Aboriginal People Research Articles

Re-reading on the Conversion and Caste Supremacy among the Dalit Christians in Kerala

Religious conversion played a considerable change in the socio-religious life of Kerala, especially among the indigenous communities. The socio-religious upheaval movement was one of the landmarks in the history of Kerala during the 19th century. During this period, there was a considerable transformation in the socio-economic life in Kerala affected by the ‘civilizing mission’ of the protestant missionaries in the physical life of the natives, such as social, economic, political, educational, and cultural life. For that purpose, they used the tools of modernity, like fashion, food, rituals, beliefs, etc. It cannot be neglected that the missionaries in the 19th century played a notable role in the society. But we cannot read the history of Indigenous people regardless of the history produced by culture, politics, religion, and values. Conversion is a strong historical tradition that treats Christianity as an offshoot of colonialism. In the Indian context, Christianity is an integral part of the socio-cultural history of the nation, rather than as people are separated from it. During this period witnessed tremendous changes in almost all fields of socio-economic life. That is why historians considered, the 19th century as the decisive period as far as Indian history is concerned. These changes were visible in the traditional life of the native Dalit peoples and were mainly brought about by the colonial impact. The backward Christians, under the dominance of the ruling majority and the economic dominance of them, could not develop a proper ideology. There is an opinion that Dalit conversion was peripheral and one-sided. That is, it happened under the influence of British hegemony and missionary influence. Religious conversion gave the slave society a kind of religious unity. But it could not completely develop freedom. Today Christian congregations face the struggle for democratization.

Social and environmental dimensions of public spaces of the indigenous territory of the Sierra de Manantlan mountain range, Jalisco state, western Mexico

The social and environmental dimension of the public space occupants of the indigenous territory of the Sierra de Manantlan, Jalisco, has a crucial place in the heritage of Mexico, such is the case of its form of idiosyncrasy, mutual interaction, and coexistence. The cultural, political, and economic organizations the Sierra de Manantlan mark an identity of the native peoples, where their customs, communal life, and solidarity work are preserved. The research objective was to evaluate the social perception and environmental habitability conditions of public space occupants in the towns of Chacala and Telcruz. Therefore, semi-structured interviews were conducted for the primary actors in both study areas and 259 information cards were applied to the inhabitants with data regarding social interaction variables and meteorological conditions in two seasons (summer and winter of a calendar year). Regarding data analysis and statistical purposes, the Pearson and Spearman correlations was used according to the needs of the study. The results revealed that the occupants of public spaces mostly report the pleasure of interacting in said spaces; however, they indicate that they would like an intervention or remodeling in the place that would encourage greater interaction with their neighbors, family, and friends. Another additional fact is that climatic variables, especially in summer, harm the desire to attend or stay in said spaces because of the lack of natural elements or bioclimatic devices that mitigate the environmental impact.

:The Rediscovery of America: Native Peoples and the Unmaking of U.S. History

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Participatory systems modelling to inform improvements in the social and emotional wellbeing of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia

Participatory systems modelling to inform improvements in the social and emotional wellbeing of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia

Alzheimer's disease and related dementia diagnoses among American Indian and Alaska Native adults aged ≥45 years, Indian Health Service System, 2016-2020.

Alzheimer's disease is the most common type of dementia and is responsible for up to 80% of dementia diagnoses and is the sixth leading cause of death in the United States. An estimated 38,000 American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) people aged ≥65 years were living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) in 2020, a number expected to double by 2030 and quadruple by 2050. Administrative healthcare data from the Indian Health Service (IHS) were used to estimate ADRD among AI/AN populations. Administrative IHS healthcare data from federal fiscal years 2016 to 2020 from the IHS National Data Warehouse were used to calculate the count and rate per 100,000 AI/AN adults aged ≥45 years with at least one ADRD diagnosis code on their medical record. This study identified 12,877 AI/AN adults aged ≥45 years with an ADRD diagnosis code, with an overall rate of 514 per 100,000. Of those, 1856 people were aged 45-64. Females were 1.2 times (95% confidence interval: 1.1-1.2) more likely than males to have a medical visit with an ADRD diagnosis code. Many AI/AN people with ADRD rely on IHS, tribal, and urban Indian health programs. The high burden of ADRD in AI/AN populations aged 45-64 utilizing IHS health services highlights the need for implementation of ADRD risk reduction strategies and assessment and diagnosis of ADRD in younger AI/AN populations. This study provides a baseline to assess future progress for efforts addressing ADRD in AI/AN communities.

