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WEEK 7 READING 1 - Aboriginal Australians - Coggle Diagram
WEEK 7 READING 1 - Aboriginal Australians
CURRENT ISSUE:
Many non-Aboriginal people may feel struck, guilty, angry, overwhelmed and confused when confronted with the numerous and complex social, health and economic problems that impact on the lives of Aboriginal Australians. This is likely due to the impact of Australia's history of invasion and colonisation of its Indigenous population.
In response, social workers may choose to avoid taking an active role in addressing these issues and/or decide it is better to leave them up to Aboriginal people to resolve.
Social workers who aim to make a difference in the lives of Aboriginal Australians may be uncertain about how to develop their practice alongside Aboriginal people and their communities.
KEY MESSAGE:
Workers need to develop a culturally courageous and collaborative approach - which is underpinned by a commitment and an ability to develop and apply the knowledge, skills and values that incorporate both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal ways of understanding.
An individual who can work with cultural courage is a worker who has examined their particular beliefs and values and has an ability to be reflective about their practice. By doing so, they have formed an understanding of racism and actively challenge its existence as an individual and as a professional.
BUILDING BLOCKS TO DEVELOPING CULTURAL COURAGE:
1. Recognise the historical and political context as well as the privilege of whiteness in our society -
Social workers cannot expect to work effectively with Aboriginal people without a sound knowledge of the history of Aboriginal Australia and the Australian experience.
2. Problems impact everyone and focussing on the 'Aboriginal problem' takes away notions of collective responsibility and shared humanity -
this requires social workers to understand social issues such as trauma, family violence, alcohol abuse and loss and grief as interdependent (they are experiences that inform and shape human behaviour as a whole). Confronting and resolving these problems requires mutual responsibility and action.
3. Recognise and attend to the processes and meaning of the work at both the personal and professional level -
workers must continually reflect on how and why they are working with Aboriginal people and communities, what is the purpose of their involvement, what values underpin their practice and what impact does the work have on them personally and professionally?
THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT:
(First building block)
To understand the history of Indigenous Australia, it is essential to recognise and understand the impact of colonisation on the contemporary experience of Aboriginal peoples, in particular their interactions with the welfare system.
"The legacy of colonisation has been the breaking down of our culture, laws, families, ceremonies, economic independence and the kinship system. In other words, all those things that gave us our identity, our strengths and our humanity" (King 2003, p.2).
The notion that European people were superior was reflected in such welfare practices as the development of institutions, missions, slavery and the dispossession and removal of half-caste children.
An estimated 50,000 Indigenous children were removed from their families and placed in institutions or white foster homes. This has impacted the lives of contemporary Indigenous Australians - "The individuals I have seek lack a sense of personal identity, personal work and trust in others. Many have formed multiple unstable relationships, are extremely susceptible to depression, and use drugs and alcohol as a way of masking their personal pain" (HREOC 1997, p.189).
The rates of imprisonment of Indigenous Australians are one indicator of the individual and social impact of this severe trauma and dislocation. Indigenous Australians are 27 times more likely to be in police custody and 15.8 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-aboriginal people (Baldry & Green 2002, p. 8).
The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (1991) confirmed the link between deaths in custody and the removal of Aboriginal children from their families (p.8).
An understanding of the historical and political context requires acceptance of the shared experience of historical disadvantage - Welfare professionals need to recognise that their roles, professional identities and actions are historically and socially constructed. Their presence in the welfare system is tainted by the acts of their predecessors, in particular the legacy of the Stolen Generations. This means that the process of establishing trust in communities where there is widespread suspicion of the welfare system is complex and requires sensitivity and commitment.
THE POLITICAL CONTEXT:
(First building block)
The 1992 Redfern speech by Paul Keating (the then Labor prime minister of Australia) was regarded by many Indigenous Australians as a milestone in the recognition by non-Aboriginal Australians of their role in the disintegration of Indigenous culture. GOOD QUOTE IN READING.
