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	Mortality rates for Indigenous children under 5 more than twice the rate for non-Indigenous children by NACCHO, Australian Medical Association National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) Australia   Feb. 2020   Mortality rates for Indigenous children under five more than twice the rate for non-Indigenous children, by Shahni Wellington, Jack Latimore for NITV News   The poor results contained yet again in this year's Close the Gap report on Indigenous disadvantage appears not to have surprised some members of the Coalition of Peaks, a body made up of more than 50 community-controlled peak Aboriginal organisations.   Last year, the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) committed to working with the Coalition of Peaks as part of a Closing the Gap (CTG) 'refresh' - a move aimed to involve First Nations people in decision-making and prevent yet another failed report.   But the 2019-2020 findings for rates of Indigenous disadvantage shows just two of seven goals are on track - Pre-school education and Year 12 attainment.   CEO of First Nations Media, Catherine Liddle, said the next steps are crucial in breaking the cycle.   "The government's say that they are listening, and certainly you would have heard that today. What we haven't seen is real action," she said.   Ms Liddle says the future depends on a meaningful partnership. "We must support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to control and deliver the programs and services that our communities need, in recognition that we are the experts in what we need these programs designed by us, and not for us," she said.   In a statement, Cheryl Axleby, Co-Chair of National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Services (NATSILS) said the report revealed progress on the majority of the targets remained off track.   'The gap in mortality rates between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous Australians increased last year and there are very worrying signs on infant mortality'.   'The Federal Government needs to commit to funding solutions to end over-imprisonment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and they must be implemented alongside other areas of disadvantage in the Closing the Gap strategy - health, education, family violence, employment, housing - in order to create real change for future generations'.   NATSILS co-chair, Nerita Waight, added that the peak body was also "deeply concerned" about the Federal Government's decision to not continue funding for remote Indigenous housing. 'Access to safe and affordable housing is essential to Closing the Gap', said Ms Waight.   The head of the Coalition of Peaks and National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation's (NACCHO) chief executive, Pat Turner, told reporters she is frustrated that the federal government will end funding of Indigenous housing, leaving a $6 billion gap.   "We have to change the way we are working to improve the life outcomes of our people, and governments must rapidly increase their investment in Aboriginal housing, because the gap can't close without doing that," she said.   Ms Turner said she understands the federal government will withdraw its national funding for Aboriginal Housing, and instead rely on state-based agreements.   "It is just a unilateral decision taken by the government and surely, they can't expect states to pick up a $6 billion backlog that both they and the Commonwealth have been responsible for allowing it to get to that situation."   Ms Turner said the next steps could be the circuit-breaker that is needed. "However, if they view this process as little more than window dressing for the status quo, the cycle of failure evident in today's report is doomed to continue".   The Coalition of Peaks has put forward structural priority reforms to the way governments work with and deliver services to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.   The 2020 Close the Gap report shows mortality rates for Indigenous children under five has widened to more than twice the rate for non-Indigenous children.   According to the report, school attendance rates for Indigenous students have not improved over the past five years, while Indigenous students still trail their non-Indigenous class mates in literacy and numeracy. Reducing the employment gap and improving life expectancy also failed to meet the target.   A new National Agreement on Closing the Gap, which will set out the priorities over the next ten years, is expected to be finalised in April and then will go to COAG for consideration.   Senator for the Northern Territory, Malarndirri McCarthy, said the Coalition needed to connect the dots.   'When we look at policies like the cashless debit card for welfare recipients, which entrenches First Nation people in poverty in this country, then of course we are not going to see the outcomes that we want to see in health, in education, in housing, in life expectancy', she said.   