There is no arguing the fact that the socialization of people belonging to minorities occurs differently than that of their more privileged peers. It is also true for Aboriginal youth, as discussed in the paper Aboriginal Youth: Risk and Resilience by Paula Du Hamel (2003). The author believes that the investigation of different aspects – environmental, economic, educational, and psychosocial – and their effects on the socialization of Aboriginal youth can help build a strategy for improving their resiliency. Personally, I think that such an approach is the only correct one and will bring desirable outcomes due to the complexity of the issue. Aboriginal people’s lifestyle and worldview differ significantly from Western people’s ones that to understand their struggles have to explore the multitude of influences Natives face.
One thing that has particularly struck me while reading the paper is that many of these influences can be easily tracked. For instance, Du Hamel (2003) notes that Aboriginal people are visual learners due to the values of visual ways of cognition being historically integral to Native cultures. Consequently, the failures of some Aboriginal youth within the modern Western educational system can be at least in part explained by this system being unprepared to meet the needs of diverse populations. I believe that, for it to be changed, a set of visual teaching-and-learning methods is to be implemented into the educatory process, which, in addition to being beneficial to Natives, might be advantageous to all learners. In conclusion, more research focusing on strategies to reduce risks and develop resiliency for Aboriginal youth will help make their lives easier.
Reference
Du Hamel, P. (2003). Aboriginal youth: Risk and resilience. Native Social Work Journal, 5, 213-224.