[ghilad.zuckermann@adelaide.edu.au]


Paul Monaghan

Mobile Language Team
School of Humanities, University of Adelaide, SA Adelaide 5005, Australia
[paul.monaghan@adelaide.edu.au]


Abstract

Revival Linguistics is a new branch of linguistics, currently being established at Adelaide. It analyses comparatively and systematically the universal constraints and global mechanisms on the one hand (see Zuckermann 2009), and local peculiarities on the other hand, apparent in revival attempts across various sociological backgrounds, all over the world (see Zuckermann & Walsh 2011). A branch of both linguistics and applied linguistics, it combines scientific studies of native language acquisition and foreign language learning (language reclamation is the most extreme case of Second Language Learning).

The study: The Barngarla language (spelled Parnkalla by Schürmann 1844) is a no-longer spoken Thura-Yura Pama-Nyungan Aboriginal language of the Lakes Cultural Region of South Australia. Most recently Zuckermann, Monaghan and the Barngarla community have launched a reclamation of this sleeping beauty in three major rural/urban centres on the Eyre Peninsula, namely Port Lincoln, Whyalla, and Port Augusta. The presence of three Barngarla populations several hours drive apart presents the revival linguist with a need for a sophisticated reclamation involving ‘talknological’ innovations, such as online chatting, newsgroups, photo and resource sharing through a Barngarla wiki. This paper also examines the tensions accompanying the creation of a Barngarla ‘community of practice’ (cf. Wenger 1998) in a post-traditional Aboriginal context. In important ways, the new talknology poses a direct challenge to existing authority structures relating to the everyday management of knowledge, collaboration and participation. We predict that how the broader Barngarla community negotiates these issues will have an important bearing on the ultimate results of the reclamation project.




Revival Linguistics

Revival Linguistics is a new branch of linguistics, currently being established at Adelaide. It analyses comparatively and systematically the universal constraints and global mechanisms on the one hand (see Zuckermann 2009), and local peculiarities and idiosyncrasies on the other hand, apparent in revival attempts across various sociological backgrounds, all over the world (Zuckermann & Walsh 2011). A branch of both linguistics and applied linguistics, it combines scientific studies of native language acquisition and foreign language learning (language reclamation is the most extreme case of Second Language Learning).

Revival Linguistics complements the established field of documentary linguistics, which records endangered languages before they fall asleep. Revival Linguistics ought to revise the fields of grammaticography (writing grammars) and lexicography (writing dictionaries): Grammars and dictionaries ought to be written for language reclamation, i.e. in a user-friendly way, for communities, not only for linguists. For example, juxtapose Lutheran missionary Clamor Wilhelm Schürmann’s 1844 spelling of the Barngarla word nunyara ‘recovery’, which ignores the English environment, thus resulting in the pronunciation nanYAra rather than NOONyara.

Closely related to contact linguistics, Revival Linguistics changes the field of historical linguistics, e.g. by weakening the Family Tree model, which implies that a language ought to have only one parent. Assisting Aboriginal communities in a realistic, non-purisitic way, without selling them myths, Revival Linguistics promotes efficiency and efficacy in language reclamation.

Certainly Australia has been made the ‘Unlucky Country’ through the historical processes of linguicide (language killing) and glottophagy (language eating). These twin forces were in operation from the early colonial period. In her detailed study of the role missionary language practices in the early years of the South Australian colony, Scrimgeour quotes the following colonial language ideology: ‘Mr Forster afterwards adverted to the present mode of teaching the children in their own language. He, with all respect to the Missionaries, would say, on several grounds, that this was wrong. The natives would be sooner civilized if their language was extinct. The children taught would afterwards mix only with whites, where their own language would be of no use – the use of their language would preserve their prejudices and debasement, and their language was not sufficient to express the ideas of civilized life.  He gave the Missionaries full credit for their talents and zeal, but he thought it would be better to teach the children in English’ (from Report on a public meeting of the South Australian Missionary Society in aid of the German Mission to the Aborigines, Southern Australian, 8 September 1843; Scrimgeour, 2007: 116, italics added).

