In yesterday’s posting, I referred to a blog by American paleoanthropologist Hank Wesselman, who was really inspired and moved by Aboriginal Elder Miriam Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann. Here is Miriam on film talking about ‘dadirri’.
Aboriginal Healing, Sharing Culture
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"What I want to talk about is another special quality of my people. I believe it is the most important. It is our most unique gift. It is perhaps the greatest gift we can give to our fellow Australians. In our language, this quality is called ‘dadirri’."
In yesterday’s posting, I referred to a blog by American paleoanthropologist Hank Wesselman, who was really inspired and moved by Aboriginal Elder Miriam Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann. Here is Miriam on film talking about ‘dadirri’.
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I was reading an interesting blog on the Shared Wisdom website, written by Hank Wesselman, an American research paleoanthropologist. Hank had come across Australian Aboriginal elder Miriam Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann and was really impressed by what she had to say. Hank’s whole blog is worth reading, but I’ve included one section here that really moved me: 'The traditional Aboriginals are not 'goal oriented' in the same way that we Westerners are programmed to be from childhood, nor do they attempt 'to push the river' which they know with absolute certainty is an exercise in absolute futility. In Miriam Rose's words: "We are like the tree standing in the middle of a bushfire sweeping through the timber. The leaves are scorched and the tough bark is scarred and burnt, but inside the tree, the sap is still flowing and under the ground, the roots are still strong. Like the tree, we have endured the flames and yet we still have the power to be reborn." After more than 200 years of assimilationist practices inflicted upon them by church and state alike, the Australian Aboriginals are still here. They are used to the ongoing struggle and to the long waiting. In this sense, they still wait for the white people to understand them better. They have spent many generations learning about Western ways. They have learned to speak our language and have listened to what we have to say. Yet they continue to wait for us to come closer to them. They long for those things they have always hoped for - respect and understanding. In Miriam Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann's words: "We know that our white brothers and sisters carry their own particular burdens. We carry burdens as well. Yet I believe that if they let us come to them, if they would open up their minds and hearts to us and hear what we have to say, we might lighten their burdens. There is a struggle for all of us, but we, unlike them, have not lost our spirit of dadirri." She concludes her message by observing "I believe that the spirit of dadirri that we have to offer to the world will help you Westerners to blossom and grow, not just within yourselves, but within your nation as well... "There are deep springs within each of us and within them, there is a sound—the sound of the deep calling to the deep. The time for rebirth is now. If our culture and your culture are alive and well, as well as strong and respected, they will grow. In such a case, our culture will not die, nor will yours, and our spirits will not be lost. We will continue, together, as this was always meant to be."' Please let me know what you think, either here or on our Facebook page. I received a nice reply to a message I sent Don Coyhis, a person I hold in high regard. I sent Don details of our website and blog and he replied: “Good evening... thank you for including us in your work. it seems we indigenous people have so much in common with this intergenerational trauma imposed upon us. So glad we are exchanging information… we can help one another heal our people.” So who is Don Coyhis you might be thinking? Here’s a short bio: ‘Don Coyhis is a member of the Mohican Nation from the Stockbridge Munsee Reservation in Wisconsin. He currently lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He is the founder and president of White Bison, Inc., an American Indian non-profit corporation that has the following vision: 100 Native American communities in healing. White Bison, Inc is dedicated to developing culturally relevant treatment, prevention, and recovery materials to support the Wellbriety Movement. The Wellbriety Movement is an effort to create the opportunity for individuals, families, communities and nations to live sober and balanced lives; healthy lives that are balanced emotionally, mentally, physically, and spiritually.’ You can find out more about The Wellbriety Movement on our website. We also have extracts from an interview of Don by leading American recovery advocate Bill White. Here is a taster from that interview: "Suppose you have 100 acres full of sick trees who want to get well. If each sick tree leaves the forest to find wellness and then returns to the forest, they get sick again from the infection of the rest of the trees. The Elders taught us that to treat the sick trees you must treat the whole forest - you must create a healing forest. If not, the trees will just keep getting sick again." Time for some more from Indigenous Hip Hop Projects.
