South Australia

Going without food, or going without nutritious food, has heavy consequences for Indigenous people, as we learnt on a recent research trip to the West Kimberley. Indigenous Australians are already twice as likely to have a disability or chronic illness as non-Indigenous Australians; poor nutrition compounds these problems, leading to further illness and secondary impairments.Aboriginal people consistently reported alleviating food insecurity by going crabbing or fishing on traditional lands. Though this accounted for a small portion of total dietary intake. [node:read-more:link]

Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Peoples have the potential to operate as an independent sovereign Nation state by virtue of the fact that they have an entry permit system (equivalent to a visa) and they have veto powers in respect to applicants seeking to come into their country. However, when the veil of power is lifted from their governance, it is evident that the Lawmen and women of the APY Executive Board do not understand the extent of their unlimited powers and most of their lands have been negotiated away through Indigenous Land Use agreements. [node:read-more:link]

by Robert Foster and Amanda Nettelbeck,
with extensive footnotes, index and photographs.

...Regardless of all the nice talks, policies and promises in England during the 1830s, South Australia was invaded in 1836. The British government called it settled instead and pursued a new approach to the treatment of Aboriginal people that would hopefully avoid the horrific violence that had been part of earlier Australian settlement. From now on any acts of violence or injustice towards Aborigines would be punished 'with exemplary severity'. [node:read-more:link]

In the Anangu Pitjintjatjara Yangkunjatjara lands in northern South Australia, Ngangkari healers work alongside doctors and medical staff in community clinics and hospitals, and often visit Adelaide to attend to Indigenous hospital patients.
 
In the mental health area their involvement in the care of Aboriginal people is even enshrined in state law, and Ngangkari deal with everything from childhood illnesses to loss of spirit.