In the case of glottophagy, Governor George Grey noted: ‘The merchant in London who lays on a vessel for a certain port, regards the affair as a mere mercantile speculation, but could he trace out the results he effects in their remotest ramifications, he would stand astonished at the changes he produces.  With the wizard wand of commerce, he touches a lone and trackless forest, and at his bidding, cities arise, and the hum and dust of trade collect – away are swept ancient races; antique laws and customs moulder into oblivion.  The strong-holds of murder and superstition are cleansed, and the Gospel is preached amongst ignorant and savage men. The ruder languages disappear successively, and the tongue of England alone is heard around’ (Grey 1841: 200-201, italics added). Grey was a strong supporter of Aboriginal languages, encouraging Schürmann’s work documenting the Adelaide language (Kaurna) and Barngarla at Port Lincoln (see below).

With globalization, homogenization and Coca-colonization there will be more and more groups all over the world added to the forlorn club of the lost-heritage peoples. Language reclamation will become increasingly relevant as people seek to recover their cultural autonomy, empower their spiritual and intellectual sovereignty, and improve their wellbeing. There are various ethical, aesthetic and utilitarian benefits of language revival: for example, social justice, diversity and employability, respectively.

Zuckermann (2012) has enthusiastically called for Native Tongue Title and linguistic human rights, suggesting that the Australian government ought to compensate Indigenous people not only for the loss of land but equally importantly for the loss of language. Zuckermann has suggested to the Australian government to define Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander vernaculars as official languages.

Furthermore, it is predicted that in the future the very insights offered by Revival Linguistics will themselves become part of Indigenous Intellectual Property, when Slovenes and Estonians come to Australia and New Zealand to ask Aboriginal Australians and Maori to assist them in their own European language resurrection.

There is an urgent need to produce perspicacious LINGUISTIC and socio-linguistic insights relevant to language reclamation. Otherwise, linguists or language workers would not be able to offer, if asked by Indigenous people, efficient and efficacious advice. There are linguistic constraints applicable to all revival attempts. Mastering them would help revivalists and First Nations leaders to work more efficiently; for example, to focus more on basic vocabulary and verbal conjugations than on sounds and word order – see Zuckermann (2009: http://www.zuckermann.org/pdf/Hybridity_versus_Revivability.pdf.

Revival linguistics would assist revivalists to be more realistic and to abandon discouraging slogans such as "Give us authenticity or give us death!" The following are among the basic principles that the revival linguist encourages in Aboriginal communities:

i. If your language falls asleep: stop, revive, survive!
ii. If you revive a language, embrace the hybridity of the emerging tongue; and
iii. If your language is healthy, assist others in linguistic need.

One day we may invent devices to “inject” a language into our brains. But until then, any attempt to reclaim a hibernating language will result in a hybrid that combines components from the revivalists' and documenters' mother tongues and, of course, the target language. In the immortal words of Jerry Seinfeld: "Not that there's anything wrong with that!"

The Study


Figure 1: Map of Traditional Aboriginal Country after Norman Tindale (adapted from Hercus 1999)

The Barngarla language reclamation project has arisen through partnerships between the University of Adelaide (Linguistics and the Mobile Language Team) and the Barngarla people. Although still in its infancy, consultations began in September 2011, a number of very significant steps have been made towards reclaiming this ‘sleeping beauty’. Without doubt, the key challenge has been to develop a strategy for the reclamation of the language simultaneously and without favour in three major regional centres. In ways that will be elaborated below, this multi-sited, regional or peripheral reclamation makes demands that are very different to those often found in metropolitan reclamation contexts (e.g. Kaurna, cf. Amery...

Explanations for suicide are theorized primarily in terms of the individual , seldom considering the interdependent orientation of Indigenous communities. Drawing on the interpersonal theory of suicide and settler colonial theory, this study addresses Indigenous suicide on two levels: the individual and the collective. Twenty-one interviews were conducted with members of the Cowi-chan Tribes to understand reasons for suicide in one community. Qualitative analysis identified explanatory constructs proposed by the interpersonal theory as well as negative conditions stemming from colonialism, as proposed by settler colonial theory. These results argue that Indigenous suicidal behavior is best understood from an interdependent standpoint.

