The identification of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in official statistics and other data: Critical issues of international significance

Griffiths, Kalinda; Coleman, Clare; Al-Yaman, Fadwa; Cunningham, Joan; Garvey, Gail; Whop, Lisa J.; Pulver, Lisa Jackson; Ring, Ian; Madden, Richard

doi:10.3233/sji-180491

Cited by 45 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…However, even the right for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to be counted only arose through the moral imperative of non‐Indigenous Australians. Those using data pertaining to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people require an understanding that the recognition of Indigeneity within data has historically been granted by governments 13 . Moreover, these data have been used to describe the state of affairs for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people through a Western lens, often without the inclusion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices, resulting in the ongoing legacy of negative reporting and stereotyping.…”

Section: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring health disparities in Australia: Using data to drive health promotion solutions

Griffiths

Smith

2020

Health Prom J of Aust

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Section: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Datamentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring health disparities in Australia: Using data to drive health promotion solutions

Griffiths

Smith

2020

Health Prom J of Aust

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“…Because there are different standard ways of measuring, we agree that at least when practices, for example, rely on self-identification, that selfidentification can be the most reasonable definition to use. As Connolly et al [5] and Griffiths et al [6] write, whether or not self-identification is informative depends on the purpose of data collection.…”

Section: Definitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In diverse cohorts, this requires consideration of how to best represent phenomenon of interest. Procedures for formally including and deciding what to measure in official statistics is typically granted within existing Western forms of governance and reporting processes [6]. Exclusion or irregular inclusion in representation of data sets purported to describe national populations present problems to understand epidemiology or health data reports where comparisons and resource allocation typically use a reliable denominator [1,7].…”

Section: What To Measurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Data about identity vary over time [1,[4][5][6] because definitions and participation have varied. This makes it difficult, for example, to compare US Census data on American Indians before 1960 since it was not a category marker until that time.…”

Section: Comparisonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In what is called a "people first" approach, the needs and preferences of people and communities address data sources, understanding, and response. Australia employs a three phase process to identify as aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders: descent, self-identity and recognition by the community [6].…”

Section: Comparisonsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Indigenous identity: Summary and future directions

Jacobs¹

2019

SJI

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Indigenous people are distinct groups where a larger population grown up around their original place exerts political dominion over the original people. Statistical measures formulated as data are foundational to public decision making. In this journal issue on Indigenous identity, historic and contemporary circumstances reveal how measurement and lived experience translates into data. Examples represent global Indigenous diversity. Key themes examined are 1) operational definitions 2) why selecting what to measure and how to measure is relevant to Indigenous meaning as well as to serve with reasonable utility as subgroup data 3) invisibility as a common problem for Indigenous people consequent to insufficient measurement methods and political inaction 4) how to understand data comparison and 5) the ways in which political recognition and rights are embedded in measurement strategy. Identity rooted in a place shaped Indigenous culture just as evolutionary biology shaped Indigenous people's physical traits. Accordingly, Indigenous identity involves land claims, jurisdictional reach, and restitution. Agreements and tensions affect individuals. Therefore, Indigenous identity is individual and collective. Some governments recognize Indigenous communities with different legal instruments and engage Indigenous in varying degrees with a government to government approach. Other governments impose definitions and data frameworks from the state on to its Indigenous population. The UN Declaration supports Indigenous people self-determination across a range of domains but most particularly about inclusion and exclusion criteria for belonging to a group. There are different ways inclusion or membership is assessed by an Indigenous group, however, all use some measure to ascertain ancestry. Unique to this collection of papers, is the predominance of people who belong to Indigenous communities and those who have worked within our communities over time which we propose is the best step to achieve useful Indigenous data.

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