Understanding diabetes in a rural Aboriginal community : a thesis in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Social Anthropology at Massey University, Manawatu, New Zealand
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Date
2015
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Massey University
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Abstract
This thesis explores the way seven Aboriginal peoples from Yidiyi, who dwell in a
remote region of the Northern Territory Australia, understand and treat their
diabetes. In 1935, Aboriginal clan groups who dwelled in their own totemic land,
mixing only in times of ceremony, migrated into the town of Yidiyi to live as a
community. These people have, for the last eighty years, been adjusting to living
with and integrating certain aspects of Western culture. With diabetes statistics
rising for Australian Aboriginal peoples, my participants negotiate how they deal
with and treat their diabetes. For Aboriginal peoples, health and wellbeing is
holistic and interconnected with all aspects of life. To maintain health is to
maintain positive interactions with all human and non-human entities. This thesis
contributes to the literature that argues for the following: an understanding of
Australian Aboriginal culture in Western settings; an integration of local
Aboriginal healing methods within Western clinical environments; and continuous
efforts that work to improve bicultural relationships.
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Keywords
Aboriginal Australians, Diabetes, Health and hygiene, Social aspects, Social anthropology, Australia, Northern Territory