Ms McCarthy also drew a correlation between the Closing the Gap results and the government's decision to pursue a 'voice to government', rather than an Indigenous advisory body entrenched in the constitution. http://bit.ly/39BmaRe   Feb. 2020   It is time governments front up to their failure to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, writes Pat Turner. (NACCHO)   'A core tenant of Australia's modern national identity is belief in a fair go. Yet the promise of a fair go is not a reality for everyone in this country. The difference in the life outcomes of First Nations people compared to the rest of Australia is stark.   There is more than just a gap, it is a chasm, a gaping wound on the soul of our nation. Collectively, we need to call this out, be truthful about the failure of governments and how we got here, so that we can chart a new and honest way forward.   A decade ago, governments committed themselves to closing this gap but year after year the prime minister has stood up in parliament seemingly contented with the reported failures.   Governments have misled the public by painting the lack of progress on the targets as something outside of their control, and not something that is a direct result of their policy failings. Busy talking up the steps they were taking to close the gap, at the same time as ripping funding from dedicated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs and services and silencing our voices.   Isolated case studies of 'success' are used to project a sense of change across the nation, when the reality is that the majority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders continue to experience poor life outcomes and hardship in their daily lives.   It's no wonder then that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have lost faith in the Closing the Gap framework, it has failed to deliver meaningful change and was designed without their formal involvement.   This cycle of failure is toxic. It breeds cynicism and complacency, with nobody wanting to take ownership. Enough is enough. It is time to end the cycle with a serious circuit breaker.   That's why a group of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations came together late in 2018 and wrote to the Prime Minister, Premiers and Chief Ministers, rejecting the so called 'Refresh' and calling for a genuinely new approach. The Council of Australian Governments (COAG) had already started work on a new Closing the Gap framework for the next decade, following the same doomed processes.   A lot of ground has been broken over the past year that can help put this cycle of failure to bed. We have more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australian parliaments than ever before, an Aboriginal Treasurer in Western Australian, Aboriginal Ministers in the Northern Territory; a Federal Aboriginal Minister for Indigenous Australians who is a member of Cabinet; and an Aboriginal Federal Opposition Spokesperson for Indigenous Affairs.   And we finally have a formal structure that puts Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders of community-controlled organisation at the negotiating table with governments on Closing the Gap. A formal partnership agreement was signed by COAG and our group of community-controlled organisations, collectively called the Coalition of Peaks.   This historic partnership gives Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people shared decision-making power with governments to develop, implement, monitor and review Closing the Gap policies for the next ten years.   Never have leaders of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled peak bodies from across the country come together in this way: to bring their collective expertise, experiences and deep understanding of the needs of our people to the task of closing the gap; and never has there been this level of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation in parliaments and government decision making positions.   However, this week is not the week for celebration. Having a position in Cabinet or a seat at the negotiating table is not the end game. We should not be judged on the accumulation of power but how we choose to use that power.   The Coalition of Peaks are living up to their side of the agreement, fiercely representing the views of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people on what is needed to close the gap; and proposing policies that, if fully implemented, will lead to improvements in our people lives.   What we heard overwhelmingly through our comprehensive community engagement process is that structural reform is far more critical than targets. We must ensure the full involvement of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in shared decision-making at national, state, local and regional levels. We must also support Aboriginal and Torres Strait islander people to control and deliver the programs and services our communities need.   And finally, we need Australian governments to contribute through structural changes to mainstream and government-funded services, such as universities, hospitals and policing and courts.   Governments say that they are listening and support the Priority Reforms. But listening is more than a nod of the head, it requires the Priority Reforms to be translated into tangible, properly funded, actions that deliver real benefit to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people no matter where they live.   