Biography of an Indigenous Person

Question: Discuss about theBiography of an Indigenous Person. Answer: Introduction: The Indigenous people of Australia have suffered a lot after the British colonization. The impact of this colonization have left a deep impact as the people suffered mental health, psychological health, and spiritual good-being (Ewen et al., 2013). These people were very much attached to their traditional life and culture which was ruined by the colonization. Therefore they require care and a good level of understanding than the non-indigenous ones. As per the report of Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2009, the loss of identity and mental health were the two important issues that the indigenous people faced as a result of colonization. The Australian Bureau of Statistics has shown an interconnection between the above issues with the cultural issue (Stoneham et al., 2014). There are many famous personalities among the Indigenous populations who have also suffered such issues in their life. Cathy Freeman was a famous Olympic athlete who belonged to the Australian indigenous community. She was the first Indigenous to represent Australia in the Olympics. Her biography revealed that she suffered from diabetes disease which was an obstruction in her career. Her life experiences throw light on the fact that being a member of the indigenous community of Australia, her health related issues were not equally treated like the non-indigenous population. This health issues and heath treatment differences would be discussed in the biography. Cathy Freeman is an Indigenous Australian Olympic athlete, who was born on 16 February 1973 (White, 2013). Her native birthplace is Mackay, Queensland, which is one of the remote areas of the Aboriginals. Her other family members used to stay in Woorabinda, which is an Aboriginal mission. Later on, she moved with her family to Hugehendan, which was on the outskirts of South Queensland. She was a passionate athlete from her early childhood days. Her passion for sports was helped and encouraged by her school teacher and also by other people. As she grew older, her passion for athletics became stronger, and she was determined to bag the Olympic medal for running. In 1986, Cathy was awarded the scholarship for Fairholme College. Cathy was always discriminated for her color and many times she has to face humiliation for being an Aboriginal. During a health checkup it was discovered that Cathy was suffering from type 2 diabetes. (Perso et al., 2012). The diagnosed report surprised Cathy to a great extent since there were no obvious symptoms that would indicate her about her health issues. According to her she was confident enough about her healthy condition due to her sporting career and never thought she can ever experience such health issues. As discussed by Langton et al. (2014), exercise is one of the best ways to stay healthy and manage diabetes since it lowers the glucose level in blood. Thus, emotionally and psychologically she was happy after gathering this knowledge because Cathy thought she could continue her career without much complications. Although later on her career graph showed a declination, she could pursue her career even after getting affected by diabetes with her zeal. Discipline is an important driver of personal transformation. Her disciplined career helped her to manage her diabetic condition through medicine, blood tests and insulin injections (Bruce Wensing 2012). It has been observed that the incidence of diabetes is higher in the indigenous people rather than the non-indigenous one (Lovett, 2014). The factors behind this are the age and the living conditions. Since, the indigenous people lived in very remote areas where there is no access to proper nutrition, hygiene and access to health care facilities (Langton et al., 2014). According to the AATSIHS, 9% indigenous people were known to suffer from diabetes. According to Cathy Freeman, an individuals positive attitude towards life helps in speedy recovery of ones health. As per Cathys statement diabetes is a health issue that was also suffered by her parents. It can be analyzed that her condition provided emotional disturbances in her family and community since Cathy was a source of happiness and pride for the whole indigenous population. But her husband and family members provided her constant support (Burrow Ride 2016). The experiences of Cathy Freeman are an example which shows that the Australian system did not show equality among the people and did not treat people with justice. She experienced certain health inequalities in terms of medical treatment. This imposed psychological effect in her as well as her family and community. Even though she made the country proud through her achievements her medical treatment was not equal to that of the non-indigenous population. As stated by Kaidonis et al. (2014), the health issues of the indigenous people were just not due to the inadequate nutrition, or low living conditions but also due to the psychological effect which they had because of the racial discrimination (Langton et al., 2014). As per AIHW, 2009, the statistics shows that the rate of mental health cases is more than the non-indigenous communities (FUNDING, 2014). The experiences of Cathy Freeman are an example which shows that the Australian system did not show equality among the people and did not treat people with justice. They also dint give them the cultural and psychological respect and equality they deserved. The indigenous people have suffered a lot because of identity loss and mental health issues. These differences were because the indigenous people were not given the full rights as the White Australians use to get (Bruce Wensing, 2012). According to Ewen et al. (2012), in the recent past Cathy Freeman has participated in campaigns to reduce the number of diabetes affected individuals among Australians and the indigenous community. Addition to this she participated in 5 kilometers with diabetes fun run during the celebration of National Diabetes Week for the lives of around one and a half million diabetic Australians. She was followed by one sixty individuals who are either victims of diabetes or have family members affected by this disease. He was concerned about the inequalities against the aboriginals. Thus, in the year 2007, Catherine Freeman along with Ian Thorpe bestowed help in launching the campaign at the Telstra Stadium. This campaign was done in order to address the various health issues related to the indigenous population. Moreover, Cathy participated in The Bankstown Koori Womens Fun Olympics. This attracted members from her community (Burrow, S., Ride, K. (2016). Therefore, it could be said that though the Australian government introduced policies for the indigenous community they were not given that respect and equality which they should be getting. She can thus be regarded as a role model in the field of health promotion. The experience of Cathy Freeman was an example for the public that when inequality is acknowledged, then the Indigenous Australians could be extremely resilient when they are made to live and face the challenges of a non- indigenous (Kaidonis et al., 2014).This was proved by Cathy Freeman, who being the indigenous became a great athlete surviving diabetes and fought for the health equality for her community. Her contributions continued to serve for the betterment of the members of her community. Cathys continued work for her community became an important determinant for closing the gap and also helped in improving the health outcomes. References: Bruce, T., Wensing, E. (2012). The Olympics and indigenous peoples: Australia. InThe Palgrave handbook of Olympic Studies(pp. 487-504). Palgrave Macmillan UK. Burrow, S., Ride, K. (2016). Review of diabetes among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Ewen, S., Mazel, O., Knoche, D. (2012). Exposing the hidden curriculum influencing medical education on the health of Indigenous people in Australia and New Zealand: the role of the critical reflection tool.Academic Medicine,87(2), 200-205. FUNDING, C. (2014). Overview of Australian Indigenous health status 2013 Kaidonis, G., Mills, R. A., Landers, J., Lake, S. R., Burdon, K. P., Craig, J. E. (2014). Review of the prevalence of diabetic retinopathy in Indigenous Australians.Clinical experimental ophthalmology,42(9), 875-882 Langton, M., Palmer, L., Rhea, Z. M. (2014). Community-oriented protected areas for indigenous peoples and local communities.Indigenous Peoples, National Parks, and Protected Areas: A New Paradigm Linking Conservation, Culture, and Rights, 84. Lovett, R. (2014). A history of health services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.Yatdjuligin: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Nursing and Midwifery Care, 31. Perso, T., Kenyon, P., Darrough, N. (2012). Transitioning indigenous students to western schooling: A culturally responsive program. In17th Annual Values Leadership Conference, Brisbane Convention Entertainment Centre. https://www. acu. edu. au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0008/464723/Perso, _Thelma, _Kenyon, _Pam_and_Darrough, _Neila_Refereed. pdf. Stoneham, M. J., Goodman, J., Daube, M. (2014). The portrayal of Indigenous health in selected Australian media.The International Indigenous Policy Journal,5(1), 5. White, L. (2013). Cathy Freeman and Australias indigenous heritage: A new beginning for an old nation at the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.International Journal of Heritage Studies,19(2), 153-170.