Death of Australian Musician Dr Yunupingu

[mike carey]

Much of Australia has been rocked by the death of prominent indigenous musician Dr G Yunupingu. His death from liver and kidney disease complications at 46 has highlighted the differences in health outcomes between indigenous and other Australians, but that is as nothing for the loss of his musical talent. To listen to him sing is transcendent. He sings in language, but that most Australians don't understand what he is saying makes no difference.

 

 

 

Indigenous Australians do not use the names or images of deceased people, so he is being referred to as I have done rather than by his name as appears on the videos. The National Portrait Gallery has taken down his portrait and removed images of it from their website. (As can be seen in the videos he was blind and had been since birth, and yes he was left-handed and played the guitar upside down.)

[Beancounter]

Thanks for posting this, Mike. Off and on during my life I've followed the problems of the native indigenous people of Australia. It's fascinating to me and in many ways parallels the Native American experience here in the States. Two things you mention in your post were his death at a very young age and the different health outcomes between indigenous and other Australian peoples. Could you explain a bit in more detail? I think I understand what you're implying but I thought it would be better to hear it from the horse's mouth.

[mike carey]

Beancounter, it came up as part of the conversation today. It wasn't in any way an accusation that this man's death was as a result of unequal treatment, just a correlation between his death at such a young age and the problems that there are in indigenous health. Aboriginal life expectancy is 10 years lower than the Australian average (and we are in the top two or three in the world for that). The US and Australian experiences have parallels but also differences. We are perhaps more like Canada than the US. In the US, racial issues focus on African-Americans and US first nations people seem to be an afterthought. For us, racism is first and foremost (but not exclusively) about indigenous affairs, and it is a profound problem. We do 'welcome to country' at significant events, the prime minister speaks in language when addressing indigenous issues in Parliament but that is almost window dressing.

 

Health outcomes for indigenous Australians are worse than they are for the rest of us. Many of them live in traditional communities where it is difficult to provide the services, but also where there is chronic underemployment, alcohol and drug abuse and domestic violence. When they are in larger towns and cities they tend to be in disadvantaged areas and employment and drug issues still happen. Indigenous people, wherever they are, face undue attention from law enforcement and when they reach the courts they don't have available the mechanisms that allow other Australians to obtain bail or favourable consideration in sentencing. High incarceration rates (3% of the population, 25% of prison population) also exacerbate health outcomes.

 

Although these are and remain issues for our society, this is a time to mourn the passing of this one man. That his passing gives us pause to consider wider issues is a bonus.

[Beancounter]

Thanks again, Mike, for your wonderfully informative explanation. I didn't mean to imply this gentleman received unequal treatment. Many of the issues you described pertaining to the indigenous Australian people, i.e., alcoholism, access to health care, educational opportunities, discrimination, etc. also apply to Native Americans here as well as African-Americans, pockets of white rural Americans (particularly in the Deep South) and other minority groups.

 

And, you're right. This is a time to honor and recognize Mr. Yunupingu's life and achievements.

[mike carey]

I've heard Bapa played, and in serious current affairs programs, more often today than in years past. And @Beancounter, you didn't imply anything, my comment about unequal treatment was about indigenous people in general.

[Bertster]

Top Stories: Yunupingu chose to leave dialysis knowing he would die, doctor says

http://ab.co/2uZNZSX

 

Yeah the who story is awfully sad. Highlights the debate in a minor sense about what is actually living, as opposed to "living". Apparently he spent his lasted days drinking and physically wasted away. Very sad

[mike carey]

From the Economist:

 

http://www.economist.com/blogs/prospero/2017/07/swan-song?fsrc=scn/tw/te/bl/ed/