Addressing the Impacts of Racism on American Indian and Alaska Native Child Health

The legacy of racism toward Native Americans is far-reaching. We will review the topic using the conceptual model of racism as a form of violence as it is inherent in racism, as are prejudice and power. Using the basic frameworks of racism as internalized, interpersonal, institutional, and structural, we will discuss the many types of racism affecting Native Americans today. Racism is the bedrock of generations of trauma experienced in Native communities. The generational/historical trauma of racism has led to epigenetic-level changes affecting Native American people today. We will cover the health impacts of racism and the many institutions built in racist frameworks that continue to perpetuate racism, such as family separation and child removal by child protective services, adverse policing, and disparate incarceration. These allow reflection on policies and the intentionality of racist structures. We will conclude with what can and should be done, particularly as clinicians who work within and adjacent to existing systems of oppression.

Disparate trajectories of cognitive aging among American Indian and Alaskan Native people with and without HIV.

This study describes trajectories of cognitive aging among American Indian/Alaskan Native (AI/AN) adults with and without HIV and the role of immunosenescence longitudinally. We characterized trajectories of cognitive aging in a sample of 333 AI/AN and 309 non-Hispanic White (NHW) adults who were followed longitudinally for up to 20 years by the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program (HNRP) across six U.S. research sites. We used growth curve modeling with autoregressive Lag-1 structures and heterogeneous residual variances to assess the role of ethnoracial identity and HIV grouping upon decline in trajectories of cognitive aging. HIV- AI/AN adults demonstrated earlier and steeper decline in normative trajectories of cognitive aging on tasks of processing speed, timed tasks of attention/working memory, executive function, and psychomotor speed in comparison to HIV- NHW adults. Accentuated trajectories of cognitive aging were evident in both HIV+ and HIV+ immunosuppressed groups in comparison to HIV- peers and were primarily driven by the role of immunosenescence. AI/AN disparities in trajectories of cognitive aging are evident and are likely explained by the interplay of biopsychosociocultural factors, including immunosenescence. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

The Pole and The Tree: Zitkála-šá's "Consciousness" and the New Thought

Abstract: This article traces a strand of determined positive thinking in the work of Zitkála-Šá, a Yankton Sioux author, to late-nineteenth century metaphysical religious currents called the New Thought. I show how Zitkála-Šá's theories of "consciousness" resemble the work of contemporaneous pragmatic philosophy, but speak specifically to the concerns of Native peoples, exhibiting what Gerald Vizenor called "survivance." Furthermore, I connect this vision of Native life to her environmental imagery by showing how Zitkála-Šá's sylvan symbols (the tree and the pole) allow her to illustrate how Natives might concurrently embrace "consciousness" and traditional ways.

Ethical aspects in research con native peoples in America

Introduction: Research involving indigenous populations is not exempt from ethical dilemmas during its execution. These populations are susceptible to being compromised, given that each indigenous group possesses its own culture, language, beliefs, and connection to their lands. Such research must navigate challenges such as respect for autonomy, justice, beneficence, and non-maleficence.Objective: To analyze the ethical considerations involved in research with indigenous peoples of the Americas.Methods: A rapid literature review was conducted across scientific databases including PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science (WOS), and the Virtual Health Library (BVS); in Spanish, English, and Portuguese; with no discrimination regarding the type of study. A total of 668 studies were identified, with the final sample consisting of 13 studies.Results: Ethical concerns have predominantly centered on individual rights, with free, prior, and informed consent being the most frequently compromised aspect. There is a need to protect this process and its application from the perspective of each indigenous group's worldview.Conclusions: It is necessary to develop strategies that are centered on the characteristics of indigenous peoples, including the adaptation and/or expansion of ethical principles in a manner that is coherent and respectful of their beliefs, practices, customs, and health phenomena.

Creating "a Safe Place to Go": Yarning With Health Workers About Stroke Recovery Care for Aboriginal Stroke Survivors-A Qualitative Study.

