The Pacific and Oceania Region Kealakehe High School
Position Paper for the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues The following issues are before the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues: Indigenous Youth in Urban Communities and Promoting Indigenous Health in Australia. The Pacific and Oceania Region notices the socio-economic and health-related needs of indigenous people and will continue to advocate for the right to equal opportunity and healthcare. We support all resolutions that promote involvement in urban communities, yet reaffirm the indigenous right to self-determination. I. Indigenous Youth in Urban Communities Discrimination of aboriginal peoples in urban communities instigated by prolonged neglect of indigenous culture has had a profound impact on the lifestyles of subsequent aboriginal populations. Minimal social involvement, lack of cultural identity, and lingering prejudice hassle many middle aged aboriginals into a life of illicit drug use and criminal activity. 1 Ensuring the success of aboriginal youth is essential to the mitigation of many problems that indigenous peoples encounter; with awareness of these problems, the Pacific and Oceania Region believes in the integration of indigenous culture into local and urban communities to further encourage acceptance and develop sustainable relationships seen in indigenous peoples of Hawaii. Since the spread of western culture during the Age of Discovery in the 1600s, aboriginal peoples in this region have faced decades of mistreatment. Although the establishment of indigenous reserves and protected land aims to protect cultures and their heritage, the success of western cultures pressure aboriginal youth to pursue lives in urban communities. The Pacific and Oceania Region overlooks 14 UN member states and around 27 dependencies including Australia, New Zealand, Tuvalu, Tonga, Kiribati, New Caledonia, and
1 Indigenous Children and Youth, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, http://www.ohchr.org/Documents/Publications/GuideIPleaflet9en.pdf. (May 6, 2013) Delegation from Represented by The Pacific and Oceania Region Kealakehe High School Hawaii. 2 Problemsincluding economic, social, cultural and health relatedin this region remain serious, mainly in the countries of Australia and New Zealand. In the late 1800s to around 1969, Australian Federal, State, and Territory government agencies forcibly removed aboriginal children from their families and sent them to be adopted by non-indigenous families for racial assimilation. 3 The forced removal of this generationtermed the Stolen Generationsirrevocably broke cultural connections and set the norm for aboriginal mistreatment. My mother and brother could speak our language and my father could speak his. I can't speak my language. Aboriginal people weren't allowed to speak their language while white people were around. They had to go out into the bush or talk their lingoes on their own (Confidential Submission from Queensland, Australia) 4 Many children were encouraged to abandon and deny aboriginal heritage for western ideals. 5 The 1975 Racial Discrimination Act became the first key piece of legislation for aboriginal Australians, ensuring equal opportunity for people of all backgrounds and outlawing discrimination against people on the basis of race, color, descent and national or ethnic origin. 6 Yet, in 2007, Australia voted against the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP)although endorsed in 2009 and has not ratified the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 169, dealing with the rights of indigenous and tribal peoples. 7 Furthermore, they enacted the Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER) which prompted evidence of abuse and
2 Member Countries, Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, http://www.forumsec.org/pages.cfm/about-us/member- countries/ 3 The History of the Stolen Generations, NSDC, http://www.nsdc.org.au/stolen-generations/history-of-the-stolen- generations/the-history-of-the-stolen-generations 4 Ibid. 5 Ibid. 6 Race Discrimination, Australian Human Rights Commission, http://www.humanrights.gov.au/our- work/legal/legislation#rda 7 Convention No. 169, International Labour Organization, http://www.ilo.org/indigenous/Conventions/no169/lang-- en/index.htm Delegation from Represented by The Pacific and Oceania Region Kealakehe High School potential neglect of children in indigenous communities and town camps in the Northern Territory, overriding the Racial Discrimination Act of 1975. 8
