We foster an understanding of the fundamental importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture to the identity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We respect the strength of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, families, communities and culture that have survived the confrontation of colonisation and dispossession for over two centuries.
Our services believe that we need to be continually building a foundation of respect and understanding all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families of Australia to provide a service that is more effective, responsive, sustainable and culturally appropriate.
‘Ganyjuu Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Corporation for Family Support Services were established in June 2005. It offers Indigenous Family Support services in the Logan, Browns Plains and Beaudesert regions.’ Staff members at Ganyjuu are committed to maintaining a high class leading Indigenous Community Corporation which is dedicated to improving Indigenous family support needs in these areas. Ganyjuu works hard to offer the best culturally appropriate family support services to Indigenous and non-Indigenous families who care for children.
On June 3 1992, the legal decision of the Mabo case was made by the High Court, the highest court in Australia’s legal system (Webb, 2008). For thousands of years before the arrival of the British in 1788, Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders have had their strong connection to the Australian Land. When the British arrived in 1788, it was declared that the country was terra nullius (land belonging to nobody), which resulted to the absence of recognition towards the connection between the Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders and the Australian land. The declaration of terra nullius also resulted to the British taking land without agreement or payment towards the indigenous Australians (Webb, 2008).
Research from the Australian Institute of Family Studies (AIFS) found it is critical for non-Aboriginal staff to be aware of how to engage and support all cultures, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, as services are more effective for Aboriginal
The legacy of the role of social work and welfare services within the implementation of government policies in the past can still compromise relationships within communities, social workers are responsible for ensuring our practice is culturally responsive, safe and sensitive to stop this perpetuation of distrust in support services. As social workers it is important to commit to reconciliation, to addressing divisions and inequities between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australian’s and improving these relationships. The strength and resilience of these communities are impacted by multiple problems including historical and ongoing dispossession, marginalisation and racism, along with past policies of forced removal and cultural assimilation all negatively contributing to many of the social issues we find affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today (Australian Association of Social Workers, 2017). As social workers it is a large role of ours to familiarise and understand the organisations, services and agencies who are planning and/or delivering Indigenous-specific services and to work alongside these groups,
It cannot be denied that our indigenous population has suffered severely since the colonisation of Australia. While the movement towards reconciliation is undoubtedly gaining widespread support, unfortunately many misconceptions are still prevalent and the future of many indigenous Australians is still uncertain. Disadvantage is still experienced by an unacceptable number of the population. Statistically, indigenous people have poorer health, opportunities for education, life expectancy, employment options and the majority live in the remote areas of Australia. As well as this
Cultural safety is about helping to create an environment that respects Aboriginal/Torre 's strait islander 's cultures and therefore encourages positive cultural identity. The ability to help create a safe environment free from racism, violence or stereotypes is crucial in helping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people thrive. It is important to recognize the disadvantages and imbalances these people face, especially in health and social situations, which is why sometimes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people need to be treated differently to non-indigenous people in order to be treated
Aboriginal spirituality as determined by the Dreaming The important tenet that reinforces Aboriginal spirituality is a idea known as the Dreaming Dreaming is the unseen spirit world. It is not incomprehensible and in the past. It is realism ‐ Dreaming is expressed in ceremonies, dance, song and art. It is both individual and communal
Cultural competence is seen as being able to master a skill-set (Barlow, Reading, & Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network, 2008) rather than analyzing power imbalances, institutional discrimination, colonization and colonial relationships (NAHO, 2006 as cited in Charlotte Loppie’s presentation). “Cultural safety emphasizes relationships of trust in which the patient determines whether the care is ‘safe’” (Barlow, Reading, & Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network, 2008, p. 3). I really like the term “relational care” introduced in the as the Barlow, Reading, and Canadian Aboriginal AIDS Network (2008) article as the term “is rooted in the connections within and relationships among Aboriginal people and health care providers” which is grounded in the traditional teachings and values of Indigenous Peoples (p.
Belonging to the land and to each other is fundamental to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and their culture. Connections with the land, families, clans and communities are at the core of Aboriginality. It is through these connections that nurture belonging from which Aboriginal peoples identities and cultures emerge.
Imagine our country — a multicultural haven for immigrants seeking refuge — completely bare of asylum seekers. Imagine a country without a varying array of culture, without acceptance of each and every race, without knowledge and appreciation for the arts, ideas, social behaviour, and so forth of other cultures. This concept which would lacerate the deep foundations of which this country is built upon and develop consequences that politicians and citizens have not foreseen. Without the aforementioned multitude of cultural components, the enrichment of this country would be slim. Along with casting aside the culture immigrants bring into Australia, furthermore political and economic dilemmas materialise.
The following story was published anonymously in an Aboriginal newspaper [15]. Like many of our mob, my first label was ‘abandoned’, then ‘ward of the State’ which was the start of a journey that for many years I felt wasn’t mine to have. Years later, when I found my way home, both parents had passed on, although the stories and labels that I grew up believing were a misrepresentation of the actual truth.
The concept of family and kinship for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people is to live within an extended family system. What this means is that they include distant relatives. Family is a fundamental part to an Aboriginal society because they are the ones that teach you how to live, how to interact with the land, and how to treat people. Aboriginal people rarely call their family members by name, instead they use relationship terms such as mother, sister, brother, aunt or cousin.
Introduction to Culture. Poverty is not only a critical problem that affects personal income, housing, or education, but it can even destroy an entire population if not solved. The Aboriginals of Australia are one of the many cultures that is currently losing its identity to impoverish conditions. Within the 50,000 years of existence in the Australian outback, the once prosperous clans of tribesman have dwindled from the reining populace on the continent, to less than a percent of Australians census. These people live by the lifestyle of the land, traditionally by nomadic hunting and gathering.
The Stolen generation and protection policy has made a huge impact on all aboriginals lives, forcing them to adapt to white culture and forget about their indigenous heritage. The protection policy began in 1909 when the aborigines protection board believed that separating Aborigines from the white population would keep them safe from their savage lifestyles. In 1915 the protection board was given orders to remove aboriginal children without parental consent or a court order. These children were separated from their families and placed in institutions or adopted into white families where they were forced to forget about their indigenous history.
Aboriginal people are the very first people to inhabit the Canadian land. Many years ago, English and French men came and forcibly took over the land that the Natives owned. They introduced alcohol and many deadly diseases that made the First Nations very vulnerable. For many years they have been systemically oppressed. Oppression is “a set of policies, practices, traditions, norms, definitions, and explanations which function to systematically exploit one social group to the benefit of another social group” (Sensoy, O., DiAngelo, R.).