Background: Strongyloides stercoralis infects human hosts mainly through skin contact with contaminated soil. The result is strongyloidiasis, a parasitic disease, with a unique cycle of auto-infection causing a variety of symptoms and signs, with possible fatality from hyper-infection. Australian Indigenous community members, often living in rural and remote settings, are exposed to and infected with S. stercoralis. The aim of this review is to determine barriers to control of strongyloidiasis. The purpose is to contribute to the development of initiatives for prevention, early detection and effective treatment of strongyloidiasis.

"This article identifies and discusses seven new cases of complete maxillary canine-premolar transposition in ancient populations from the Santa Barbara
Channel region of California. A high frequency of this tooth transposition has been previously documented within a single prehistoric cemetery on one of the Channel Islands. A total of 966 crania representing 30 local sites and about 7,000 years of human occupation were examined, revealing an abnormally high prevalence of this transposition trait among islanders during the Early period of southern California prehistory (~5500–600 B.C.). One of the affected crania is from a cemetery more than 7,000-years-old and constitutes the earliest case of tooth transposition in humans so far reported. The results are consistent with findings by other studies that have indicated inbreeding among the early Channel Islands groups. Together with the normal transposition rates among mainland populations, the decreasing prevalence of maxillary canine-first premolar transposition among island populations across the Holocene suggests that inbreeding on the northern Channel Islands had all but ceased by the end of the first millennium B.C., most likely as a result of increased cross-channel migration and interaction."

In this paper I examine how the use of Indigenous digital storytelling (DST) within the framework of Indigenous research methodology, allowed Indigenous women to share their health stories in a safe and respectful context. This decolonizing methodology allowed for self-representation that challenged stereotypes and allowed Indigenous women to prioritize their own social and community needs and to protect their identities and cultural values in the process (Iseke & Moore, 2011). The digital storytelling participant interviews, which is the data this paper is based upon, reveals several key aspects of conducting culturally relevant and ethically sound DST with Indigenous women including: findings and discussion on the process of DST, and the Indigenous knowledge translation (iKT) event, Legacy: Indigenous Women’s Health Stories. In the last chapter, I will situate myself within this re-search  and share my self-reflectivity through Absolon’s (2011) Petal Flower framework starting with “The Flower Centre: Self as Central” to the Indigenous research process (pp.67-69). I will also highlight my “relational responsibility” to my co-creators – my continued advocacy for Indigenous women’s health using their digital stories - and how I included them in this process as much as possible (Gaudry as cited Strega and Brown, 2015, p. 256).

The wellbeing of Indigenous youth living in Canada’s northern communities continues to lag behind the rest of the Canadian population. To a large extent, these health inequities are perpetuated by processes of colonisation that significantly impact the social determinants of health in Canada’s Indigenous north. The purpose of this article is to review the history of colonisation and its impacts on the wellbeing of Indigenous youth in Canada’s north, as well as processes of resilience that have helped Indigenous youth live healthy lives despite social challenges. Academic articles published between 2000 and 2016 outlining resilience from Indigenous perspectives are reviewed in the contexts of Canada’s Indigenous north. Analysis focuses on what insights about resilience emerge from Indigenous communities, particularly as they related to the health inequities of circumpolar regions. The concept of Âhkamêyimo is discussed and how systems of Indigenous knowledge offer important insights into resilience in general, and can be utilised in health promotion, education, and prevention programs targeting Indigenous youth in northern Canada. We conclude that attention should be turned toward issues of social justice and health equity that are desperately needed in order to create healthy environments whereby Indigenous youth within northern Canadian communities can be assisted to flourish.

In: Marc Woons (ed.) Restoring Indigenous Self-Determination, Special Issue of E-International Relations

Self-determination is not only a basic human right to which all peoples are entitled as a basic requirement of justice, it is also a basic human need to which all peoples can lay claim as a fundamental component of their well-being. In other words, I am committed to the view that when their basic need for self-determination is met, peoples’ lives generally will go better, and when it is not, their lives generally will go worse. To give substance to this view, I will engage in a cross-disciplinary exploration of the relationship between self-determination and indigenous health outcomes. More specifically, I will explore the hypothesis that meaningful self-determination in the form of greater individual and communal life control is a contributing factor to improved levels of indigenous physical and mental health, and, conversely, that control and domination by others is a contributing factor to ill-health and elevated levels of mortality in indigenous communities worldwide.

