An Introduction To Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander .
Healthy Profession.Healthy Australia.An introduction to Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islanderhealth cultural protocols andperspectives
An introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthcultural protocols and perspectivesDisclaimerThe information set out in this publication is current at the date of firstpublication and is intended for use as a guide of a general nature only andmay or may not be relevant to particular patients or circumstances. Noris this publication exhaustive of the subject matter. Persons implementingany recommendations contained in this publication must exercise theirown independent skill or judgement or seek appropriate professionaladvice relevant to their own particular circumstances when so doing.Compliance with any recommendations cannot of itself guaranteedischarge of the duty of care owed to patients and others coming intocontact with the health professional and the premises from which thehealth professional operates.While the text is directed to health professionals possessing appropriatequalifications and skills in ascertaining and discharging their professional(including legal) duties, it is not to be regarded as clinical advice and,in particular, is no substitute for a full examination and consideration ofmedical history in reaching a diagnosis and treatment based on acceptedclinical practices.Accordingly The Royal Australian College of General Practitionersand its employees and agents shall have no liability (including withoutlimitation liability by reason of negligence) to any users of the informationcontained in this publication for any loss or damage (consequentialor otherwise), cost or expense incurred or arising by reason of anyperson using or relying on the information contained in this publicationand whether caused by reason of any error, negligent act, omission ormisrepresentation in the information.Published by:The Royal Australian College of General PractitionersCollege House1 Palmerston CrescentSouth Melbourne, Victoria 3205AustraliaTel 03 8699 0414Fax 03 8699 0400www.racgp.org.auISBN 978-0-86906-332-3Published May 2012 The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners 2012. All rights reserved.
An introduction to Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islanderhealth cultural protocols andperspectives
Healthy Profession.Healthy Australia.The RACGPAn introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural protocols and perspectivesAcknowledgementsThe National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health wouldlike to thank the many people who provided advice and feedback duringthe development of this publication. In particular, we would like to thank: Dr Elizabeth Hindmarsh, past Board member, National Faculty ofAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Mr Alan Brown, Board member, National Faculty of Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander Health Associate Professor Dennis McDermott, Flinders University Professor Jenny Reath, Deputy Chair, National Faculty of Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander Health Dr John Scopel, Board member, National Faculty of Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander Health Dr Keith Gleeson, member, Australian Indigenous Doctors Association Ms Marianne Gleeson Des Martin and Sharon Busby, Aboriginal Health Council of WesternAustralia (AHCWA).We also drew from resources that are made available free of charge byseveral organisations, and acknowledge the contribution of: The NSW Department of Community Services, for its publication Workingwith Aboriginal people and communities, available at www.health.nsw.gov.au/pubs/2004/pdf/aboriginal terms.pdf Community Cultural Development NSW, whose report Respect,acknowledge, listen (2004) is available on the Australian Indigenoushealth InfoNet website at on-resources?lid 4119 The Queensland Government, for the report Protocols for consultationand negotiation with Aboriginal people, available at -aboriginal.The publication was developed by Jill Dixon, National Advisor, and LaurenCordwell, Manager, of the RACGP National Faculty of Aboriginal and TorresStrait Islander Health.