Stroke affects Aboriginal people at disproportionate rates compared to other populations in Australia. Aboriginal peoples are less likely to receive a timely stroke diagnosis, or timely culturally responsive treatment, as there are very few stroke resources and recovery plans that have been developed by Aboriginal peoples for Aboriginal peoples. Understanding how to develop and implement culturally responsive stroke care requires research approaches that are informed by and with Aboriginal people. A qualitative Indigenous research methodology including "yarning" was undertaken to understand the experiences of both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal health workers from nine health services providing stroke rehabilitation and recovery support to Aboriginal people living within the participating communities. Data were analyzed using an inductive approach driven by an Indigenous research approach. Yarns revealed three themes: (i) the role of culturally safe health environments to support stroke survivors, their family, and health workers; and how (ii) complicated, under-resourced systems impede the capacity to support stroke survivors; and (iii) collaborative and adaptive practices prevent people "falling through the cracks." This study highlights the need to scrutinize the cultural safety of health care, current health systems, workforce, and culture and how these influence the capacity of health workers to provide care that is responsive to the individual needs of Aboriginal stroke survivors and their families. These learnings will inform the co-design of a culturally responsive stroke recovery care strategy to improve the recovery experience and health and well-being of Aboriginal people and their families living with stroke.

Exploration of barriers and enablers to diabetes care for Aboriginal people on rural Ngarrindjeri Country.

Addressing the disproportionate burden of type 2 diabetes prevalence in Aboriginal communities is critical. Current literature on diabetes care for Aboriginal people is primarily focused on remote demographics and overwhelmingly dominated by Western biomedical models and deficit paradigms. This qualitative research project adopted a strengths-based approach to explore the barriers and enablers to diabetes care for Aboriginal people on Ngarrindjeri Country in rural South Australia. Knowledge Interface methodology guided the research as Aboriginal and Western research methods were drawn upon. Data collection occurred using three yarning sessions held on Ngarrindjeri Country. Yarns were transcribed and deidentified before a qualitative thematic analysis was conducted, guided by Dadirri and a constructivist approach to grounded theory. A total of 15 participants attended the yarns. Major barriers identified by participants were underscored by the ongoing impacts of colonisation. This was combated by a current of survival as participants identified enablers to diabetes care, namely a history of healthy community, working at the knowledge interface, motivators for action, and an abundance of community skills and leadership. Despite the raft of barriers detailed by participants throughout the diabetes care journey, Aboriginal people on Ngarrindjeri Country were found to be uniquely positioned to address diabetes prevalence and management. SO WHAT?: Health promotion efforts with Aboriginal people on Ngarrindjeri Country must acknowledge the sustained impacts of colonisation, while building on the abundance of community enablers, skills and strengths. Opportunities present to do so by adopting holistic, community-led initiatives that shift away from the dominant biomedical approach to diabetes care.

Skin health of Aboriginal children living in urban communities.

Skin concerns are frequent among urban-living Aboriginal children, yet specialist dermatology consultations are limited with studies highlighting the need for improved cultural security. Through newly established paediatric dermatology clinics at two urban Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations (ACCHOs), we aimed to describe clinic and patient data, including disease frequencies and associations, to inform dermatology service provision and advocacy. A prospective cohort study of Aboriginal children and young people (CYP, 0-18 years) attending Aboriginal Health Practitioner (AHP) co-ordinated paediatric dermatology clinics at two urban ACCHOs. Data were collected from 32 clinics over 19 months, with 335 episodes of care and a mean attendance rate of 74%. From 78 new patients, 72 (92%) were recruited into the study, only one of whom had previously received dermatologist assessment. Eczema, tinea or acne accounted for 47% (34/72) of referrals, and 60% of patients received their first appointment within 4 weeks of referral. In 47/72 (65%) consultations, the GP referral and dermatologist diagnosis concurred. The most frequent diagnoses (primary or secondary) at first consultation were atopic dermatitis (26%, 19/72), dermatophyte infections (25%, 18/72), acne (21%, 15/72), bacterial skin infections (18%, 13/72) and post-inflammatory dyspigmentation (18%, 13/72). Three categories of the 2022 Australasian College of Dermatologists curriculum (infections, eczema/dermatitis, pigmentary disorders) accounted for 59% of all diagnoses. This study highlights the specialist dermatology needs of urban-living Aboriginal CYP. ACCHO-embedded dermatology clinics co-ordinated by AHPs demonstrated benefits for Aboriginal CYP in accessing care. Opportunities to embed dermatology practice within ACCHOs should be prioritised.

