The Australian and Canadian Aboriginal communities are strikingly similar vis-à-vis traditional lifestyles, social structures and histories of victimization during colonization (Morrisette, McKenzie, & Morrisette, 2010). A cultural context, then, means “an emphasis on historical reconstruction based on an understanding of colonialism to alter the stereotypes and false beliefs given to Aboriginal people, and on culture and traditions as restorative to an individual's identity and self-esteem” (Morrisette et al., 2010, p. 98). At present, both communities suffer similar problems of unemployment, alcoholism, drug abuse, sex abuse, mental illness, suicide and racism. In this paper we explore the contribution of Australian Government policies to the lack of progress in Australia.
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