Indigenous Child Research Articles

THE TERMS ON WHICH CHILD ABUSE IS MADE TO MATTER

In 2007 the Australian mainstream news media extensively covered a child rape case in the Indigenous community of Aurukun. In this coverage, the media positioned themselves as having a moral requirement to report the ‘Aurukun rape case’ in order to bring issues of Indigenous child sexual abuse to the attention of the public. This paper examines the representations of this case made available by mainstream news media, and specifically examines both the depiction of Indigenous communities as dysfunctional and the claim made by the media that Indigenous child sexual abuse is ‘our business’. The paper concludes that the coverage of this case represents a form of ‘war porn’ that became more about white control over Indigenous lives and less an investigation into child sexual abuse.

Socioeconomic disparities in physical health among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Western Australia

Objective. Few empirical studies have specifically examined the relationship between socio-economic status (SES) and health in Indigenous populations of Australia. We sought to provide insights into the nature of this relationship by examining socio-economic disparities in physical health outcomes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in Western Australia. Design. We used a diverse set of health and SES indicators from a representative survey conducted in 2000–2002 on the health and development of 5289 Indigenous children aged 0–17 years in Western Australia. Analysis was conducted using multivariate logistic regression within a multilevel framework. Results. After controlling for age and sex, we found statistically significant socio-economic disparities in health in almost half of the associations that were investigated, although the direction, shape and magnitude of associations differed. For ear infections, recurring chest infections and sensory function problems, the patterns were generally consistent with a positive socio-economic gradient – where better health was associated with higher SES. The reverse pattern was found for asthma, accidents and injuries, and oral health problems, although this was primarily observed for area-level SES indicators. Conclusion. Conventional notions of social position and class have some influence on the physical health of Indigenous children, although the diversity of results implies that there are other ways of conceptualising and measuring SES that are important for Indigenous populations. We need to consider factors that relate specifically to Indigenous circumstances and culture in the past and present day, and give more thought to how we measure social position in the Indigenous community, to gain a better understanding of the pathways from SES to Indigenous child health.

Maternal and Child Health Care Practices of the Matigsalug Tribe in Sitio Simsimon, Barangay Kalagangan, Bukidnon

This study was conducted to document the practices on maternal and child health care along the areas of pregnancy, dietary systems, birthing, feeding, baptismal rituals, illnesses and discipline among the Matigsalug tribe in Sitio Simsimon, Barangay Kalagangan, Bukidnon. The gathering of the data was obtained from actual fieldwork. Key informant interview, participant observation and photography were triangulated in this study. Findings show that Sitio Simsimon is a mountainous area. Houses are made of rattan and the people are practicing slash-burn farming. A Matigsalug pregnant woman observes taboos to protect the infant's life and health. Many beliefs and practices on food have desirable effects on maternal and child health. The mothers practiced breast feeding although working mother sometimes trained the child to eat solid food. Circumcision, tattoo, and the chewing of betel nut are practiced in the area. Illnesses are diagnosed as caused by evil spirits. The Matigsalug taught their children to value honesty, cultivate their farm and helped their father in food hunting. It was concluded that the Matigsalug still possessed certain indigenous maternal and child health care. It is recommended that the Matigsalug mothers need adequate knowledge in hygiene and nutrition to improve their maternal and child health care. Keywors: Maternal and Child Health Care Practices, Matigsalug Tribe

“Resetting the Relationship” in Indigenous Child Protection: Public Hope and Private Reality

A qualitative study explored the private realities of forty‐five Australian Indigenous parents and carers who had experiences with child protection authorities. Interviews focused on the nature of the relationship between parents and authorities, how these regulatory encounters served to enlist or dissolve cooperation, and how child‐focused outcomes could be delivered. The descriptions of encounters with authorities challenged the public hope for reconciliation between government and Indigenous Australians through reports of procedural injustice, failure by the authority to communicate and demonstrate soundness of purpose, and through lack of interest in identity affirmation and relationship building. In spite of these perceptions of integrity failings in how child protection authorities have operated, a positive role was acknowledged for authorities' future involvement, albeit with different strategies from those currently experienced. How this progression might be facilitated by principles of restorative justice and responsive regulation is discussed.

Slipped capital femoral epiphysis

We analysed the incidence of slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) in South Australia, investigating possible associations between an increased incidence of SCFE, the local indigenous population and the Australian obesity epidemic during the last 20 years. Data including race, age and gender were collected to obtain a profile of the South Australian SCFE patient, and were then compared with epidemiological data for South Australian adolescents. We concluded that the incidence of both obesity and SCFE is increasing. We also noted that the median weight of SCFE patients has increased and the mean age at diagnosis has decreased. Despite weight profiles comparable with those of the general population, we noted that an indigenous child was three times more likely to develop SCFE than a non-indigenous child. As far as we know there is no published literature on the predisposition of Aboriginal Australians to SCFE.