Development and Preliminary Validation of the Complicated and Adaptive Grief Inventory for Native Americans

Grief research among American Indian (AI) and Alaska Native (AN) people has been limited to studies on historical trauma and elevated mortality rates among AI/ANs. A lack of validated measures is one barrier to grief research with AI/ANs. Therefore, we conducted three studies to develop and validate a culturally congruent measure of grief. In Study 1, interviews were conducted with 12 AI reservation-based community members to understand perspectives on grief. In Study 2, AI/AN community members ( n = 10) and professionals ( n = 7) provided feedback on measure items adapted or developed in Study 1. In Study 3, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using separate randomly selected samples from a web-based survey of 600 AI/ANs were conducted to identify the factor structure of the Complicated and Adaptive Grief Inventory for Native Americans (CAGI-NA). Findings suggest that the resulting 30-item CAGI-NA is valid, reliable, and suitable for use in research with AI/AN people.

Health promotion for dementia risk reduction in Indigenous populations of Canada, Aotearoa New Zealand, United States of America, and Australia: Scoping review protocol.

Health promotion programs and strategies have the potential to support people to live healthier lives. Dementia, a collective name for brain disorders that impact thinking and memory, affects over 55 million people worldwide. Currently, there is no cure for dementia, so prevention is critical. Health promotion has the potential to reduce dementia by targeting the twelve potentially modifiable risk factors. A project currently being undertaken by the research team aims to strengthen the quality of clinical care and health services that specifically address dementia risk for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. One of the intended strategies supporting the project's aim is the need for appropriate and safe health promotion programs and resources that support dementia risk reduction. Consequently, the aim of this scoping review is to identify and determine the quality and appropriateness of existing health promotion programs and resources aimed at dementia risk reduction developed or modified for Indigenous populations of Canada, the USA, Aotearoa New Zealand, and Australia that could be incorporated into the broader project. The Joanna Briggs Institute method for scoping reviews will be used to identify programs and resources focussed on dementia risk reduction for Indigenous peoples. Searches will be limited to the English language and literature published since January 2010. Databases to be searched include: CINAHL, Medline, PsychInfo, PubMed, Scopus and Google. Data that answers the research questions will be extracted from the literature and recorded on a data charting form. A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods will be used to analyse the findings of the scoping review. Dissemination of the findings through continuing community engagement, conference presentations and publications will be led by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members of the research team.

Towards a best practice framework for eHealth with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples - important characteristics of eHealth interventions: a narrative review.

This narrative review discusses the important characteristics of electronic health (eHealth) interventions and critiques the cultural quality of eHealth research with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Thirty-nine publications reporting on a variety of eHealth modalities to address health challenges with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were identified. Content analysis signified authentic co-design, governance and strong partnerships as foundational qualities of eHealth interventions that are culturally safe and sustainable. The pragmatics of eHealth setting, content and engagement must be underscored by trust, responsiveness and cultural values. The application of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Quality Appraisal Tool (QAT) revealed higher scores for studies with two or more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander authors. This narrative review is fundamental to the development of a best practice framework for eHealth interventions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people that are culturally safe, sustainable and effective. With a foundation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander governance with strong partnerships for authentic co-design, eHealth interventions are more likely to meet the priorities and values of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities for which they are intended.

Explaining educational achievement among Indigenous individuals: how important are culture and language?

ABSTRACT A mismatch between one's culture and that of the school they attended – cultural discontinuity – has been put forward as a reason for low educational attainment globally. This paper evaluates the cultural discontinuity hypothesis for Indigenous youth in Canada using the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey. I find that Indigenous language instruction and cultural programming are generally associated with negative educational outcomes for the full APS sample. However, in communities with the highest proportion of Indigenous language speakers, and among a sub-sample who speaks an Indigenous language, such programming is more likely to be associated with educational success.

Examining community-level protection from Alaska Native suicide: An Indigenous knowledge-informed extension of the legacy of Michael Chandler and Christopher Lalonde.