The RACGPAn introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural protocols and perspectivesHealthy Profession.Healthy Australia.Contents Introduction1Background1Purpose2Torres Strait Islander peoples2Overview2How to use this resource3Related documents3Definitions4Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, and why it matters6Aboriginal Australia map7Before ion14The referendum15Self determination15Native title16Northern Territory intervention16Close the Gap18The national apology19 ore principles for working with Aboriginal and Torres StraitCIslander people20Understanding culture20Core principles22 rotocols for culturally respectful engagement with AboriginalPand Torres Strait Islander people25Describing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people25Deceased people25A death in a community25Permission: for what, whom and how long26Depictions of people who have died26Smoking ceremony27‘Avoidance’ behaviour27Culturally appropriate communication28 he importance of culturally appropriate, nondiscriminatory andTaccurate language28
Healthy Profession.Healthy Australia.The RACGPAn introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural protocols and perspectivesNonverbal communication28Verbal communication29Terms used to describe Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people31Terms describing communities35Consulting with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities38Five levels of engagement38Respectful consultation39Conducting meetings with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderorganisations and groups42Preparation and groundwork42Planning the meeting43Conducting the meeting43After the meeting44The Aboriginal community controlled health sector44 se of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander intellectual andUcultural property48Recognition and protection under the law48Respecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander intellectual andcultural property48Representations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peopleand stereotyping49Event planning: Observation of Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander cultural protocols51Minimum requirements51Welcome to Country52Acknowledgement of Country53The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags54Use of the flags55Purchase of corporate gifts55Undertaking projects and research56‘Nothing about us, without us’56Resources59Additional reading59Useful websites60References61
Healthy Profession.Healthy Australia.The RACGPAn introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural protocols and perspectivesIntroductionBackgroundIn its 2010 position statement on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health,1the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) acknowledgesthat improving the health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people isone of Australia’s highest health priorities. The RACGP encourages all generalpractitioners (GPs) to develop an understanding of Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander culture, history and health, and to incorporate this into their professionalpractice, through a holistic, comprehensive, primary healthcare team-basedapproach. The RACGP also calls on Australian GPs to challenge racism,especially in the context of general practice.Building strong working relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanderindividuals, communities and organisations is fundamental to your ability to workeffectively to improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. Not only doyou enhance your awareness of health and culture, you can also learn about theissues faced by the local community, the skills and experiences they possessand the services they provide to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islandercommunity.Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander groups and organisations are eagerto form relationships with non-Indigenous counterparts or stakeholders andmany of these relationships can lead to fruitful partnerships to enhance healthoutcomes for the whole community.To build these relationships, RACGP staff and members need to have a soundunderstanding of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, history andhealth, so that they can act with sensitivity and respect when dealing with thevariety of issues that affect the health outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander Australians.A strong culture is central to strong health and wellbeing among Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander people. Policies and procedures within the RACGPneed to reflect an understanding of this culture as a first step towards buildingan environment that is supportive of staff and members acting in a culturallysensitive manner. The adoption of cultural safety as a policy tenet by anorganisation builds the overall capability of that organisation to positivelyaffect health outcomes. It harnesses self reflection on one’s own culturalunderpinnings and awareness of the power relationships inherent in healthprofession settings, enabling development, over time, of greater competenceand ease in working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Itsupports RACGP staff and members to act in culturally appropriate ways.Working towards such an environment will make the RACGP’s work moreeffective, and thus have an indirect, but important, impact on health servicesfor Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. All staff will be better placedto support RACGP members to enhance their cultural awareness and developculturally safe practice or service environments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait1
2The RACGPAn introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural protocols and perspectivesIslander people. It will also assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people tofeel confident in working with, and within, the RACGP, thus allowing the RACGPto directly incorporate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives withinits policies and activities, as well as reflect upon the proportion of IndigenousAustralians within its workforce.PurposeThis document provides a guide to appropriate and respectful behaviour withAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. It is intended to give RACGPmembers and staff background information and guidance on Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander perspectives, along with an understanding of importantprotocols and other relevant cultural issues. It can be used to guide theRACGP’s overall engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people,communities and organisations in the improvement of their health and wellbeing.Because Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander beliefs and practices differaccording to variables such as location and culture, the guidelines and protocolscannot apply to every community or to every situation. Members and staff aretherefore strongly encouraged to seek additional information regarding specificlocal communities. Where a staff member or GP has considerable dealings withAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their health issues, the RACGPstrongly recommends that appropriately recognised cultural safety training isundertaken.This document is the start of the journey, not the end. It can be used as anadjunct to other cultural awareness raising or cultural safety training activities,including supporting staff undertaking related education and training.Torres Strait Islander peoplesThese protocols and guidelines are inclusive of Torres Strait Islander peopleliving in integrated communities on mainland Australia. They do not coverprotocols for visiting the 18 communities in the Torres Strait Islands and the twoTorres Strait communities on the Northern Peninsula of Australia (northern tip ofCape York), Bamaga and Seisia.Protocols for visiting these communities are different from those described inthis document and can be accessed on the Torres Strait Regional Authoritywebsite at aspx.OverviewThe RACGP National Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander HealthIntroduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural protocols andperspectives is intended to provide for RACGP staff and members: a historical, political and cultural context for working with Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander people core principles to guide behaviour and communicationHealthy Profession.Healthy Australia.