IHHP artists in partnership with Central & North West Queensland Medicare Local, "Kalngkurr" Mornington Island Wellbeing Centre, and Mirndiyan Gununa, worked alongside the talented youth and elders from Mornington Island community, to create this health promotion music video "Strong Mind, Strong Spirit". The song talks about health issues around social and emotional well being, depression, stress and anxiety. I am thrilled to report that my posting on Facebook yesterday about Judy Atkinson’s book broke our record for the most views – 875 and still counting. I therefore thought I’d start blogging abut some of the things you can read in Judy’s book, to encourage you to purchase it. First, my brief description of the nature of historical trauma. You can read more here. 'Historical trauma has arisen amongst Aboriginal people as a result of the historical experiences of colonisation (and associated violence and control), forcible removal of children, and loss of culture. The trauma and grief arising from these events were not resolved at the time, but passed down the generations so that it impacts on Aboriginal people, their families and their communities even today. This trauma has been worsened by bureaucratic interventions that have created an increasing dependency on the state, intensifying feelings of victimisation and enforcing the beliefs of being powerless to change destructive circumstances.' And here are a series of quotes from Judy about the impact of historical trauma, all worth reflecting upon: “Trauma leads to fragmented and fractured identities that in turn contribute to the escalation of violence between people. The future feels meaningless, and people articulate their felt sense of powerlessness and lack of life purpose in violent acts on themselves and others. Relationships are destroyed and communities fragment. These problems cascade down the generations, growing more complex over time.” “The psycho-social dominance, or cultural genocide, by non-Aboriginals is considered by Aboriginal people to be the greatest violence, the violence that brings the loss of spirit, the destruction of self, of the soul. Cultural or spiritual genocide occurs when oppressors believe that the oppressed are non-persons, with no culture of identity as human beings, or with a culture and identity that is inferior. They deny the oppressed the right to a separate identity as a groups or as individuals within the group.” “By defining Aboriginal people as non-persons and to continue to do so across the colonising histories, the oppressors justified their behaviours, and in turn, the oppressed came to believe this about themselves. It was this belief that enabled author-ities to remove Aboriginal children from their families, among many dehumanising and oppressive acts.” “The bureaucratic interventions of the state - the processes of law, social welfare, and health care - have not addressed the core issue of human traumatisation. These issues, in many cases, compounded the trauma by creating and increasing dependency on the state, which, while intensifying the feelings of victimisation, also enforces the beliefs of being powerless to change destructive circumstances.” “Traumatisation leads to feelings of deep anger or rage. For Aboriginal people growing up in environments where there are multiple violations, this anger has no safe outlet (it can only be worked on and resolved in a safe environment) and is therefore stored in the body for expression under duress. This invariably occurs in unstructured and explosive violence (often towards people known by the perpetrator), aided by alcohol.” Here's the book that really inspired me and helped me understand the nature of historical impact (and its consequences) and how it can be healed. This book is essential reading and well worth purchasing. Here’s what that the back cover reads: ‘Providing a startling answer to how to the questions of how to solve the problems of generational trauma, Trauma Trails moves beyond the rhetoric of victimhood, and provides inspiration for anyone conceded with Indigenous and Non-Indigenous communities today. Beginning with the issues of colonial dispossession, Judy Atkinson also sensitively deals with the trauma caused by abuse, alcoholism and drug dependency. Then, through the use of a culturally appropriate research approach called Dadirri: listening to one another, Judy presents and analyses the stories of a number of Indigenous people. From these "stories of pain, stories of healing", she is able to point both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous readers in the direction of change and healing.’ ‘Emeritus Professor Judy Atkinson is a Jiman - Aboriginal Australian (from Central west Queensland) / Bundjalung (Northern New South Wales) woman, who also has Anglo-Celtic, and German heritage. Her primary academic and research focus has been in the area of violence, with its relational trauma, and healing or recovery for Indigenous, and indeed all peoples. In 2006, while Head of the College of Indigenous Australian Peoples at Southern Cross University, she won the Carrick Neville Bonner Award for her curriculum development and innovative teaching practice. In 2011 she was awarded the Fritz Redlich Memorial award for Human Rights and Mental Health from the Harvard University Program for Refugee Trauma. ‘ ‘A healed and healthy country: understanding healing for Indigenous Australians’ by Tamara Mackean3/2/2014 Yesterday, I blogged about a description of healing by Professor Helen Milroy. This wonderful description of healing was also included in the article below which appeared in the Medical Journal of Australia, but here I focus on the rest of the article. ‘The Apology by the Prime Minister to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples of Australia in February 2008 was the first step in a significant healing journey. Importantly, it was the commencement of a healing process rather than an end in itself. The Apology created a climate of hope and a sense that the government may be open to taking a different approach to Indigenous health and Indigenous affairs generally. This year, the Prime Minister marked the first anniversary of the Apology by announcing the establishment of a Healing Foundation to address trauma and healing in Indigenous communities. It is therefore timely to generate wide-ranging discourse about healing and what it means for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. A healing journey will not only deliver better lives for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but is essential for the wellbeing of Australia as a nation. Healing means different things to different people. Within medical science, healing has specific meanings related to the pathophysiology of wound closure, organ repair and system function. The process of cell turnover occurs in the body to ensure health through the renewing of red blood cells, the sloughing and replacement of various epithelia, and bone remodelling. Throughout our daily work as doctors, we see the body’s “enthusiasm for life”. For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander doctors, healing goes beyond treating the disease. It is about working towards reclaiming a sense of balance and harmony in the physical, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual lives of our people, and practising our profession in a manner that upholds these multiple dimensions of Indigenous health. In essence, it is “Moving forward in our journey with hope for the future, with renewed energy, strength and enthusiasm for life.” Specific and holistic concepts of healing are not dissimilar, however, particularly if the foundational concept is that of “renewal”. Healing needs to occur at various levels - from cells, organs and systems to individuals, families and communities. A number of different modalities may be used to ensure healing is meaningful to different people and different communities. For example, this could mean Western-trained doctors working alongside Ngangkaris (traditional healers from Central Australia) to deliver an optimal health service that facilitates physical repair, psychological buffering, social nurturing, cultural reclamation and spiritual maintenance. Indigenous healing services need to be culturally meaningful and must focus on why people are at risk of succumbing to physical disease and to using drugs and alcohol, as well as the ways in which restoring cultural norms and repairing the social fabric can mitigate these negative disruptions. Health professionals must be culturally competent and need to understand the cultural and spiritual elements of health. The national effort to improve the health of Indigenous Australians is vital and must continue apace, with the driving principle of a holistic view of Indigenous health as being: Not just the physical well-being of the individual but the social, emotional, and cultural well-being of the whole community. This is a whole-of-life view and it also includes the cyclical concept of life-death-life. Having a state of health (however defined) assumes an individual has access to all levels of health care services and is able to negotiate the health system successfully. It also assumes access to nutritious food; the ability to have a good night’s sleep and feel safe; the capacity for motivation and the facility to undertake regular exercise or recreation; and the presence of sound relationships with family, community and society. It assumes that an individual is protected by reasonable health infrastructure. Many of these issues have been tackled in recent health reviews and initiatives, Council of Australian Governments announcements, and the national effort to “close the gap” in life expectancy. These initiatives are to be applauded, although they are well overdue. If implemented effectively, they can go some way towards healing. These efforts need to occur in parallel with a national discussion on the issues that are a little more confronting and yet are known to have an impact on health, such as the effects of cultural dislocation, dispossession, loss of autonomy, social exclusion, racism, and marginalisation. Unless Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are able to take action to restore balance to their lives and to experience the strength that comes from regaining that balance — and unless the rest of society facilitates, supports and nurtures this action — we will be forever addressing the symptoms rather than the root causes. Until these issues can be resolved, healing cannot occur at a community level or at a national level. How can the medical profession further contribute to Australia becoming a healed nation? As a collective, we can promote understanding of the multiple determinants of Indigenous health - the physical, psychological, social, cultural and spiritual aspects of wellbeing; ensure this understanding informs clinical interactions as well as policy and resource allocation; advocate for and practise culturally appropriate health service provision across the care spectrum; encourage sectors such as housing, education and justice to work with the health sector to create reform; and advance an appreciation of the healing strengths of reconnecting with family, culture and Country. Clearly healing is a complex issue, and I hope this article raises questions and possibilities as to how healing might occur, and helps to explore the frameworks within which it can occur. The fundamental aim of healing is to provide a better future for our children and to create a world in which Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and culture thrive. As a profession working towards this end, we can truly show leadership in guiding change and generating a sustainable vision of health for all Australians into the future.’ Wonderful article Tamara, thank you for your insights! I came across a beautiful description of healing in the Forward of the fascinating book Traditional Healers of Central Australia: Ngangkari. I quote this description here, although I have altered the paragraphs ‘Healing is part of life and continues through death and into life again. It occurs throughout a person’s life journey as well as across generations. It can be experienced in many forms such as mending a wound or recovery from illness. Mostly, however, it is about renewal. Leaving behind those things that have wounded us and caused us pain. Moving forward in our journey with hope for the future, with renewed energy, strength and enthusiasm for life. Healing gives us back to ourselves. Not to hide or fight anymore. But to sit still, calm our minds, listen to the universe and allow our spirits to dance on the wind. It lets us enjoy the sunshine and be bathed by the golden glow of the moon as we drift into our dreamtime. Healing ultimately gives us back to our country. To stand once again in our rightful place, eternal and generational. Healing is not just about recovering what has been lost or repairing what has been broken. It is about embracing our life force to create a new and vibrant fabric that keeps us grounded and connected, wraps us in warmth and love and gives us the joy of seeing what we have created. Healing keeps us strong and gentle at the same time. It gives us balance and harmony, a place of triumph and sanctuary for evermore.’ Professor Helen Milroy, Aboriginal Child Psychiatrist and Australia’s first Aboriginal doctor, 2009 |
AuthorProfessor David Clark is Founder of the Sharing Culture initiative. Archives
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