The Aboriginal mortality rate has been quite changeable throughout the world history. Numerous wars, colonization of the territories, and displacement of the locals to other locations have been the most common reasons leading to the growing tendency of the disappearance of the entire cultures. The terror against the Indigenous people living in a certain territory is highly dependent on the governmental activity. High mortality rate or even disappearance of the entire nations are a result of misconduct and preservation of personal views and interests. If these governments implement friendly policies in relation to the Indigenous people, preserve their rights and freedoms, pay attention to their needs, and grant them with the equal rights as other citizens have, there will not occur significant tragic outcomes. The terror related to health, namely poisoning, circulatory system diseases, and injuries, is considered one of the most widely spread notions influencing the Aboriginal mortality rate. There exist a number of sociological views related to the terror. With regard to them, the current paper focuses on the analysis of Aboriginal mortality in certain territories from the perspective of such sociological approaches as genocide and violence disposition. In such a way, it will prove that terror behaviour towards Aborigines in the form of poisoning, circulatory system diseases, and injuries is the result of the inadmissible decisions of the authorities that have a considerable impact on the current life and the development of the future societies, generations, and history.
Aboriginal Mortality and Introduction of Sociological Approaches
The issues related to the mortality rate, especially when it comes to specific peoples or ethnic groups, bear huge importance. The fact that the aborigines have been socioeconomically disadvantaged was investigated by many sociologists, who focused on poverty, low life expectancy, chronic disease and violence as the result of the purposeful actions of the governments. Often, this high rate is artificially caused by those who do not want to comply with other races and ethnicities. According to Wolfe, “European xenophobic traditions such as anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, or Negrophobia are considerably older than race”. Consequently, the genocide of the separate races and violence disposition become the central approaches that need to be considered when analysing the fate of the minorities and Aboriginal tribes, in particular.
The problem of the Aboriginal growing mortality has been viewed through the prism of the reduction of the number of the Indigenous people worldwide. Hence, not only the population is reduced, but also the culture of the state undergoes significant changes due to which it is rather complicated to keep it preserved and prevent it from losses and damage. Sociologists argue concerning the most influential and powerful sources of Aboriginal mortality. Numerous literary sources identify such causes as genocide and tools related to its implementation, as well as a forceful and violent disposition towards the Indigenous people due to their position, which most often differed from the position established by an occupant or a colonizer.
The goals pursued by various groups related to the elimination of the Aboriginal populations vary. The development of societies and cultures often demanded significant and strict actions towards the natives. The research studies prove that “for the past five hundred years, entire Indigenous communities have been traumatized” by numerous diseases and genocide, which lead to removal from their homes and deprivation of basic rights and regulations that should have ensured their safety and reduce the trauma causing. According to Lemkin, genocide is defined “in terms of the violation of a nation’s right to its collective existence”; hence, it may be called the purposeful destruction of a nation. Victims of genocide undergo both serious physical and mental trauma, which can be then transferred to the next generations and leave a mark on the whole nation.
Another point influencing the Indigenous societies and reducing their significance is the “contact with colonizers”, which had changed the lives of numerous Aboriginal peoples and caused their disappearing or decrease in their quantity. Due to the invasions observed throughout the humankind’s history, the impact of the colonizers cannot be underestimated. Despite the fact that their traditions and culture can be a positive issue, there were a number of diseases brought from other continents and a demise for those who refused to cooperate.
Emotional distance could be viewed as a threat to the wholeness of the societies of the Indigenous people as the “role of emotions within the law has been that to which the law has sought to avoid and counteract”. The possible outcome of the forceful resettlement of the natives can be explained as a non-desire to promote the same culture level according to the laws established in relation towards them. Hence, the emotional response to the laws and regulations in the form of disagreement or resistance was growing into full-scale rebellions and strikes with negative and fatal results for the people who disagreed with these laws, political and governing systems, and choices of the country’s movement direction. Violent measures aimed at subduing such rebellions and people, in general, led not only to humiliation, which was a common practice but also to the use of arming and bodily harm.
