Jaren Meldrum and Dr. Todd L. Goodsell, Sociology Department

Main Text

Most rural indigenous communities in Australia have an abnormally high frequency of tobacco and alcohol use, domestic violence, and gambling, the prevalence of which can be seen as a result of an anomic loss of cultural identity in the postcolonial era (O’Connor 1984; Johnston and Thomas 2008). Decades of national-level statistics describe a shorter life expectancy, less education, and an overall decreased quality of life for indigenous Australians compared to their non-indigenous peers. Recently, the issue of Australian Commonwealth policy to close the “Aboriginal achievement gap” has gained increased attention, particularly due to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s 2008 landmark “Sorry Speech.” Though the social problems are apparent and the government is invested, a lack of understanding has limited the efficacy of interventions to reduce inequality.

Social problems can and should be reduced through social policy, but must be done so in ways that are congruent with local cultures and perspectives. By learning from these natural positive deviants–communities that have implemented customized mechanisms for reducing social problems–we can understand practical, scalable, appropriate ways to positively influence other communities and reduce high-risk social behaviors.

To contribute to such understanding, I conducted an ethnography of two rural Aboriginal communities in the Utopia region of Australia’s Outback that have remarkably low instances of domestic violence, gambling, alcoholism, and substance abuse. These communities have developed a reputation of goodness to both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people in the surrounding regions. They are described positively in local newspaper articles (in the Alice Springs newspaper, the Centralian Advocate) for such things as their community cleanliness, art, health, and high rates of school attendance. My goal was to find out why they are so different.

My previous experience in Aboriginal communities gave me intimate access that is rarely enjoyed by researchers. With permission from the tribal elders of the two communities, I prepared an interview guide to lead conversations with community members that collected experiences and perspectives regarding community life. With Institutional Review Board approval, I went to the Utopia region and lived in the Aboriginal communities for the month of June 2010. There, I experienced daily life and conducted 25 audio-recorded interviews covering such topics as the history of the community, gender roles, family life, leadership, sports, education, art, spiritual beliefs, health, racial inequality, and interpersonal conflicts. I also kept field notes and collected reports from local media about the communities. After transcribing the interviews, I used a modified inductive coding system and, with another independent reviewer, reconciled the codes for reliability. This process illuminated important themes and insights regarding the mechanisms of resilience in the communities.

The data analysis revealed how these Aboriginal communities selectively accept or reject aspects from both their traditional culture and imposed Western culture. Thus, they are not “lost” between two identities, but maintain stability. This “cultural hybridity” enables the communities to remain autonomous; rather than a state of moral helplessness and passivity, the community leaders are in a state of active decision making regarding their stewardship. The leaders receive a high level of respect from their community members, enabling them to successfully disallow drinking and fighting from the community and encourage education and religious participation. The communities have a supplemental structure of religious leadership that augments the traditional patriarchy. The community members are outwardly proud of their community and their reputation, reinforcing prosocial behaviors. The nurse described how anomalous negative health conditions in the communities were, describing that she “only really treats diabetes” (which is prevalent among indigenous people), not ailments associated with violence and alcoholism.

Several other nations–including the United States, New Zealand, and Canada– have prominent indigenous subpopulations that exhibit similar anomic reactions to their postcolonial state. The implications of the Utopia ethnography findings will aid policy makers and health workers to develop ways to reduce social problems and improve health in indigenous communities in culturally respectful ways.

Currently, I am drafting a scholarly journal article to submit to a professional journal such as Qualitative Health Research in late December 2010 or early January 2011. The findings of this project will also be shared at the Conference of the Western Social Science Association, and the Fulton Poster Conference in April 2011. The project will be hilighted in the upcoming ORCA newsletter.

References

• Johnston, Vanessa and David P. Thomas. 2008. “Smoking Behaviours in a Remote Australian Indigenous Community: The Influence of Family and Other Factors.” Social Science & Medicine 67:1708-1716.
• O’Connor, Rory. 1984. “Alcohol and Contingent Drunkenness in Central Australia.” Australian Journal of Social Issues 19:173-183.