From the mid-1990s, the rise of the ring-wing neo-liberal political ideology saw people arguing that the documentation of Australian colonial history, as one marred by the massacre and dispossession of Indigenous Australians is a fabrication, which raised questions about the level of responsibility the Australians should take for their colonial history.
An understanding of the historical and political context requires acceptance of the shared experience of historical disadvantage - Welfare professionals need to recognise that their roles, professional identities and actions are historically and socially constructed. Their presence in the welfare system is tainted by the acts of their predecessors, in particular the legacy of the Stolen Generations. This means that the process of establishing trust in communities where there is widespread suspicion of the welfare system is complex and requires sensitivity and commitment.
THE PRIVILEGE OF WHITENESS:
(First building block)
Many non-Aboriginal feel shame or arrogance towards Aboriginal people and these come down to 'whiteness'. Therefore the foundation for reconciliation is white people reflecting on their own culture in their own heart about what's going on.
In working with Aboriginal people, white social workers bring with them the privilege of personal and professional power that comes with being a member of the dominant race.
WHITENESS (linked dimensions):
It is a location of structural advantage, or race privilege.
It is a standpoint (or worldview) a place from which white people look at ourselves, at others, at society.
It is a set of cultural practices that are usually unmarked and unnamed.
For Non-Aboriginal workers being race privileged means that they need to reflect on how being a member of the dominant race impacts status and advantage.
Another group who may experience whiteness as a complex and contradictory privilege are those Aboriginal workers who have fair skin:
For these workers, skin colour can provide a mixed message to their non-Aboriginal peers and to their Aboriginal communities.
Fair skin can be seen as a major barrier because it does not reinforce the stereotype of an Indigenous person - 'colour, lifestyle and heritage become the markers of authenticity' (Young 2004, p, 9).
DON'T FEEL DISCOURAGED BY THE NAMING OF WHITENESS AS AN INHERENT PRIVILEGE:
Having the capacity to critically reflect on privilege, identity and the cultural construction of welfare practice is an essential part of the process of developing cultural courage because it means that workers are prepared to take responsibility for who they are and what they represent.
There are other markers of individual identity such as gender, class, age and ability that shape personal and professional experiences and gaining knowledge about identity facilitates an ability to work respectfully in a way that acknowledges the differences and works towards developing trust.
HUMAN RIGHTS:
(Second building block)
The process of recognising that the issues confronting Aboriginal people are human rights issues gives social workers a strong mandate from which the practice.
It frames the problems as universal struggles while also alerting workers to the fact that human rights can be realised, guaranteed and protected differently in different contexts. Eg. the right to education is universal, but is realised and experienced differently across rural and urban Australia.
Workers must maintain a strong human rights perspective while also understanding that there are diverse culturally appropriate ways in which those rights are realised.
For workers, an understanding of cultural issues is essential and needs to encompass recognition that cultural norms and values are always evolving and are not universal in any cultural group.
EXPLORING THE PROBLEMS:
(Second building block)
It is universally recognised that the majority of Australia's Aboriginal people are experiencing significant disadvantage in areas such as employment, housing, income and education.
In the areas of health and wellbeing, Aboriginal people are significantly worse off than non-Aboriginals.
We need to understand the lived experience of Aboriginal people and not be focused on indicators of social disadvantage. Being to focussed on this can be problematic because it does not change painful situations. Aboriginal pain continues, often defined as an alcohol problem, a suicide problem, a juvenile offending problem etc.
We need to recognise that the social and psychological issues that face Indigenous Australians needs to be understand in relation to non-Indigenous issues and to the impact of colonisation.
There is a fine line between having a problem to solve and becoming the problem (Young 2004, p.7)
PROCESS OF DEVELOPING CULTURAL COURAGE:
If you are prepared to engage in the process of working with Aboriginal people as a journey of mutual transformation, then this will lead to lasting change as well as personal and professional growth. If you are just doing it to help them then you're wasting your time (Young 2004, p.118).
The key is developing knowledge and skill to
work collaboratively
with Aboriginal Australians.