The transformation of the rural delivery methods in Shanxi Revolutionary Bases

Lacking in public health conception, the indigenous delivery child methods in rural areas resulted in a high incidence of infection of neonatal tetanus and infection during the puerperium. The government of Shanxi Revolutionary Base established a working system of transforming delivery child methods and instruments, which provided a valuable experience for implementation of the new delivery methods in rural areas later. From the viewpoint of revolutionary background, delivery methods' reform was of political significance.

Indigenous child health checks: the view from the city

Indigenous child health checks: the view from the city

Exploring relationships between racism, housing and child illness in remote indigenous communities

BackgroundAlthough racism is increasingly acknowledged as a determinant of health, few studies have examined the relationship between racism, housing and child health outcomes.MethodsCross-sectional data from the Housing Improvement and Child...

Indigenous child health in New Zealand: Some surgical issues

New Zealand Maori make up nearly 15% of the population of New Zealand, and their population has increased significantly in the last 20 years. Because of this, the average age of Maori is only 22.7 years with 35% of Maori aged 15 years or less. In spite of this youthful profile, the Maori population has high health needs with trauma, ear disease, respiratory disease and infectious diseases as significant causes of hospitalisation and death. The role of surgery in the management of three potentially preventable but significant health issues affecting Maori children - trauma, cutaneous sepsis (cellulitis and superficial abscess) and obesity - is reviewed.

Indigenous child health issue editorial introduction

Indigenous child health issue editorial introduction

White mother to a dark race: settler colonialism, maternalism, and the removal of indigenous children in the American West and Australia, 1880-1940

List of Illustrations List of Maps Acknowledgments A Note on Terms Abbreviations Prologue: White Mother to a Dark Race 1. Gender and Settler Colonialism in the North American West and Australia 2. Designing Indigenous Child Removal Policies 3. The Great White Mother 4. The Practice of Indigenous Child Removal 5. Intimate Betrayals 6. Groomed to Be Useful 7. Maternalism in the Institutions 8. Out of the Frying Pan 9. Challenging Indigenous Child Removal Epilogue Afterword Notes Bibliography Index

Solving the ‘problem’ of the motherless indigenous child in Jedda and Australia: white maternal desire in the Australian epic before and after Bringing Them Home

ABSTRACTThis article examines the depiction of Jedda's Sarah McMann and Australia's English-born Sarah Ashley. In each character there is a maternal desire that drives the plot to which responsibility for the children's fate is attributed. National assimilation policies are expressed emphatically through Sarah McMann's desires for the aboriginal child, Jedda, and the failures of assimilation are played out in the child's tragic fate. In Australia the plot is resolved by returning the Aboriginal child, Nullah, to his grandfather. This only becomes possible because Sarah Ashley's agenda for intervening in the removal of Nullah by the state, in the hope of raising him as her own child, is realized. Within the logic of the narrative, the outsider status of the recent immigrant Sarah Ashley enables her to become a clear-sighted agent in the return of the child to his family. This article considers the significance of these two representations of the white maternal in the context of the history of child removal policies, Bringing Them Home and the National Apology.

Impact of the Jamaican birth cohort study on maternal, child and adolescent health policy and practice

The Jamaica Perinatal Morbidity and Mortality Survey (JPMMS) was a national study designed to identify modifiable risk factors associated with poor maternal and perinatal outcome. Needing to better understand factors that promote or retard child development, behaviour and academic achievement, we conducted follow-up studies of the birth cohort. The paper describes the policy developments from the JPMMS and two follow-up rounds. The initial study (1986-87) documented 94% of all births and their outcomes on the island over 2 months (n = 10 508), and perinatal (n = 2175) and maternal deaths (n = 62) for a further 10 months. A subset of the birth cohort, identified by their date of birth through school records, was seen at ages 11-12 (n = 1715) and 15-16 years (n = 1563). Findings from the initial survey led to, inter alia, clinic-based screening for syphilis, referral high-risk clinics run by visiting obstetricians, and the redesign and construction of new labour wards at referral hospitals. The follow-up studies documented inadequate academic achievement among boys and children attending public schools, and associations between under- and over-nutrition, excessive television viewing (>20 h/week), inadequate parental supervision and behavioural problems. These contributed to the development of a television programming code for children, a National Parenting Policy, policies aimed at improving inter-sectoral services to children from birth to 5 years (Early Childhood Commission) and behavioural interventions of the Violence Prevention Alliance (an inter-sectoral NGO) and the Healthy Lifestyles project (Ministry of Health). Indigenous maternal and child health research provided a local evidence base that informed public policy. Collaboration, good communication, being vigilant to opportunities to influence policy, and patience has contributed to our success.