Chandler and Lalonde broadened the scope of inquiry in suicide research by providing theoretical grounding and empirical support for the role of community, culture, and history in understanding Indigenous youth suicide and reimagining its prevention. Their work pushed the field to consider the intersectional process of individual and collective meaning-making in prevention of Indigenous suicide, together with the central role culture plays in bringing coherence to this process over time. Their innovation shifted the research focus to include the shared histories, contexts, and structures of meaning that shape individual lives and behaviors. We describe here a new generation of research extending their pathbreaking line of inquiry. Recent work aims to identify complex associations between community-level structures and suicidal behavior by collaborating with Alaska Native people from rural communities to describe how community protective factors function as preventative resources in their daily lives. Community engagement and knowledge co-production created a measure of community protection from suicide. Structured interviews with rural Alaska Native community members allowed use of this measure to produce relevant, accessible, and actionable knowledge. Ongoing investigations next seek to describe their mechanisms in shaping young people's lives through a multilevel, mixed-methods community-based study linking community-level protection to protection and well-being of individual youth. These efforts to understand the multiple culture-specific and culturally mediated pathways by which communities build on their strengths, resources, and practices to support Indigenous young people's development and reduce suicide risk are inspired by and expand on Chandler and Lalonde's remarkable legacy.

Attitudes and prejudice towards immigration in rural and urban contexts in Spain

Introduction: For years now, Spain has been a country that receives immigration wherein different cultures coexist. The aim of this research is to examine the levels of attitudes, subtle and blatant prejudice, as well as their dimensions, from native people to immigrant people in urban and rural areas. Methodology: The scale adapted to the native population by Rueda and Navas is from Meertens and Pettigrew’s scales of subtle and blatant prejudice and the scale of attitudes towards immigration by León, Mira &amp; Gómez. Results: The results obtained from the prejudice scale (α=.804) and attitudes scale (α=.672) demonstrate an appropriate level of internal consistency. Results reveal that people living in rural areas did not exhibit higher levels of prejudice (subtle and blatant) than people living in urban areas. Discussion: Furthermore, people living in rural areas did not exhibit higher levels of attitudes (equality principles and policies attitude) than people living in urban areas. Conclusions: Finally, people living in rural areas did not exhibit higher levels of attitudes (negative social distancing attitude) than people living in urban areas. The results obtained are discussed, referring to the previous literature.

Searching for John Knox: Heritage Entanglements in Gamilaroi Country

ABSTRACT This essay discusses a road trip through Gamilaroi Country in regional New South Wales, “in search of” Pte. John Knox, an Aboriginal serviceman who is buried at Singapore’s Kranji War Cemetery. It shares insights into Australia’s multilayered heritage “entanglements” learned while travelling with his grandson, Les Knox, to their hometown, the Toomelah Aboriginal Community on the border of Queensland and New South Wales. Written collaboratively as an account of places encountered episodically during this shared journey, the essay describes the many suppressed layers of First Peoples’ memory and memorialisation that are drawn to the surface by storytelling. They are obscured by the more visible and prominent settler heritage of war memorials and ex-military migrant camps. The first part of this article traces John Knox’s training in Australia and service in Malaya through maps conjectured using various sources. The second part of the essay focuses on three key physical sites: The Toomelah War Memorial, the Myall Creek Massacre Memorial Site and the 1965 Freedom Ride, where this heritage manifests. It raises deeper questions on the “politics of sharing:” how we define and commemorate “conflict,” how and when we acknowledge Aboriginal service people and whether we connect to the Asia Pacific region.

Aboriginal young people's experiences of type 2 diabetes diagnosis, management and support: A qualitative study in the Kimberley region of Western Australia.

In Australia, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in remote settings are most-affected by young onset type 2 diabetes (T2D). It is necessary to understand young people's experiences, including factors impacting on self-management, to improve models of care. A phenomenological methodology underpinned this qualitative study in Western Australia's Kimberley region. Two Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services supported recruitment of seven Aboriginal young people aged 12-24 with T2D, who participated in interviews. A carer and health professional of one young person in each site were also interviewed and relevant medical record data reviewed to assist with triangulation of data. De-identified transcripts were inductively coded and a coding structure developed with oversight by a Kimberley Aboriginal researcher. Young people reported varied experiences and emotions relating to a T2D diagnosis. Most recounted this was upsetting and some reported current negative impact on emotional wellbeing. Challenges with understanding and managing diabetes were highlighted, particularly regarding healthy eating, physical activity and medication. Family are a prominent source of self-management support, with the intergenerational impact of diabetes being evident for each participant. Positive relationships with health professionals, entailing continuity of care, were valued. There are significant emotional and medical challenges for young people with T2D and their families. Recommendations from this work will contribute to the development of local resources and initiatives to improve diabetes-related support. SO WHAT?: Alongside broader efforts to support good health at the societal level, enhanced health education and family-oriented support structures including Aboriginal clinical staff for young people with T2D are needed.