Jimmy Little Essay

Indigenous Australian people have a high prevalence of chronic illnesses such as diabetes, kidney ill-health and heart conditions. It is believed that around 9 in 10 Indigenous Australians have alarming symptoms of kidney disease, 1 in 10 suffer from cardiovascular disease and Indigenous Australians are eight times more likely to have diabetes that other Australian personnel (AIHW, 2015). In this narrative, I will specifically explore the life of famous Australian Indigenous musician, actor and advocate, Jimmy Little who was diagnosed with a chronic kidney disease, type 2 diabetes and suffered from a heart condition contributing to the forming of his Foundation and support for good health, lifestyle for Indigenous Australians as well as abolish

racism towards them.

Jimmy’s story captured my attention as it illustrates a peaceful life embellished with joy, music and crafts representing the best of Indigenous culture despite suffering serious ongoing health problems till his death in 2012. He used his talent and experiences to reach out to his fellow Indigenous people in a quest to emphasize the alarming health issues and lack of health delivery to the Indigenous Australian community.

Jimmy Little was born on the 1st of March in 1937 in the Cummeragunja Mission located in New South Wales.

He originates from the native Yorta Yorta people, who were traditionally settled between the junction of Goldburn and Murray River in Victoria (JLF, 2010). A defining observation of how Jimmy’s parents heavily influenced his love for music, arts and how he paved his life. His father, Jimmy Little Snr, was a musician, comedian and tap dancer while Frances, his mother was a singer and yodeller. Frances and Jimmy Little Snr became involved in a troupe and soon married. Although they were from different tribes; they married with love and their connection with music. The influence of Jimmy’s parents on his life shone when he also married a fellow singer, Marjorie Rose Peters in his late 20s, in the year

1958.

At an early age of 13, Jimmy was handed a guitar and began playing at local concerts at his leisure time.

By age 16, he was already set to travel to Sydney to perform on a radio programme to broaden his opportunities in the music industry. By 1955 he left Cummeragunja Mission to tackle his country music career, which he proclaims to be influenced by Nat King Cole and Jim Reeves (JLF, 2010). With the decision to permanently leave his home town for Sydney; he thrived for success and scored a record signing in 1956 with Regal Zonophone Records – which was a subsidiary of Warner Bros Music and released his first single “Mystery of Life.” In 1958, he married Frances Claire who was a colleague at the time. Not long after, they had a daughter; who inspired a single sung by both Jimmy and Frances Claire. As the years went by, Jimmy progressed rapidly within the Australian music scene as well as an actor. Late 1960 is when he debuted his acting career after he released another single named “El Paso” which reached the top 20 on the Sydney charts. With his acting, he took on roles that illustrated the racism, non-acceptance and struggles of Indigenous Australians. This is clearly illustrated in the film “Shadow of the Boomerang,” where he is constantly ridiculed while at work by his white compatriot because of the color of his skin. It is believed that the disadvantage suffered by Indigenous peoples is associated with both historical and contemporary racism, colonisation and

oppression (Paradies, Harris and Anderson, 2008).

With all the success, came some negative reinforcements when Jimmy discovered he had lingering health issues that could cause serious damage to him. Jimmy Little experienced first-hand the painful realisation of chronic illness when he was diagnosed with chronic kidney failure, followed by heart condition and type-2 diabetes. This was through a bad diet consisting of sugar and non-nutritious food, constant drinking and lack of activity. Indigenous Australians have significantly higher figures in the very same chronic illnesses. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW, 2011) reports that early kidney damage is very rampant in the Indigenous Australian community as the smoking, drinking and binge eating culture elopes into the young Indigenous children. It is also reported that diabetes was responsible for 1 in 12 deaths of Indigenous people living in the metropolitan area (ABS, 2013.)

2004 is the year Jimmy finally received a lifesaving kidney transplant, after two years of self-administering of dialysis. With this experience making a mark on Jimmy’s world; he decided to use his experience to administer help, guide and educate Indigenous Australians to what lifestyle they should live. Jimmy’s concern lay mainly on the fact of how Indigenous Australians do not have access to adequate health delivery and were only provided basic consultations instead of proper medical procedures especially for serious illnesses. National and international reports have shown the strong link between racism and poor public health delivery, although there is little research on this topic within Australia itself (Paradies, Harris and Anderson, 2008).

Jimmy Little was a true pioneer in the Australian music industry; portraying his talents as a celebration of Indigenous Australian culture. His Foundation is a benchmark of promoting good diet and health within Indigenous Australians while celebrating their unique culture and tradition. Chronic illnesses within Indigenous Australians are still very prevalent – with Jimmy suffering from several of them throughout his life, but with the mark that Jimmy Little has left, his music, culture and belief in the Indigenous Australian people still breathes through his foundation.