The current cycle of failure is doomed to continue if this process of engagement and partnership is nothing more than window dressing for the status quo.   The only way outcomes for my people will change is when governments are willing to challenge the structures and assumptions that got us here and embedded the disadvantage of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.   Change is never easy but with the right leadership it is possible. So, if our leaders step up and deliver, we may finally begin a new cycle success and a fair go for First Nations people'.   * Patricia Turner AM, is CEO of NACCHO and Lead Convenor of the Coalition of Peaks   http://www.naccho.org.au/it-is-time-governments-front-up-to-their-failure-to-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people/ http://coalitionofpeaks.org.au/priority-reforms/   * National Agreement on Closing the Gap of Indigenous Disadvantage, between the Coalition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peak Organisations and all Australian Governments (46pp): http://bit.ly/3ko3H2T   Feb. 2019 (Australian Medical Association)   On Feb. 14, the last Closing the Gap report on Aboriginal people in Australia was released. In a feeling of deja vu, the 11th annual report again showed little progress. In 2018, just two of seven targets designed to narrow inequalities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on health, education, and employment were on track.   Ten years after the initiative was launched, life expectancy at birth is 71.6 years for Indigenous men and 75.6 years for Indigenous women, a massive gap of 8.6 years and 7.8 years, respectively, compared with non-Indigenous Australians. The report overall is utterly disappointing.   The response this week by the ruling government includes commitments that should have been made a decade ago: partnerships with Aboriginal groups; a whole of government approach; more accountability and transparency; providing space for Aboriginal voices. Only now has the Government committed to partner with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to develop a strategy.   But broader social changes are also needed, ones that the Australian Medical Association (AMA) has called for. Their latest Indigenous Health Report Card, released Nov 22, 2018, said a complete overhaul of the national strategy was needed to ensure equitable expenditure; better funding and implementation of health plans; increases in primary health care; environmental, housing, and other social dimensions of health inequality are addressed; and Aboriginal health is placed in Aboriginal hands.   The AMA also called out institutional racism as being a main impediment to Aboriginal health. More Indigenous health studies are also needed, as argued in a Comment by Geraint Rogers and colleagues. Without all these elements, poor progress on inequalities in Australia will continue.   On the heels of failure, disappointment must give way to determined resolve. Successive Australian Governments repeated lip service to Aboriginal health is a clear hypocrisy in light of the failings of their Closing the Gap initiative.   Australian people must hold the Government to account for meaningful and dedicated engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and to health for all.   http://ama.com.au/article/2018-ama-report-card-indigenous-health-rebuilding-closing-gap-health-strategy-and-review http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(19)30405-2/fulltext   * The National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) is the peak body representing 143 Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services (ACCHSs) across the country on Aboriginal health and wellbeing issues   http://www.naccho.org.au/garma-2019-pat-turner-presentation/ http://nacchocommunique.com/2019/08/05/naccho-aboriginal-health-closingthegap-read-ceo-pat-turners-and-download-kenwyattmp-speeches-from-the-garma2019-voice-workshop-and-watch-thedrum-interview/ http://nacchocommunique.com/2019/06/19/naccho-aboriginal-health-and-lowitjaconf2019-speech-donnella-mills-acting-chair-naccho-and-john-paterson-ceo-amsant-presents-the-coalition-of-acco-peaks-on-closingthegap/ http://nacchocommunique.com/2019/05/21/nacchos-10-policy-proposals-for-aboriginal-health-voteaccho-acting-nacchochair-donnella-mills-encourages-the-scottmorrisonmp-government-to-seize-the-moment-and-make-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-i/ Visit the related web page
	Vermont and Maine are ditching Columbus Day for Indigenous Peoples Day by Indian Country Today, agencies USA   Apr. 2019   Two more states, Vermont and Maine are ditching Columbus Day for Indigenous Peoples Day   Two state governors, Gov. Phil Scott in Vermont, and Gov. Janet Mills in Maine are poised to sign two sets of approved state legislation into law, recognizing Indigenous Peoples Day as a replacement for Columbus Day on the second Monday each October.   The legislative move follows a series of acknowledgments over the years as former Vermont Gov. Shumlin had signed an executive proclamation to change the federal holiday in 2016, and the present Governor Phill Scott had issued further proclamations in 2017 and 2018. Gov. Mills in Maine has previously said she would sign the legislation after the Democratic governor took office replacing former Republican Paul LaPage. Republican lawmakers in the state of Maine have continued to oppose changing the holiday.   