‘We’re also healers’: Elders leading the way in Aboriginal community healing.

BACKGROUND: The impact of colonisation, dispossession and marginalisation on the health of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander peoples (hereafter respectfully referred to as Aboriginal people) is well documented. Aboriginal people continue to practice traditional healing, and in recent years have initiated numerous community-based healing programs around Australia. The Closing the Gap policy has also resulted in numerous community health programs. Despite these program and policy responses, Aboriginal people continue to experience persistent health disparities. The role of Aboriginal Elders in shaping Aboriginal health has yet to be a focus of research attention. This paper reports on a study that examined the contributions of Elders to the healing of Aboriginal people in a remote Tasmanian community. METHODS: Our co-designed participatory action research methodology was undertaken with eight community Elders. RESULTS: Analysis of qualitative data derived through interviews and yarning circle discussions revealed an emerging theme of community healing; with Elders undertaking a suite of therapeutic practices, and promoting cultural values to strengthen Aboriginal identity, community cohesion and connections to Country. The Elders identified healing as an essential process in response to intergenerational trauma, racism and marginalisation. CONCLUSIONS: The findings inform policy stakeholders to consider the wisdom and voice of Elders in addressing Aboriginal community healing.

Aboriginal Women Learning on Country: Lessons for Educators.

Introduction: This paper details the journey of eight Aboriginal women from Circular Head, a rural and remote area of North-West Tasmania, as they undertook an innovative 2-year program of tertiary studies in dementia to address a documented community need. The Chief Executive Officer of the Circular Head Aboriginal Corporation (CHAC) had identified difficulties being experienced by older members of the community. These difficulties included changes in behavior, memory, and communication, with profound consequences on social engagement and care needs from both individual and community perspectives. The community wished to know if a combined vocational and university program, completed on Country and in community, could serve as a culturally safe education pathway to empower Aboriginal members of a rural and remote area in providing community health and dementia education and care. Methods: The nationally funded program included a year-long face-to-face vocational Certificate III in Individual Support (Aging, Home, and Community) on Country, including within-community experience with adults with dementia. This face-to-face learning was combined with online study in the award-winning Bachelor of Dementia care offered by the University of Tasmania. Students received a PhD level stipend to support them in their studies and were guided by an Elder from their community. Results: All students completed their Certificate III. The number of units they completed toward the eight required for their Diploma of Dementia Care varied. Emergent themes from students' reflections were holistic and relational, highlighting achievements and challenges, the importance of on Country individual connections and community support, and the value of their current and future contributions to the community. Data from this mixed methods approach documented the impact of the innovative coupling of authentic, culturally appropriate experiential learning with broad and deep academic knowledge about dementia and evidence-based care. Conclusions: This program provided students with a work-related qualification embedded within a university education and increased the capacity and capability of this Aboriginal community to provide care for its members with dementia, a documented concern. The combination of vocational learning on Country with online university study established a pathway to improve students' access to and success in higher education and the professional workforce. This assisted in counteracting the negative influences of racism, stigma, rurality, and socio-economic marginalization on educational opportunity for Aboriginal people. Data showed the need for flexibility with this learning journey, and the strengths and resilience of these women as they learned.

Closing the Gap in Aboriginal health disparities: is there a place for Elders in the neoliberal agenda?

Objective In light of concerns surrounding neoliberal government approaches to addressing Aboriginal disadvantage, this project examined how Elders consider the Closing the Gap programs for improving community health outcomes. Methods A participatory action research project was undertaken in collaboration with eight Elders from a remote Aboriginal community in Australia's island state of Tasmania. The findings emerged from thematic analysis of individual interviews and yarning circles. Results The Closing the Gap programs were seen by Elders as having instrumental value for addressing Aboriginal community disadvantage. However, the programs also represented a source of ongoing dependency that threatened to undermine the community's autonomy, self-determination and cultural foundations. The findings emerged to represent Elders attempting to reconcile this tension by embedding the programs with cultural values or promoting culture separately from the programs. Ultimately, the Elders saw culture as the core business of community well-being and effective program delivery. Conclusion The findings are reflective of tensions that arise when neoliberal policies are imposed on Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing. The Elders premised cultural well-being as the key determinant of Aboriginal community health. What is known about the topic? Closing the Gap represents successive neoliberal policy responses of Australian governments to address ongoing Aboriginal disadvantage. What does this paper add? Closing the Gap programs were recognised by Aboriginal Elders for providing the community with improved services, but also a threat to the community's cultural foundations and self-determination. The findings illustrate ongoing tensions between neoliberal principles and Aboriginal cultural values. What are the implications for practitioners? More effective Closing the Gap approaches require greater collaboration between policy stakeholders and community Elders.

'It all comes back to community!': A qualitative study of Aboriginal Elders promoting cultural well-being.

OBJECTIVE: To examine Australian Aboriginal Elders' (Elders) views on their contributions to and their potential to contribute to the well-being of their community. DESIGN: Participatory action research methodology was employed. Data collection methods included yarning interviews and group circle discussions. Data were thematically analysed. SETTING: The project was undertaken in collaboration with Elders from a discrete Aboriginal community in rural/remote Tasmania, an island state in southern Australia. PARTICIPANTS: Twelve Aboriginal community Elders. INTERVENTION: N/A. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: N/A. RESULTS: Elders were promoting cultural well-being through interconnected themes of mentoring, cultural healing and seeking balance between health services and the community's cultural foundation. Cultural values, identity, community cohesion and connections to country were further embedded in these themes. CONCLUSION: The study findings draw attention to the age-old wisdom of Aboriginal Elders, who actively promote cultural well-being as a main determinant of community health.