The leading cause of death for Indigenous males was circulatory diseases (closely followed by cancer and other neoplasms), while for Indigenous females it was cancer and other neoplasms (Table D1. 23.1, Figure 1.23. 2).
impacts of the Stolen Generations and removal of children. unresolved trauma. separation from culture and identity issues. discrimination based on race or culture.
The prevalence of major behavioural and biomedical health risk factors is generally higher for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians than for other Australians. Behavioural risks include smoking, poor nutrition, physical inactivity and excessive alcohol consumption.
Many Aboriginal tribal groups share the belief that this life is only part of a longer journey. When a person passes away, the spirit leaves the body. The spirit must be sent along its journey; otherwise it will stay and disturb the family.
Coronary heart disease, diabetes, chronic lower respiratory diseases and lung and related cancers are the main causes of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Based on age-standardised rates, circulatory diseases accounted for the largest gap in mortality rates between Indigenous and non‑Indigenous Australians (gap of 78 deaths per 100,000 population).
Effect on First Nations peoples
The spread of smallpox was followed by influenza, measles, tuberculosis and sexually transmitted diseases. First Nations peoples had no resistance to these diseases, all of which brought widespread death.
Many traditional aboriginal cultures consider death to be very natural. For many aboriginal people, a “good death” is one where they meet death with dignity and composure. Dying this way implies a further experience of an afterlife.
Aboriginal people honoured and disposed of their dead in many different ways. The dead were usually buried in the ground, sometimes accompanied by possessions such as stone tools or personal ornaments. In some areas, special clothes were made for the deceased.
According to Haudenosaunee beliefs, when a person dies, their breath of life is taken by the Faceless One, the destroyer who brings death. However, the spirit of the individual takes a number of days to get used to the death of the body and prepare to take its journey skyward.
Colonisation has led to negative outcomes on the physical and mental health of many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Before 1788, Aboriginal peoples lived a semi-nomadic life in family and community groups. The impact of colonisation includes: disconnection from culture, family, and Country.
Compared with non-Indigenous Australians, cardiovascular diseases and cancer represented a smaller proportion of deaths, and external causes and endocrine, metabolic and nutritional disorders represented a larger proportion of deaths, among Indigenous Australians. Notes 1. Data are for NSW, Qld, WA, SA and NT.
In the 1860s, Victoria became the first state to pass laws authorising Aboriginal children to be removed from their parents. Similar policies were later adopted by other states and territories – and by the federal government when it was established in the 1900s.
Shame may be felt as a result of: • a lack of respect • embarrassment • self importance/self promotion • rudeness • a breach of accepted Aboriginal “norms” and/or taboos A shame job is an an event which causes a person shame or embarrassment.
Indigenous Australians suffer disproportionately high levels of domestic violence and over-representation in the justice system. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people experience extreme levels of racism in Australia.
Multiple threats and obstacles hinder their social, economic, political and legal development, including discrimination and marginalization; lack of rights to land and natural and productive resources; denial and lack of access to justice; violations of cultural rights; denial of the rights to legal recognition, ...
Burial often takes place either near the place that the deceased was camping at the time of their passing or in a cemetery where descendants can return to for many years to come. These are known as Aboriginal burials and they are sacred in Indigenous culture.
Aboriginal Death Customs
Smoking Ceremonies: Certain Aboriginal peoples perform smoking ceremonies at the location that the person died or in houses. During this, relatives may show their grief by cutting their hair or using white pigment on their faces.
NSWALC has also determined that any NSW Aboriginal person who was not a member of the Insurance Funeral Fund is able to apply for a NSWALC funeral grant of up to $1000 to assist with covering the funeral costs. Grants are paid directly to funeral service providers under this community benefits scheme.
In some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, hearing recordings, seeing images or the names of deceased persons may cause sadness or distress and in some cases, offend against strongly held cultural prohibitions.
Over one gripping hour, she traces seven phases of Aboriginal history – Dreaming, Invasion, Genocide, Protection, Assimilation, Self-Determination, and Reconciliation.
Belief in life after death
It is believed that when one dies, he/she lives on and can still hear and make decisions on life thus taking an ancestral form living in the world of the spirits. There is communication between the dead and the living, whom the living believe to be their guardians in life.
Australia is home to the oldest continuing living culture in the entire world. The richness and diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures in Australia is something we should all take pride in as a nation.
Coronary heart disease was the leading individual disease contributing to burden in Indigenous Australians in 2018.
The islands were settled by different seafaring Melanesian cultures such as the Torres Strait Islanders over 2500 years ago, and cultural interactions continued via this route with the Aboriginal people of northeast Australia.