Poisoning as a Terror against the Aboriginal Population
The purposeful poisoning of the people bears genocidal character if it is caused artificially to eliminate the natives from their homeland. The history of the humankind has been witnessing numerous examples of how the attempts have been made to cause mass deaths and occupy the territory. For instance, the English colonialists in the XVIII century conducted food trade with indigenous Australians who did not like these relationships due to several reasons. Firstly, colonialists could catch and hang convicts. Secondly, they were stealing bones from the unearthed graves of the Aboriginals. Thirdly, they used possibly sacred grounds for their purpose without any permission. Later, the British settlers started their tough policy towards Aboriginal people of Australia. In particular, they could poison or destroy the whole herd of the livestock as a step to win against the native residents.
Other cases of poisoning waters or soil or bringing infected animals to the herds had also been used to make the Indigenous people leave their homeland or die while resisting the colonizers’ policy. These issues were unacceptable and inhumane; however, nothing could stop the settlers from occupying the territory if they aimed at it.
Circulatory System Disease and Injury: Causes and Data
Changing the environment, newcomers with new dangerous infections and diseases caused much trouble and threat to numerous Aboriginal peoples all over the world. The XVII century had been a period when most popular destinations-to-travel were settled, including Australia, South America, and Canada, among others. Therefore, despite bringing some foods, European travellers and traders also brought numerous diseases and problems, which caused even greater mortality rate. King reported that a number of chronic diseases, as well as and decreased mental and physical wellness, were caused by the external factors, including alcohol brought by the colonizers.
The Indigenous people suffering from various diseases were most likely to find treatment within the natural medicine which may seem more efficient and accessible if taking into account how much it costs to get some possible medicine from the traders. However, being a vulnerable population, it is difficult to estimate that the harm was mainly brought by the colonizers arriving, settling nearby, and occupying the Aboriginal territories. Some scholars doubt that such idea is absolutely truthful.
According to the studies conducted by the Canadian researchers, the life expectancy of the Aboriginal citizens is lower if compared to the others. Very few could live up to 75 years, which is a sad statistic. The most frequent case is the death of the heart attack and strokes. For Indigenous people living in remote places, the knowledge of these diseases was not common. Moreover, the factors causing the aforementioned conditions only added to the growing number of deaths caused by circulatory system diseases.
Furthermore, numerous injuries may be caused due to different issues and are related to the way of life prevalent within a community. For instance, if speaking about Australia, injuries at the early times could have been caused due to hard work in the field without sufficient tools or necessary equipment. Secondly, injuries comprise nearly 7% of all deaths. Moreover, female injuries’ level is lower than males’ due to the different field of work. Perhaps, this is the reason of male mortality rate being higher as well. Nevertheless, the statistics of the injuries caused by violence from the colonizers is much higher and could often lead to the death of the Aborigines who often tried to defend their lands.
Future generations can be influenced by such mortality rates as various sources claim that the level of life expectancy is decreasing not only concerning the generations of the Aboriginal peoples but humankind, in general. This is caused by human activity, poor health, and development and mutations of the diseases. In such a way, the mortality rates of the Aboriginal people become the source of the further imbalance of life expectancy in the world.
Conclusion
Officials have no right to apply their power and authority for personal purpose and neglect the most basic needs of the citizens, especially if it is related to the health issue and may cause a terminal decline of a certain society. The sociological approaches analysed in the current paper prove that Aboriginal mortality is strongly dependent on the governmental actions and decisions. Moreover, it definitely leaves a considerable imprint in the history due to the negative impact on the nations and violation of the world balance, in general.
The sociological issue related to the problems of poisoning, injuries, circulatory system diseases and their connection to genocide and violence disposition added some more harmful effect onto the Aboriginal mortality rate. The impact the people underwent due to invasion into their lives and their territories brought irreversible negative events, leading to the demise of the huge settlements.
From the point of view of sociology, the genocide all over the world had been the worst strategy to be applied to destroy the people. The Aboriginal peoples were among those who faced the genocide just because they lived in their homeland. Future generations also faced the consequences of the actions committed to the native people. Furthermore, the legacy, cultural values, and knowledge had been lost due to improper policy: instead of cooperation and coexistence, the people faced violence, mass murders, and inhumane behaviour.
Sociological research studies on the sphere reveal that the major basic impacts on the Aboriginal mortality rate are extremely dependent on the policy conducted by either colonizers or invaders. Particularly, the attempts to resettle the people from their homeland to other territories had always given an impetus for resistance and disagreement revelations. As a result, it led to growing mortality rate. Emotional distance often causes indifference to the promotion of one’s culture and relation to the past. However, if distancing for the sake of relieving the past bad emotion, the theory is proper to apply.