Indigenous child health research: a critical analysis of Australian studies

To conduct a critical and systematic analysis of descriptive studies regarding the health, development and wellbeing status of Indigenous children in Australia and to map them according to 1) Reported Indigenous involvement in the research process; 2) Domains of the life-course model of health; and 3) Geographical location of the Indigenous child population sample. A search of electronic databases, targeted websites and reference lists of relevant papers. Studies from 1958 to 2005 with clear methods and results were included. Data were extracted, mapped and analysed according to domains of the life-course model of health and development, study location, and reported level of Indigenous involvement. 217 studies were eligible. Research predominantly addressed physical health (75.1%) with few studies addressing mental health and wellbeing (2.8%) or health determinants (27.6%). Indigenous involvement in the research process was not apparent in 71.4% of studies, although it appears to be increasing. Compared with 10.6% in metropolitan locations, 67.2% of the studies were conducted in very remote areas. Remaining studies were conducted in remote or regional areas or were national. More work is needed to establish an evidence base of Australian Indigenous child health and wellbeing that is founded on Indigenous values, knowledge and participation. Not withstanding the significant need to address issues of core morbidity and physical health for Indigenous children, more research addressing emotional and social health and wellbeing is required, as are research questions of importance to Indigenous children living in urban settings.

The question of genocide and Indigenous child removal: the colonial Australian context

Most academic debate about the stolen generations of Aboriginal children in Australia's past has focused on the twentieth century, when government agents directed official attention to the removal of Aboriginal children from their family groups. This article focuses on the earlier colonial period in Australia, from 1788 to 1901, when generations of Aboriginal children were forcibly removed from their Aboriginal family groups. Aboriginal children were popularly considered to be more “controllable” or susceptible to assimilation than Aboriginal adults. Consequently, by the late nineteenth century, government officials in various Australian colonies encouraged the removal of Aboriginal children from their families and their retraining in manual labour. This idea of containing an “Indigenous threat” by removing and retraining Aboriginal children clearly guided the “Stolen Generation” policies of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. This paper examines the unity of colonial Australian discourse about Aboriginal child removal and makes some observations about the scale of Indigenous child removal in the colonial era. It argues that the use of a conceptual framework centred around genocidal discourse provides the most effective way of understanding the motivations behind Indigenous child removals in Australia's past.

Indigenous child health: urgent need for improved data to underpin better health outcomes

Accurate data about Indigenous child health is vital to enable us to understand its current state, to acknowledge achievements, and to determine how to reduce inequalities between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children. We have identified a paucity of national, or nationally representative, data relating to Indigenous child health outcomes, and significant deficiencies in available data. A coordinated national approach will help address current data limitations, including lack of identification of Indigenous status, lack of currency, and lack of information about specific health disorders affecting Indigenous children. To ensure that health data collected are relevant and useful, Indigenous communities must have a role in data collection and management.

Indigenous Child Care—Leading the Way

WE BELIEVE THAT THE Australian early childhood sector is not performing well. The incidence of poor outcomes for children is increasing, and we believe that current service delivery is not capable of addressing this. We argue that, as a sector, there is an abundance of evidence of the kinds of programs and initiatives that could address our national concerns, and review some of that evidence. We also point out that there is considerable knowledge in Australia, based on Australian programmes and experience, that can be used to build a different early childhood sector with the potential to significantly impact on growing disadvantage. We conclude with the principles or themes around which such initiatives should be developed and a call to advocate for the development of such services. Appropriate services supporting all of our young children, their families and their communities, have the potential to make a huge impact on our society, and we can no longer hide from our responsibilities and avoid providing such services.

Antipodean Settler Societies and their Complexities: the Waitangi Process in New Zealand and Native Title and the Stolen Generations in Australia

This article considers the process of determining native title claims and responding to the revelation of forced Indigenous child removal in Australia, together with the Treaty of Waitangi claims process in New Zealand; each of which can be understood more broadly as a response to the aftermath and ongoing consequences of colonisation. We undertake this analysis comparatively, through an examination of the broad sweep of colonial history in both countries, followed by a more detailed consideration of the processes in question, as they have become manifest over the last decade or so in Australia and almost 30 years in New Zealand. We compare and contrast the institutions, epistemological and political preoccupations and language in each case, revealing various latent ironies and incongruities in the systems on both sides of the Tasman Sea.

Normal Homes

Normal Homes

Indigenous child oral health at a regional and state level

To compare the dental disease experience of Indigenous and non-Indigenous children in South Australia's mid-north region (regional area) and to assess Indigenous oral health differences at a regional- and state-level. Data were collected from a School Dental Service based in an Aboriginal-owned medical health service and standard school dental clinics in the regional area from March 2001 to March 2006. State-level data were obtained over a 12-month period in 2003. Caries prevalence (per cent dmft or DMFT >0) and severity (mean dmft or DMFT, SiC and SiC10) measures were used to assess dental disease experience. In the regional area, Indigenous children aged <10 years had 1.6, 1.9, 1.6 and 1.4 times the percent dmft >0, mean dmft, SiC primary and SiC(10) primary, respectively, of their non-Indigenous counterparts, while Indigenous children aged 6+ years had 1.3, 1.7, 1.7 and 1.6 times the percent DMFT > 0, mean DMFT, SiC permanent and SiC10 permanent, respectively, of non-Indigenous children. Indigenous children in the regional area had significantly higher caries prevalence and severity than Indigenous children at a state-level. Indigenous children in South Australia's mid-north region are dentally disadvantaged in comparison with their non-Indigenous counterparts and with the general South Australian Indigenous child population.