Healthy Profession.Healthy Australia.The RACGPAn introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural protocols and perspectives cultural protocols that may impact on RACGP business processes andthat can better inform the RACGP’s position on Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander health guidelines for consulting, meeting with and conducting research involvingAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including the use of intellectualand cultural property.How to use this resourceThis document starts with the general and moves to the particular. Readersare strongly urged to read sections 1–6, which provide an overview ofAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history, outline core RACGP principlesand protocols for engaging with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peopleand/or organisations, and present basic guidelines for verbal and nonverbalcommunications.The next sections address specific forms of engagement, listed below. RACGPstaff or members who are planning any of these forms of engagement shouldfirst familiarise themselves with the introductory sections 1–6 before moving tothe sections covering the specific action they wish to take. Consulting with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities Conducting meetings with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations Using Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander intellectual or cultural property Observing cultural protocols when planning events Undertaking research into Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander healthRelated documentsThe RACGP recommends that this document be read in conjunction with otherRACGP publications that reflect official RACGP policy. They include: RACGP Cultural safety policy RACGP Welcome to country policy and Acknowledgement of country policyThese policies are available on the website of the National Faculty of Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander Health at www.racgp.org.au/aboriginalhealth.Consult the Resources section at the end of this document for more resources.3
4The RACGPAn introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural protocols and perspectivesDefinitionsAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers: Employed in manyhealth services working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.They provide clinical or primary healthcare for individuals, families andcommunity groups; deal with patients and visitors at hospitals and health clinics;and assist in arranging, coordinating and providing healthcare in Aboriginal andTorres Strait Islander community health clinics. Very often they are the key linkbetween non-Indigenous health professionals and the local community, andprovide considerable cultural education to practice staff.Assimilation Policy: The 1961 Native Welfare Conference noted: ‘The policy ofassimilation means in the view of all Australian governments that all aboriginesand part-aborigines are expected eventually to attain the same manner of livingas other Australians and to live as members of a single Australian communityenjoying the same rights and privileges, accepting the same responsibilities,observing the same customs and influenced by the same beliefs, hopes andloyalties as other Australians. Thus, any special measures taken for aboriginesand part-aborigines are regarded as temporary measures not based on colourbut intended to meet their need for special care and assistance to protect themfrom any ill effects of sudden change and to assist them to make the transitionfrom one stage to another in such a way as will be favourable to their futuresocial, economic and political advancement’.2Colonisation: ‘To settle among and establish control over (the Indigenouspeople of) an area’.3Culture: ‘Accepted and traditionally patterned ways of behaving . a commonunderstanding shared by the members of a group or community. It includesland, beliefs and spirituality, language, ways of living and working, artisticexpression, relationships and identity.’4Cultural safety: ‘The outcome of education that enables safe services tobe defined by those who receive the service.’5 Unsafe cultural practice is ‘anyaction which diminishes, demeans or disempowers the cultural identity andwellbeing of an individual’.6Lore: ‘Knowledge gained through tradition or anecdote.’7Native title: The official recognition under federal Australian law of thetraditional rights and interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people inrelation to land and water.8Protectionism: A range of practices and beliefs about how Indigenous peopleshould be ‘managed’ by governments and their institutions, which were in placefrom the 1850s to the mid-1900s. Different state and territory laws establishedprotection boards and native affairs departments that managed the protection/segregation of a considerable number of Indigenous people.9Self determination: The right of all peoples to ‘freely determine their politicalstatus and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development’.10Healthy Profession.Healthy Australia.
