Aboriginal Health and History: Power and Prejudice in Remote Australia

The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1987-1991) focused attention on the behavioural dimension of Aboriginal health and the lack of appropriate services. This book is a systematic analysis of the sociohistorical and intercultural aspects of mental health in one area of remote Australia, the Kimberly. The author shows how the effects of social disruption, cultural dislocation and loss of power suffered by Aboriginal people have manifested themselves in certain behavioural patterns. The book analyses rising mortality rates from suicide, accidents and homicide amongst Kimberley Aboriginal communities and studies the economic impact of alcohol on these communities. It also considers the role of alcohol in producing violent behaviour and affecting the general level of health.

The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1987-1991) focused attention on the behavioural dimension of Aboriginal health and the lack of appropriate services. Yet, there have been few broad-based, intensive studies of this aspect of Aboriginal health before or since. This book is systematic analysis of the sociohistorical and intercultural aspects of mental health in one area of remote Australia, the Kimberley.

Using a timeframe that goes back to the first arrival of Europeans in Western Australia, the author shows how the effects of social disruption, cultural dislocation and loss of power suffered by Aboriginal people since then have manifested themselves in certain behavioural patterns. Emphasising the importance of the intercultural context in which these changes have occurred, the book analyses rising mortality rates from suicide, accidents and homicide amongst Kimberley Aboriginal communities. It studies the economic impact of alcohol on these communities and considers the role of alcohol in producing violent behaviour and affecting the general level of health.

Drinking is often constructed as an Aboriginal problem and stereotypical images of the relationship between Aboriginal people and alcohol abound. But it is only one problem among many, such as gambling and violence, and little systematic research has been undertaken in this area. Through his own sociological and epistemological research, the author shows that alcohol represents one part of a complex web of problems affecting Aboriginal Kimberley communities. Moreover, its introduction coincided with Aboriginal dislocation from their traditional lands and roles and the introduction of a cash economydominated by white Australians. Aborigines in the Kimberley, even now, have little functional access to the wider economic benefits derived from their land.

Written by a clinical psychiatrist, the book synthesises knowledge from both the medical and social sciences to provide a valuable and unique perspective on the state of Aboriginal health in the Kimberley.