The skill of listening to an aboriginal community is critical and means more than just acknowledging and respecting what is being said, but also hearing what is hard to understand and accept.
Understanding the basis of these feelings (anger, hurt, sadness, loss of hope etc) requires a cultural frame of reference that takes into consideration context, history, individual difference and trauma.
When engaging in a community it is also important to be familiar with the community's protocol. This may include recognising and acknowledging the community's leaders and elders. This will impact on how the worker's practice is integrated into and accepted by the community.
PROVIDING CULTURAL SAFETY:
How safe clients and workers of the minority culture feel to express their cultural identity within the service or work environment.
Working collaboratively with Aboriginal Australians requires workers to engage in the process of providing cultural safety for Aboriginal and non-aboriginal workers and the Aboriginal peoples and communities they work with.
This concept extends beyond cultural sensitivity by actively naming the racism and unequal power relationships that are inherent in bi-cultural helping relationships.
This involves:
The acknowledgement of the complexities of working with and across different cultural systems,
Being prepared to challenge racism and power imbalances
The development of supportive working relationships
The importance of accessing cultural supervision and the need to attend to self-care
Cultural safety can also be applied to how Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal staff work together to develop practices that confront racism both within the workplace and within the community.
For non-Aboriginal workers, the challenge is to confront racism. This process can be both personally draining and professionally risky because it often requires an acknowledgement that their own values and practices may be perpetuating the problems.
It involves being willing to name and challenge practice, including those of management, however this should not be a solo effort (you should gain the support of colleagues and orgs).
The key challenge for workers is to find a balance between offering assistance and support to others, and considering their own needs for self-care and support.
Engaging in cultural supervision can open up different possibilities in practice including the development of a deeper understanding of cultural norms and expectations. Accessing this is a key strategy to no-Aboriginal workers.
ISSUES FOR ABORIGINAL WORKERS:
Of those generations of Aboriginal people who have not grown up with the traditional stories, ceremonies and kinship networks, some of their sense of identity is fractured and fragmented, their sense of self appears lost, complex or unclear, and they may not feel culturally connected to their community.
The denial of the self is linked to colonisation, but now has become part of the problem.
A lack of cultural connection can mean that workers may struggle for the right to be recognised as an Aboriginal person.
Who an Aboriginal person is, how they identity themselves and where they fit in the community and their culture are integral points of working with an Aboriginal group.
The work they do and their culture (and therefore their personal identities) are often challenged by both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people.
Employing people for their Aboriginal heritage and then imposing an agency or organisational culture (eg supervision, expectations and boundary issues) can make it difficult to work in culturally appropriate ways or be accepted by the community in which they work.
At times, employers will hire Aboriginal workers to solve all the problems in the community, or worse, because of feelings of obligation or to meet service criteria or policies.
Sometimes people from other cultures, although trying hard to be respectful, engage in activities which inadvertently shame the worker.
WHAT THEY CAN DO:
Workers need to work out where they fit in the community and how they belong.
Choices need to be made, lines need to be drawn such as who you can see or how much you will talk about a certain issue at community events such as the football.
The worker needs to get to know who they are in this new context and then decide how this can be best utilised in their the local community.
They should have strong support and supervision as this can facilitate their capacity to work with their communities and retain their positions.
AS AN ABORIGINAL WORKER - WHAT IS MY ROLE?
Concepts that Aboriginal workers may find frustrating:
Rules and regulations that seem to block access for minority groups (eg lack of support for home visiting and the adherence to strict appointment schedules).
Sense of the self as priority (rather than the community/others).
Strong personal and professional boundaries - they could exclude workers from sharing their professional identity with family, confidentiality can exclude family and elders.
SOLUTION:
It requires the development of skills and knowledge that facilitates the development of confidence about how they will work in the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community.
It requires the ability to be culturally courageous in the development of collaborative working relationships as a co-worker, learner and mentor.
It requires them to be given the support and opportunity to practice in ways that work across and between cultures.