Observa-se um progressivo aumento no número de artigos científicos relacionados ao tema nas últimas décadas. A maioria das publicações resulta de pesquisas realizadas com comunidades localizadas nas regiões Norte e Centro-Oeste. Mesmo que geograficamente circunscritas, é possível observar que as crianças indígenas apresentam um perfil de saúde e nutrição desfavorável quando comparadas às não-indígenas. Oobjetivo desta dissertação foi avaliar, de forma crítica e sistematizada, a produção científica, sob a forma de artigos, que abordam o estado nutricional de crianças indígenas no Brasil. A partir de pesquisa sistemática em bases bibliográficas SCOPUS, LILACS, ISI e MEDLINE foram localizados 31 artigos e avaliados 29, todos publicados entre os anos de 1974 e 2007. Os resultados indicaram que apesar do aumento da produção científica abordando o tema, em particular a partir de 2001 (69 por centodos artigos publicados), ainda não existe padronização suficiente envolvendo as metodologias aplicadas, o que traz alguma dificuldade para a análise comparativa dos achados. Foi possível observar que em 89,6 por cento dos artigos foram escritos por autores sediados em instituições brasileiras. Em relação ao idioma, 75,9 por cento dos artigos foram publicados em português e 24,1 por cento em inglês. Observou-se que 57,1 por cento dos estudos foram financiados por instituições nacionais. No que diz respeito à localização das etnias avaliadas nos estudos, observou-se uma significativa concentração de estudos nas regiões Centro-Oeste (48,3 por cento) e Norte (44,9 por cento). Notou-se que 24,1 por cento dos artigos avaliaram etnias do Alto Xingu. Estes resultados demonstram que apesar do progressivo aumento do número de publicações, existe pouca diversificação das etnias e da localização das pesquisas. A ampla maioria dos estudos é de natureza transversal (96,6 por cento). Em muitos estudos não foi possível identificar quais foram os procedimentos amostrais utilizados. De fato, tendo em vista que a maioria dos estudos (62 por cento) buscava incluir nas análises a totalidade das crianças nas faixas etárias de interesse, prevaleceu, em geral, o censo. Existiu uma grande diversidade de faixas etárias entre os estudos e em 82,7 por cento dos artigos, para fins de comparação dos resultados, foram utilizadas as curvas do NCHS-1977. Como as faixas utilizadas nos artigos não são correspondentes, esse estudo concluiu ser necessário que os resultados sejam interpretados com cautela. Não obstante isso, foi possível observar que a desnutrição, em algumas comunidades, atinge cerca de 50 por cento das crianças e o sobrepeso infantil também já se faz presente. Por fim, foi ainda possível verificar a ocorrência de um substancial crescimento do número de pesquisas envolvendo a situação nutricional dos povos indígenas brasileiros, passando o tema a ocupar lugar de destaque no âmbito da saúde coletiva no Brasil.

The factors driving the disparity in health outcomes between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians include socioeconomic factors, racism, and history. The current study focused on exploring Indigenous participants' perspectives of the factors that affect the health behavior of their community members. Participatory action research methodology and a grounded theory approach were utilized. In total, 120 members of two urban West Australian Indigenous communities participated in focus group discussions. There was substantial similarity between the themes that emerged within the discussions held in the two communities. Factors relating to culture, social connections, racism, communication, and personal aspects were particularly salient to health behavior of the participants. Several of the themes including culture, racism, communication, and distrust highlight the tension caused by being a member of a minority cultural group that has been marginalized by the practices and attitudes of the dominant cultural group. Personal choice was sometimes prioritized over health.

This chapter begins by giving a brief history of some of the key challenges to Indigenous pregnancy and birth in the settler colonial context in the lands commonly known as “Canada.” We then move on to some of the contemporary challenges faced by Indigenous communities when it comes to maintaining Indigenous birth practices in settler colonies. Specifically, we highlight some of the work being brought to life by Indigenous scholars and community advocates, many of whom are investing their time and energy into advancing Indigenous reproductive justice in Canada. This chapter aims to interrogate the layers of meaning, conflict, and opportunity associated with the joining of the terms “Indigenous” and “birth” into ideology and praxis. We will ask the following: what makes Indigenous birthing practices distinct from other birth methods? How does Indigenous birth stand alone as a decolonial project, and how does it become part of the broader politics of pregnancy, birth, motherhood, and childrearing in settler states?