Indigenous people of New Zealandknown as the Morimake up 14.9% of the population, or around 598,605 persons; 50% of the prison population identify to be Mori ethnic or of Mori decent. 9 The life expectancy of Mori populations is almost 10 years less than non- Mori populations 10 and although the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi 11 assured equal standards of health care and health outcomes indigenous youth in New Zealand do not have equitable access to appropriate health care compared to non-indigenous youth. 12 According to the National Aboriginal Health Organization (NAHO) Mori youth, ages 15 to 24, had a suicide attempt rate of 43.7% for males and 18.8% for females compared to 18% of non-indigenous males and 9.1% of non-indigenous females. 13 Despite these issues, New Zealand is also involved in a proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) that will restrict intellectual property laws and raises concerns regarding Mori rights and accessibility of affordable healthcare. On the other hand, successful socio-economic involvement allows indigenous peoples of Hawaii to prosper as a culture. Hawaiian indigenous people, or the Kanaka Maoli, represent around 20% of the 1.2 million people who reside on the 137 islands, atolls, and reefs of Ka Pae Aina o Hawaii (the Hawaiian Archipelago). Although researchers believe they have the poorest health in the state, in comparison to other aborigines in the Oceania region, Kanaka Maoli receive and benefit from infrastructures put up by the state. One of the only major problems for
8 The Indigenous World, IWGIA, Australia 198-203 (IWGA: 25 May 2013), http://www.iwgia.org/iwgia_files_publications_files/0613_EB-THE_INDIGENOUS_ORLD_2013.pdf 9 Ibid. 10 2013 Census QuickStats about Mori, Statistics New Zealand, http://www.stats.govt.nz/Census/2013-census.aspx 11 The Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand Ministry of Justice, http://www.justice.govt.nz/tribunals/waitangi- tribunal/treaty-of-waitangi 12 Social Networks and Health, Journal of Aboriginal Health Volume 7, (JAH: March 2011) http://www.naho.ca/documents/journal/jah07_01/07_01_complete.pdf 13 Ibid. Delegation from Represented by The Pacific and Oceania Region Kealakehe High School indigenous youth is obesity; 19% of youth are considered to be obese compared to 15% of non- indigenous youth in the state. 14 Many years after the illegal overthrow of their Queen Liliuokalani, Hawaii was annexed to the United States and stands as the 50 th state of the United Stated of America. Aside from the few who continue to resent western culture, 15 indigenous peoples in Hawaii continue to thrive with the Unites States endorsement of the UNDRIP in 2010 and local declarations such as the Palapala Paoakalani, 16 which allows equal opportunity and right to self-determination. In 2011 the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit was held in Honolulu, Hawaii, allowing the unification of indigenous peoples across the Oceania region under the Moana Nui conference; major groups at the convention included Mori of Aotearoa (New Zealand), Maohi of Tahiti, Rapa Nui, Aboriginals of Australia, First Nations of Canada, and Ainu of Japan. The Moana Nui conference aimed to initiate and promote an era of engagement among indigenous peoples of Oceania. It will chart a path, we will talk together to end alienation of our lands and ourselves said Professor Jon Osorio of the University of Hawaii Manoa. The establishment of Kamehameha Schools in 1887 promoted prestigious education for indigenous peoples; as of 2012, Kamehameha had an enrollment of 5,398 students at its three main campuses as well as 1,317 children enrolled in preschools around the state. Kamehameha schools have served an estimated 46,923 indigenous Hawaiians in 2011 alone for support of public education and families throughout Hawaii. The integration of Hawaiian culture into the local school system promotes respect and understanding of indigenous youth; community lead conservation efforts, and local respect for indigenous lands allow for the successful protection of Kanaka Maoli culture.
