Citation

Coldwell I. Rural Soc. 2010; 20(1): 35-50.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2010, Community of Rural Social Researchers, Publisher eContent Management Pty Ltd)

DOI

10.5172/rsj.20.1.35

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The plight of Aboriginal health and the question of Aboriginal health care in a remote rural community came into focus when I realised that 'the system' was peppered with in-built racist beliefs and values that discriminate against and disadvantage minority groups. Cyborg theory assists the difficulties of explaining the paradoxes that exist for people who live in time spaces somewhere between naturalised cultural antiquities and the terrans of technoculture and consumer culture from which local, state, and national health systems must now emerge. Taking up the idea of emergent worlds in post-colonial moments, a rationale is presented for a move away from white masculinist knowledge practices that underpin existing problems in health care provision. The paper turns toward situated knowledge to embrace the non-teleological time/spaces of Aboriginal country. The idea of emergent worlds is extended into an ethnographic method and a practice of responding attentively to the testimonies of participants. Here, the problems of drug addiction and suicide reveal a serious systemic failure in access to health care for Aboriginal people. This analysis provides justification for a decolonising approach to health care policy and practice. © 2010 eContent Management Pty Ltd.

Language: en

Keywords

Social exclusion; Access; Aboriginal health; Institutional racism; Reconciliation; Responsive attentiveness; Situated knowledge