Rich Holschuh, who serves on the Vermont Commission on Native American Affairs, wrote to Indian Country Today in an email regarding the Vermont legislature that passed Senate bill S.68 "An act relating to Indigenous Peoples Day" on April 17, 2019.   'This group effort by activists, advocates, State Senators and Representatives (notably Sen. Debbie Ingram and the tireless Rep. Brian Cina), allies, and citizens culminates a multi-attempt, multi-year effort to effect this highly significant change', wrote Holschuh.   'Vermont has a reputation of being a socially-progressive state, but in some respects, it has been reluctant to admit the need for change; this has been one of them. Native presence in New England has, for the most part, been actively attacked, dispelled, or dismissed for much longer than in the balance of the continent, a direct result of the assault of colonization beginning significantly earlier here. There are even Native folks further west who are under the impression that there are "no Indians" left in the vicinity'.   Holschuch applauded the efforts of his former state Gov. Shumlin who had recognized Indigenous Peoples Day in former years. 'Three years ago, then Governor Peter Shumlin, who had presided over the initial Abenaki Recognitions of 2011 and 2012, issued an Executive Proclamation for Indigenous Peoples Day at my request. His successor, current Vermont Governor Phil Scott, issued identical Executive Proclamations in the past two years in 2017 and 2018, again at my request. Building on those actions, the legislation of S.68 passed this week will now make this a permanent, statewide recognition and celebration'.   Vermont State Senator Debbie Ingram wrote, 'So happy this has passed both chambers! And proud to be the lead sponsor of this step to right, or at least acknowledge, the many wrongs perpetrated on our Native American brothers & sisters'.   http://www.splcenter.org/news/2019/10/12/weekend-read-monday-observe-indigenous-peoples-day http://theconversation.com/why-more-places-are-abandoning-columbus-day-in-favor-of-indigenous-peoples-day-124481   Jan. 2019 (Reuters)   Indigenous people from across the globe gathered in the U.S. capital this week for a march drawing attention to social and environmental injustices against indigenous communities worldwide, in what organizers said was a first-ever event.   Up to 2.5 billion people depend on indigenous and community lands, which make up more than half of all land globally, but they legally own just 10 percent. Campaigners say native groups are struggling with encroachment by governments and logging, mining and agribusiness companies.   "We are here in support of the aims of indigenous peoples across the world that is, for our safety, health, the protection of our families and our water, for the protection of our lives," Rufus Kelly, of the Nottoway Tribe in Virginia, said.   "And we want to make sure that people know we have not gone anywhere.. that we are still here. We're not extinct. We're right here among you, and we want to share that with you."   Parallel events took place in other U.S. cities and abroad, said Jesse Phelps of the Lakota People's Law Project, saying the D.C. march was a "big step toward the unification and amplification" of indigenous voices.   The march stems from a months-long 2016-17 protest between the U.S. government and the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe over plans for an oil pipeline to cross Sioux lands in North Dakota, said co-organizer Nathalie Farfan, noting that one of Donald Trump's first moves as president was to approve construction on the project.   "Standing Rock was a traumatic situation, but that was also the first time we saw allies come from all over to help out," Farfan said.   That type of solidarity-building has been taking place across the globe, according to Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, the United Nations top expert on the rights of indigenous peoples, who said she "fully supports" the marches.   "Indigenous peoples in almost all parts of the world are still suffering from racism and discrimination and gross violations of their human rights, but their persistence in strengthening their movements and communities enabled some of them to succeed in protecting their lands and territories from environmental destruction".   http://newsmaven.io/indiancountrytoday/ http://nativenewsonline.net/ http://www.hcn.org/topics/indigenous-affairs http://www.iitc.org/ http://visionmakermedia.org/environment-is-sacred/ http://bioneers.org/indigeneity-program/ http://www.americanindianmagazine.org/ http://americanindian.si.edu/nk360 http://guides.loc.gov/native-americans-rare-materials/resources http://www.narf.org/category/indian-lands/ http://nativegov.org/resources/ http://www.ncai.org/tribal-directory/tribal-organizations http://www.ncai.org/tribal-directory http://around.uoregon.edu/content/historian-examines-native-american-genocide-its-legacy-and-survivors http://www.ohs.org/events/surviving-genocide.cfm http://bit.ly/3jYaIpR http://bit.ly/3lXqowa http://www.nativeamericanbar.org/news-articles/ Visit the related web page
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