14 Native Hawaiian Health Factsheet Office of Hawaiian Affairs, 2011 http://www.oha.org/health/downloads/2011NativeHawaiianHealthFactSheet.pdf 15 Ibid. 16 Paoakalani Declaration. Web. http://kaahapono.com/PaoakalaniDeclaration05.pdf Delegation from Represented by The Pacific and Oceania Region Kealakehe High School As stated earlier by the Journal of Aboriginal Health, indigenous youth around the world do not have equitable access to appropriate health care. Many countries have developed programs to provide for the socio-economic and health related problems of aboriginal peoples, yet fail to create the infrastructure or reason to access these subsidies; thus, aboriginal populations do not take advantage of available aid. The Pacific and Oceania region believes that youth involvement in both community and politics is necessary to reduce the problems that indigenous peoples encounter; by soliciting for their own community to accept aid and providing equitable access to subsidies, indigenous youth will be able to prosper in urban communities. II. Promoting Indigenous Health in Australia The Pacific and Oceania regionincluding Australianotices the grave health conditions of its indigenous people. Australias indigenous population is around 2.5% of the population, or 520,000 individuals; health problems remain a big crisis, with high indigenous infant mortality around 10 to 15% and short life expectancy. 17 According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) life expectancy is currently estimated to be 69.1 years for aboriginal males and 73.7 years for aboriginal females which is 10.6 years less than the life expectancy for non- indigenous males and 9.5 years less than non-indigenous females. 18 "The figures show that the gap in life expectancy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people compared to non- Indigenous people has narrowed [since previous years], but only slightly," said Bjorn Jarvis, ABS director of demography. 19 Along with health issues, aboriginal Australians also deal with illicit drug and substance abuse.
17 The Indigenous World, IWGIA, 198-203 (IWGA: 25 May 2013), http://www.iwgia.org/iwgia_files_publications_files/0613_EB-THE_INDIGENOUS_ORLD_2013.pdf 18 Life Tables for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians, ABS, (2012) http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Latestproducts/3302.0.55.003Media%20Release12010-2012 19 Ibid. Delegation from Represented by The Pacific and Oceania Region Kealakehe High School Programs such as The National Aboriginal Health Strategy of 1990 aimed to aid aboriginal people with health care and allow aboriginals to take control of their own health. 20
This initiative never took root in indigenous populations because of their strong belief in cultural remedies and the lack of medical knowledge; aboriginal people do not trust, and are not aware of the benefits of provided health care. Without encouraging indigenous peoples to accept healthcare, such initiatives will quickly fade and become unreasonable resolutions to the current health problem. To implement any health related program, there needs to be a general acknowledgement of western healthcare and medicine through education. In the Hawaiian Archipelago, the Bishop Foundation and Kamehameha Schools has provided education for youth of Hawaiian decent. These programs allow indigenous Hawaiians to be aware of benefits from health care, and although Hawaiian people have lower health rates that the American National Average, people have a higher accessibility than the current aboriginal Australian population. 21
Youth of aboriginal peoples often find themselves with two identities: the cultural belief that they are aboriginal, and the pressure to be successful in urban/western community. By encouraging these removed aboriginal youth to propagate the benefits of healthcare through education, aboriginal people may support provided health care, social involvement, employment, and other remedies. The Australian Indigenous Education Foundation (AIEF) provides educational opportunity for aboriginal Australians. Education is the single biggest factor preventing better Indigenous employment and career outcomes says AIEF Chairman, Warren Mundine. 22 This program aims to create a long-term, low-cost and sustainable Indigenous education program in a framework of highly effective management, transparency and
20 Aboriginal Health in Australia 21 Native Hawaiian Health Fact Sheet 22 The Australian Indigenous Education Foundation AIEF, 2014, http://www.aief.com.au/ Delegation from Represented by The Pacific and Oceania Region Kealakehe High School accountability 23 and 93% of all students who graduated through the AIEF Scholarship Program were able pursue further education or enroll in vocational training and find employment. Although the Australian Government should endorse healthcare programs for indigenous people, our priority should be to educate aborigines to acknowledge health care and other health related remedies. By advocating for education of indigenous people, the awareness and acceptance will allow failed programs such as the National Aboriginal Health Strategy to succeed.