Several studies (Clarke 2001; Getty 2010; Koukkanen 2015; Leenaars 2006; Northcott 2012;
Pearson and Helms 2014) have acknowledged that poor conditions in which Indigenous peoples live and the severe cultural changes that they are subjected to have also caused many social problems, such as drugs trading and abuse, alcohol abuse, higher suicide rates and domestic violence. Getty (2010) attributes the existence of social problems in Indigenous communities to spiritual and emotional injuries of the colonial periods which have been transmitted from generation to generation, resulting in trans-generational traumatic stress disorder manifesting its legacy in illness, violence and family disruptions. A study by Pearson and Helms (2014) on Indigenous social entrepreneurship in the Gumatj clan in East Arnhem reveals that the Federal government has been enthusiastic for Indigenous Australians to establish small businesses, and thereby increase their economic independence. These efforts came against a background of very low social indicators of economic health and social well-being, higher unemployment rates and a dependence on public and community welfare payments (Giddy, Lopez and Redman 2009; Pearson and Helms 2014).
Another study by Northcott (2012) confirms the existence of social problems in Indigenous communities by noting that most Indigenous communities consequently report rates of suicide, morbidity, mortality and unemployment that far exceed national averages. In confirmation of this, another study by Leenaars (2006) on suicide among Indigenous peoples found that suicide rates were highest among Indigenous peoples. Leenaars (2006:103) attributed the high suicide rates to ‘social and cultural turmoil created by the policies of colonialism and the difficulties faced ever since by Indigenous peoples in adjusting and integrating into the modern-day societies’. Leenars (2006) and Getty (2010) concur that Indigenous people prior to colonisation were healthy, active, and adaptive people, attuned to the land and they had organised systems of government.
Clarke (2001) asserts that in South East Asia, governments have found Indigenous livelihoods unacceptable because it is difficult to collect taxes, monitor drugs and other smuggling activities in Indigenous communities. Such governments forced the resettlement of Indigenous people on unfertile and unproductive land. This imposed cut-off from their ancestral lands and livelihoods negatively affected Indigenous people, which led to
malnutrition and the outbreak of diseases to which they had not grown resistance. Clarke (2001) alleges that in Thailand, Indigenous peoples were alleged to be involved in the production of opium and heroin. Permanently settling them was done as a way of reducing opium production and the reduction of heroine exports to the West rather than the development of Indigenous people themselves.
Like in most cases of poverty and marginalisation, women and children are the ones who suffer the most. In Indigenous communities, men and women have different gender roles and responsibilities and for that reason they also often have different needs, wants and interests. In traditional times, Indigenous men would generally respect women. However, Indigenous women’s roles have eroded due to the compounding factors of loss of natural resources and depletion of the ecosystems, the transition to a cash economy, changes in local, social and decision-making structures, and their lack of political status within states. Poverty among Indigenous peoples has led male members of the family to move away in search of work, leaving women and children at home. Getty (2010), Anaya (2012) and Koukkanen (2015) resonate on the fact that the effects of the historical colonisation of Indigenous communities manifests in structural weaknesses such as poverty, lack of access to lands and resources and limited access to education and health services. IWGIA (2000), Anaya (2012) and Koukkanen (2015) concur that Indigenous women often bear the excessive brunt of these factors.
Koukkanen (2015:273) further notes that ‘Indigenous women are thus torn between the oppression they share with their men and the violence they experience at the hands of those same men’. Koukkanen (2015) reveals that in Canada it is widely recognised that Aboriginal women experience violence, including spousal abuse, at much higher rates than non-Aboriginal women. The same study also revealed that in Canada, the poverty rate of Aboriginal women is considerably higher than that of non-Aboriginal women, with that of Aboriginal single mothers at 73 percent. Koukkanen (2015)’s study concluded that violence against Indigenous women is prevalent the world over, commonly occurring in disproportionate numbers and in some cases there is no proper documentation of violence in Indigenous communities.
A study done by González-Parra and Simon (2008) analysed whether the private or public sector is able to provide the conditions necessary to mitigate the impoverishment associated with relocation because of induced development in Indigenous communities in the Pehuenche and Ayin Map communities in Chile. The study focussed on the impacts generated by the construction of a hydroelectric dam on the social development, health, and culture of the
Pehuenche Indians in Alto Bío Bío in Chile where the construction of the dam resulted in the relocation of 77 Indigenous families from their ancestral lands. The two communities were resettled on a voluntary basis. They agreed to be resettled because of the benefits which were associated with their resettlement. Their study found that the affected 77 families had better access to better material conditions such as new houses, potable water and better ablution facilities. The improvement in the material condition of the resettled families is very important when considering the quality of life of Indigenous peoples. The study further noted that such improvements will be temporary if they are not accompanied by relevant programs which give the affected Indigenous peoples more control of their lives and their future. The study found that on the negative side the developments in the area had resulted in the growth of social problems such as alcoholism and family disintegration; which led the study to conclude that ‘not all that glitters is gold’. González-Parra and Simon (2008)’s study argues that the development projects did not consider the immaterial aspects of Indigenous people’s livelihoods which include among other factors their greater vulnerability in the newly created spaces, social exclusion, the community’s lack of self-determination, community atomisation, irregular practices of traditional ceremonies, alcoholism, and a feeling of incapacity to thrive after the imposed development changes and the loss of traditional medicinal plants which they used when they fell sick. The way in which development projects were implemented led to the growth of a paternalistic clientilism relationship, which further stifled the community’s self-determination and hence the growth of the dependence syndrome within the community. The study noted that this dependence has increased over time, and many are unable to satisfy their basic needs without assistance.
In the newly resettled communities, the problem of masculine and feminine alcoholism became rife. González-Parra and Simon (2008) attributed the rise in alcoholism to large amounts of free time and the general lack of responsibilities since the company responsible for the resettlement was providing for their upkeep. The problem of alcoholism has not spared the younger generations who have indicated that they cannot imagine their future and do not value education, which has encouraged them to spend their free time drinking alcohol. A separate study by Shantz (2010) found that Indigenous youth in Canada were pressured into activities that place them at high risk.
González-Parra and Simon (2008) conclude that the problem of alcoholism, unemployment, and lack of opportunities has become a vicious circle, which seems difficult to break. Tauli-Corpuz (2010) highlights that the failure of Indigenous communities to transition into the
market economy has resulted in them producing and trading in marijuana, coca and opium as alternative sources of livelihoods. This is common in countries like the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Colombia and Venezuela. Indigenous people go for these illegal livelihoods because they tend to fetch higher prices on the black market. They also take advantage of the inaccessibility of their areas by law enforcement agents to produce and trade in illegal substances. Northcott (2012) attributes the social problems existing in Indigenous communities to the gradual deterioration of Indigenous societies and the lack of recognition of the profound relationship that Indigenous peoples have to their lands, territories and resources.