Can the impacts of colonisation on the dignity of Aboriginal men be reversed?.

摘要: Over the last 10 years there has been a cry from the Indigenous leaders within Australia. One of those Indigenous leaders is Tom Calma, the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commissioner, who consistently ended each of his addresses with:“Australia needs to restore the human dignity to the Aboriginal people”(Calma, 2006, 2008a, 2008b, 2009, 2012). In keeping with this outcry, this research examines the impact of colonisation on the dignity of Aboriginal men, and the importance of Aboriginal culture to the restoration and maintenance of that dignity.At the time of colonisation, Aboriginal men were regularly involved in all aspects of community life through their roles and responsibilities that were part of the cultural norms. Since the colonisation process began in Australia in 1788, these roles and responsibilities have been devalued, deconstructed and in many cases deemed irrelevant.