If you’ve got a drop of Aboriginee blood in you, you are allowed to claim yourself as an Aboriginee and get lots of government benefits and social status points in Australia.
I’m hoping to get hired as the multi-cultural officer in Gladstone.
As Indigenous Australians, our health lags behind that of indigenous groups in other settler colonial nations such as the United States, Canada and New Zealand.1 Similarly, we are far behind these nations in relation to Indigenous participation in the health workforce and the professions generally. A compelling illustration of this is the fact that the first indigenous doctors in North America and New Zealand graduated in 1889 and 1899, respectively, while the first Indigenous doctor in Australia graduated almost a century later, in 1984.2,3
It is undeniable that our poor health and our low participation in the health workforce are related. Increasing recognition of this has led to a situation in which there are now over 80 qualified Indigenous doctors and almost 100 Indigenous medical students in Australia.4 This achievement has only been possible because we live in the era of “self-determination” that was born, as was I, during the 1970s. I am a multiracial Australian, with Aboriginal, Anglo and Asian ancestry. Because my grandmother (being my only Indigenous ancestor) was a member of the “stolen generations”, and because I am fair-skinned, I started life with an ambivalent Indigenous identity which has been profoundly shaped by the policies of affirmative action (or positive discrimination) that epitomise the era of self-determination.
My first experiences with affirmative action occurred in high school, when I was showcased as a role model for other Indigenous students. I went on to gain a degree in science and start a career in health research through an Indigenous cadetship. Affirmative action also provided me with the financial means to complete a Master of Medical Statistics — the first Indigenous Australian to do so — and with preferential access to scholarships, which allowed me to complete a Master of Public Health and to undertake a PhD. In return for this assistance, I have spoken at Indigenous youth summits and school career days, tutored, taught, and donated prize money to Indigenous tertiary students, and conducted research and teaching in Indigenous health on topics of importance to Indigenous people (such as the health effects of racism).5 In addition, I have brought an “Indigenous” perspective to a range of committees, forums, round tables, community groups, conferences, colleagues and students.
