The theme of this year’s celebration was ‘Because of Her, We Can’ in recognition of the strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island women and through them, the empowerment of younger generations.
Writes Sally Kendall, MBE
Professor of Community Nursing and Public Health, Centre for Health Services Studies
8-15 July was ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’ week in Australia (NAIDOC). NAIDOC was established in 1991 to celebrate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture in Australia after many years, going back to the 1920’s, of naming and re-naming a national organisation that recognises and observes the culture and rights of the indigenous population of Australia. This year, the theme of NAIDOC week was ‘Because of Her, We Can’ in recognition of the strength of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island women and through them, the empowerment of younger generations.
Why am I telling you this and why does it matter? I am fortunate and privileged to hold an Adjunct Professor’s post in Ngangk Yira, the Aboriginal Health Research Centre at Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia. I have been researching and working with the Director, Professor Rhonda Marriott, and the team there since 2013 and have learned so much about Aboriginal history, culture and health and the impact that it has on today’s society in Australia. As part of the University of Kent’s internationalisation agenda, I want to share with you some of my understanding of what it means to be Aboriginal in a colonised country and how that affects the inter-generational experience of families.
Let us first look at some of the facts: the purpose of my visit has been to engage in research that will contribute to the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal women and children in WA. ‘Closing the Gap’ is the policy of Australian government to make a difference to the wide health inequalities that exist between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities. For example, babies born to Indigenous women in WA were more than twice as likely to be of low birth weight than those born to all women in WA (13.6% compared with 6.1%, (Australian Indigenous HealthInfonet). Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) is reported to have a prevalence of 27.6 per 10,000 among Aboriginal communities in WA compared with 1.8 per 10,000 in the general population, 15 times higher. (Bower et al, 2000). Among Indigenous people living in WA, almost two-thirds (65%) reported having experienced low to moderate levels of psychological distress, and 33% reported high to very high levels of psychological distress in the previous 12 months [Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, 2013]. Indigenous people in WA experienced high to very high levels of psychological distress at almost three times the rate reported by non-Indigenous people. These statistics are the tip of an iceberg that lies in the depths of 60,000 years of Aboriginal history and culture, destroyed in two centuries by British colonialism. I was invited to work with Ngangk Yira because they felt my research on parenting and child public health would be helpful in the work towards closing the gap. I have been honoured to be part of this work but it is also a culture shock, difficult and painful work when listening to the lives and experiences of these incredible people and visiting their country. On one of my visits I was taken up to the Pilbara in the north of WA, an area dominated by iron ore mining that was once the country belonging to the Yindjibarndi language group. Mining of iron ore is huge business in WA, it has made Perth into the most expensive Australian city to live in and widened the gap between rich and poor. The mining companies have historically claimed Aboriginal land and people have been displaced and abused in the development of the industry. One woman described seeing the iron coloured water running into the sea as watching her country bleed to death. Roebourne itself was established in 1866 on the Harding River and is characterised by surrounding red rock and bush, a river that was full when I visited due to exceptional rainfall, low rise poor housing, a medical centre, one main shop, a post-office, a cafe and several smaller outlets. There are several local government (Shire) offices and community buildings and also a school. It has its own radio station. The population is almost 100% Aboriginal, apart from some non-indigenous community workers and a small minority of residents. My time there was spent with the women in ‘yarning circles’, this is a way to discuss women’s business through story telling or ‘yarning’. It is not appropriate for men to be part of this and is often led by the female elders of the community.
What is apparent throughout meetings with Aboriginal women is that whilst a 200 year history of displacement, abuse, genocide, removal of children and extreme marginalisation has left deep intergenerational trauma, there is a strong sense of cultural identity, of family and community and of the need to pass on the stories, language and the culture to the next generation. Many of the women of Roebourne are from the Yindjibarndi language group, descended from their ancestors who belonged to the country in the Fortescue River area and were reserved into Roebourne by the white sheep farm and mine owners in 1930’s. They keep their history and culture alive through art, song, stories and careful preservation of cultural knowledge from elders to the next generation. The women spoke of their concerns for their children and their ‘grannies’ (grandchildren) and extended families in relation to the problems of alcohol, early pregnancy, psychological problems after childbirth. There is a great strength within the older women of the community that they want to use productively to improve the health and wellbeing of their community. One elder spoke of the need for more TLC (tender, loving care) within the community, caring for each other more and role modelling this for their children. The research team were there to work with them, to identify issues that were of concern and to support strategies that could be evaluated. However, one of the challenges is that there are quite literally 100’s of programmes available to ‘help’ Aboriginal communities, from many different funding sources often with competing aims. The women are rightly frustrated with having so many programmes and meetings but not seeing direct effects or improvements. It is then a real challenge to researchers not to be just another programme, but to be able to achieve something that has meaning and impact.
The most recent study I have been working on with the team is ‘Birthing on Country’ an NHMRC funded study in which we have explored from the perspectives of both Aboriginal women and health professionals what it means to give birth in WA away from your land of origin, your family ties and cultural identity and how health care environments can be become more culturally secure for Aboriginal women. This has led to powerful data and insights that have been translated into policy recommendations to the WA Government, significantly these recommendations have been developed through participation and co-production with the Aboriginal communities. Women are part of Ngangk Yira, part of the research team and part of the community that has engaged with and directed the research from the inside. And as a result we are hopeful this is not just another project, that future generations of women and children will feel able to access ante-natal and post-natal services, be welcomed into maternity units, give birth in an environment where other Aboriginal women and midwives are present, have no fear that they will be excluded or children taken away and experience health and social outcomes in the months after birth and beyond that their white contemporaries currently enjoy. There is a long way to go, but this gradual process of decolonization of childbirth in WA has revealed the power and strength of women in the community and that ‘Because of Her, We Can’.