Conference Papers
Session WR3.2. Identity and Wellbeing
1. Greg Lehman: Through the Rear View Mirror: visual identity
‘When faced with a totally new situation, we tend always to attach ourselves to the objects, to the flavor of the most recent past. We look at the present through a rear view mirror. We march backwards into the future.’ Marshall McLuhan, 1969. When Canadian mass communications educator Marshall McLuhan made his observations on our relationship with the past he was referring to the apparent invisibility of an individual’s environment and the accompanying loss of identity during periods of great change. McLuhan’s comment is even more relevant today as ‘sound-bite’ and visually based media dominate our perception of being. Elders have stimulated our imaginations for a thousand generations with embedded wisdom of the past. But for increasing numbers of young Aboriginal people (the majority in urban areas) journeying into the future must occur without recourse to this knowledge, as Elders themselves struggle with the legacy of removal and cultural disruption. By considering the Aboriginal experience in Tasmania, this paper explores the dangers inherent in a rearview mirror’that informs cultural identity by reflecting stories and images from the recent (colonial) past; where history has been recorded by those intent on extermination and assimilation and is now articulated through a mass media with little understanding of the context of this history, or its role in creating the future.
Author bio: Greg Lehman has worked in the area of Aboriginal identity, heritage management, cultural interpretation and education for over 25 years. He was the founding head of Riawunna, Centre for Aboriginal Education at the University of Tasmania and is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, as well as Chair of the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery's Aboriginal Advisory Council. Greg’s Doctoral research deals with the visual history of Tasmanian Aboriginal culture and its implications for Australian identity.
2. Ray Lovett: The association between wellbeing, enculturation and acculturation for urban Indigenous people in Australia
Enculturation is the process by which one learns specific cultural practices and behaviours. Acculturation is the process of taking elements of cultural practices from a dominant societal culture and incorporating them into one’s own individual behaviors and practices, whilst maintaining a status of being culturally distinct. Much of the work examining associations between wellbeing, level of enculturation and acculturation has taken place internationally (America, Canada and Mexico). However, limited research in this area has been conducted in Australia. Through exploring the absence or presence of enculturation and acculturation I will discuss Aboriginality including identity and authenticity and what impact this has on our wellbeing. Specifically, I will attempt to examine some of the psychology, attitudes, beliefs and cultural practices required of us to call ourselves Aboriginal in the urban context. This exploration could be sensitive for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians as the very notion challenges some often held perceptions of Aboriginal culture as being a fixed, non-evolving entity, wherein the only ‘real’ or ‘authentic’ Aboriginal culture exists within traditional and semi traditional communities. In attempting to identify the components of urban Aboriginal culture we must consider revising the deficit model where the prevailing language is of loss (e.g. loss of language loss of culture etc) to what we have gained through acculturation and through the strength of Aboriginal culture to ensure its metamorphosis and continuity.
Author bio: Ray is a Wongaibon man from far west NSW. Professionally his career has spanned a number of settings, including Aboriginal health services (both in the community and government sectors), at the policy and clinical levels in both nursing and public health. He has also worked in the private sector on business improvement, evaluation and health service planning and health service standards auditing.
His qualifications include a Diploma in Occupational Health and Safety, a Bachelor of Nursing, A Bachelor of Health Science, a Masters in Applied Epidemiology and he is currently undertaking his PhD looking into the management of risky alcohol consumption in urban Indigenous populations. He is based in Canberra at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at The Australian National University. Ray is also a research fellow at AIATSIS where he is looking at models of health care provision for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples incarcerated. In 2001 Ray was a semi-finalist in the young Australian of The Year (NSW division) and in 2007 was a finalist in the young leader category of the inaugural National Excellence Awards in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health.
3. Kerrie Doyle: Social inclusion: the forgotten social determinant of Aboriginal mental health
The WHO is the global lead agency on health. From 2004-2008, the WHO Commission on Social determinants of Health produced its seminal DOH report, and recommended closing the gap within a generation. This report then informed all signatory nations’ responses, most notably in Australia the NT Intervention. However, while the SCDH report emphasised social inclusion as its own determinant, none of Australia’s programs target, mention or measure social inclusion or exclusion- it is supposed to be considered at program initiation. It is generally agreed that social exclusion is a predictor of poor mental health, and Aboriginal peoples consistently score poorer across all mental health domains. Preliminary research data suggests that younger Aboriginal people (18-30) score significantly higher than older Aboriginal people on the K10 measure of depression and anxiety, higher on measures of racism, yet lower on cultural connectedness. Older Aboriginal and Maori peoples (over 55) report similarly high levels of racist events, and yet score lower on the depression scales. This suggests that older indigenous peoples have survival skills that fosters mental health resilience, but these skills have not been handed down to younger people. Interviewing older Indigenous peoples suggests that strong ties to culture (attending business, being in extended family, spending times with grandparents) is a protective factor for positive mental health. Using preliminary research data, I will present an Aboriginal model of social inclusion, that demonstrates the complexity of social positioning in Australia, and includes the need for younger Aboriginal people to be able to interact with older Aboriginal people, and learn more appropriate stress management strategies.
Author bio: The first thing I remember is the taste of red dirt. I can still taste it, and sometimes am hungry for it. I am a mission-born Winninninni woman, but grew up on Darkinjung country, as my father did want any of us to be taken away as he did. I was especially protected by my dad, as i am what he called a mocka blonde. I left school at 16, as I had 2 younger brothers and we didn’t have much money. There was not the support for Aboriginal students in those days. I went and became a general nurse – a 3 year stint in a hospital. I then got a certificate in psychiatric and mental retardation nursing.
As 33, I went to University. I studied Archaeology at UNE as an external student, and found I was good at this reading and writing business, and went on to get a BA(Psyc), Grad Dip Health Sci (CDDS), M Ind Health, M Health Management, Grad Cert Ind SEWB and MH, PhD and am currently a PhD candidate at ANU, standing on the shoulders of giants like Profs Dodson and Maynard.I have worked all over the country and have been able to learn proper-way knowledge from the communities that have shared their lives and experiences with me. I am currently an Endeavour Award Fellow, researching identity issues in NZ. I am the Indigenous Health Asst Prof at the University of Canberra. I am married to Papa Ronnie, a Maori chief. He is the delegate to Australia from NZ’s Te Matatini Performing Arts Org. We have 3 sons, (but no grannies) and an emeritus poodle.