Healthy Profession.Healthy Australia.The RACGPAn introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural protocols and perspectivesSorry business: Walpiri English term for the rituals performed when a deathhas occurred.11Stolen Generations: Coined by the Canberra-based historian Peter Read,who became aware of the large number of Indigenous children removed fromtheir families and communities through much of the 20th century, many in wayswhich could only be described as stealing or kidnapping. Upon the releaseof the National Inquiry (or ‘Bringing them home’) report the media coined theterm to describe the Indigenous people and others who told their stories to theInquiry.12Terra nullius: A Latin term meaning ‘not inhabited’ or ‘empty land’.135
6The RACGPAn introduction to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health cultural protocols and perspectivesAboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history,and why it mattersLearning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history has not been apriority in many Australian schools and what has been taught about this periodhas often been from the European settler or explorer perspective, starting withCaptain Cook. More recent historical accounts of the experiences of Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander people after colonisation have often been derided asthe ‘black armband’ view of history.It is important to become aware of this history, because it has had a significantimpact on previous and current generations of Aboriginal and Torres StraitIslander people. It is equally important to understand government policiesin relation to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. From shortlyafter colonisation until the present day, many policies covering Aboriginaland Torres Strait Islander people have been enacted by state and federalgovernments. These policies have often had significant and long lasting adverseconsequences for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and cancontinue to influence perceptions, behaviours and health outcomes to this day.It is only with this understanding that we can appropriately engage with currentgenerations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.The history of abuse of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’shuman rights by government authorities and those who participated in theimplementation of government policies described below has given
Understanding culture 20 Core principles 22 Protocols for culturally respectful engagement with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 25 Describing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people 25 Deceased people 25 A death in a community 25 Permission: for what, w
Aboriginal / Aboriginal Peoples – ‘Aboriginal’ is a general term used in the Canada Constitution (1982) to describe the Inuit, Métis Nation and First Nations and as such is still used in some official government documents but is falling out of use. Aboriginal Peoples is more acceptable than Aboriginal.
This Aboriginal Health Plan 2018–2022 builds on the successes of the former Sydney South West Area Health Service Aboriginal Health Plan 2010–2014, and aligns with the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Plan 2013–2023, NSW Aboriginal Health Plan 2013–2023, and the Sydney Local Health District Strategic Plan.
ABORIGINAL HAND PRINT The Aboriginal flag is very important to Aboriginal people all over Australia. It has been flown since the 1960s. When looking at the Aboriginal flag, there are three colours. The top half is black and represents Aboriginal people from all over Australia. The bottom half is red and represents the land “Our Mother .
Aboriginal women and reducing rates of potentially preventable hospitalisations among Aboriginal people. More broadly, it emphasises the impact that system-wide quality improvement efforts can have on Aboriginal people's health. Patient Perspectives: Hospital care for Aboriginal people does not consider the question of whether the gap is closing.
marriage, children, work, travel, wages, housing and land, and access to health care and education. . Tasmania Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre 1994 Western Australia Yorganop Child Care Aboriginal Corp 1992-93 . and add a place name, or in the print version look under 'Aboriginal and Torres .
The Aboriginal Small Grants Project aims to enlighten and raise the awareness of what Aboriginal cultural inclusion work is, and the benefits and effects it will have in the future. It also helps to foster a sense of pride and belonging that is a fundamental not only to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children but for all children.
Shaping the future of Aboriginal mental health and wellbeing in NSW 13 Strengths-based, Aboriginal led co-design 13 Cultural capability and safety 13 Trauma informed holistic healing 14 Supporting and growing the Aboriginal mental health workforce 14 Access to quality, coordinated a
Aboriginal place names Invite an Indigenous artist to paint a mural Study Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander arts and crafts Make your own Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander art Read a dreamtime story Start your own Indigenous Hall of Fame featuring any local role models and achievers