This product, excluding the Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet logo, artwork, and any material owned by a third party or protected by a trademark, has been released under a Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0) licence. Excluded material owned by third parties may include, for example, design and layout, images obtained under licence from third parties and signatures.

Research norms in the social sciences and humanities have also undergone significant transformation in the past two decades—owing mainly to the pressure of Indigenous communities and Indigenous scholars demanding researchers adopt collaborative approaches to produce relevant scholarship in partnership with communities. These practices, now increasingly institutionalized, have led in many cases to fundamentally different kinds of academic research projects—research that has community-defined research questions, community oversight, and community engagement and underlying values. But, as the benefits of Indigenous community-engaged research become clear, I contend that researchers must also push themselves to a deeper form of engagement with community, one that further empowers Indigenous research practice and supports Indigenous peoples in creating research self-sufficiency in our communities.

The NCCAH uses an external blind review process for documents that are research based, involve literature reviews or knowledge synthesis, or undertake an assessment of knowledge gaps. We would like to acknowledge our reviewers for their generous contributions of time and expertise to this manuscript. This publication is available for download at: www.nccah.ca. All NCCAH materials are available free and can be reproduced in whole or in part with appropriate attribution and citation. All NCCAH materials are to be used solely for non-commercial purposes. To measure the impact of these materials, please inform us of their use. Une version française est également publiée sur le site www.ccnsa.ca, sous le titre Les collectivités autochtones et la violence familiale : changer la façon d'en parler.

Alcohol Management Plans (AMPs) have become an important Australian government policy response to the harms from alcohol in Australian communities. Indigenous communities have been central to the development of AMPs in many communities, particularly throughout northern Australia. This paper explores the role and understandings of Alcohol Management Plans (AMPs) and related alcohol interventions in Indigenous communities in Australia. The paper discusses the preliminary findings from an ethnographic study of AMPs conducted in the Northern Territory, based on qualitative, semi-structured, in-depth interviews and focus groups conducted with a range of key stakeholders in Alice Springs, Darwin, Katherine and the community of Jilkminggan. Some of the key themes explored include: the problems associated with complex and intersecting, multi-tiered government policy and legislation; local issues related to the contested interests of industry, public health, communities and government; the absence of integrated, regional responses; and, some of the factors that have led to success within this increasingly volatile context. The paper concludes with an exploration of how these findings can inform State, Territory and Federal policy in developing 'best practice' pathways for communities to develop, implement and monitor AMPs.

Using an ethnography of speaking approach, this article discusses the ideological aspects of language practices, as they are played out in a traditional Yupik (Eskimo) village in Chukotka, in the Far East of the Russian Federation. The article shows how local linguistic practices and language choices of individual speakers intersect with purist language ideologies, which frame certain beliefs about languages and ways of speaking, making them appear more normal and appropriate than others. Placing the " work of speaking " within the context of cross-cultural dynamics and purist language economies, this article challenges the basic assumption of linguistic purism about language and identity being intertwined.

This article reports some of the preliminary findings of an ongoing participatory research study exploring the provision of health and social services for urban Aboriginal communities in the Okanagan Valley. In particular, the article examines how colonial structures and systems have worked to silence Aboriginal women&#39;s voices and how this has affected the ways in which urban Aboriginal women seek out health services. The article addresses these issues through the voices of the Aboriginal women in the study. The women&#39;s stories reveal the many assumptions and inequities that contribute to their marginalization. They describe how their voices are often silenced when they access health services and how this can cause them to either delay seeking needed health advice or accept the status quo. The women&#39;s stories are used to stress the importance and power of voice. This is most evident in their experiences accessing the health services offered through community-based Friend...

This paper provides background information about the shamanism of the Tungus-speaking peoples in northeast China, particularly the Oroqen. It describes in detail the life, initiatory illnesses, training and healing practices of the last living Oroqen shaman who practiced this craft prior to the communist Chinese abolishment of such "superstitions" in the region just south of the Amur River in June or July 1952. Over three anguishing nights, hundreds of Oroqen participated in dusk to dawn rituals and begged the spirits to go away. Public, overt shamanistic healing rituals ended at that point.