Deputy Director presents at international conference
"In the settler-colonies of Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the United States, the historical impacts of colonisation on the health, social, economic and cultural experiences of Indigenous peoples are well-recognised. However, despite being a commonly deployed trope, there has been scant attention to precisely how colonial processes contribute to current Indigenous health disparities", according to Professor Yin Paradies, Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation Deputy Director (Research).
Professor Paradies last week presented at the Royal Swedish Academy of Letters, History and Antiquities as part of an international conference on Colonisation, Indigenous Health and History. The conference provided an important platform to engage in a critical debate on colonisation and indigenous health and, important within this setting, how to conceptualise colonisation as a determinant of Indigenous health.
His paper explored how emerging concepts, such as historical trauma and colonial mentality, operationalise colonisation as a determinant of indigenous health. Conceptualisations of coloniality vis-à-vis health and their critiques were also investigated along with racism as an intersecting and overlapping construct.
He concluded by drawing attention to the potential effects for the future of settler-indigenous relations.
"It's important to consider what the implications of colonialisation as determinant for indigenous health are", he said, "such as the role of history in contemporary health inequalities, of racism as a cause of ill-health and the need to devise efficacious strategies that address socio-economic disadvantage."
Contact: Rebecca Buys
Phone: 61 3 9244 6658