Traditions for health: studies in Aboriginal reconstruction

Abstract

Under a policy of self-determination, Aboriginal people are expected to draw on their traditions of social organization in order to contribute to the improvement of their health. ‘Traditions for Health’ attempts to show that this is a more difficult process than many people suppose. The problem is not only that indigenous traditions have been damaged by colonial authority. As well, the contemporary meaning and relevance of ‘tradition’ are inevitably in constant dispute. ‘Traditions for Health’ is based on a number of case studies, written while Tim Rowse was employed by the Menzies School of Health Research in Alice Springs. In each case – petrol-sniffing prevention, the policing of remote communities, the treatment of alcoholics and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases – the difficulties of asserting the relevance and meaning of Aboriginal tradition are apparent. Though the cases are taken from the southern half of the Northern Territory, Rowse embeds them in a theoretical framework of much wider relevance. Show more