Experiencing Aboriginal Perspectives Through the Embodied Concept of the Tree of Life: Implications for Developing a Teaching Resource

Abstract

ABSTRACT In Australia, some non-Aboriginal social workers and academics have difficulty working in partnership with Aboriginal children, families, and communities because they do not know how to build authentic relationships and are fearful of doing so. This is particularly the case in Child Protection where children continue to be removed from Aboriginal families. Reciprocal and genuine relationships involve holding Aboriginal worldviews as equally valid as Euro-western ones. For non-Aboriginal social workers and academics, this means moving beyond a “helping” stance, and towards genuine openness to learn and understand the world, and their place in it, in new ways. This paper shows how two social work academics undertook building relationships with Traditional Custodians in our local area to establish a resource for students that foregrounds Aboriginal ways of knowing and learning by using the Tree of Life concept to embody Aboriginal experiences. The Aboriginal author focused on coming together respectfully to create a better-shared understanding on connecting to Country. For the non-Aboriginal author, a transformation occurred, gaining embodied understanding of her own belonging and connection to Country. The paper concludes with reflections useful to others embarking on this journey. IMPLICATIONS Cultivating an academic environment that prioritises forming authentic relationships with Traditional Custodians on Country is essential in order to be culturally responsive. A decolonising embodied concept, Tree of Life, invites social workers to take a journey of personal self-discovery, of belongingness, and cultural heritage. A simulation resource developed with Traditional Custodians can disrupt daily instances of colonisation and work toward social workers reflecting on practice to minimise further harm in working with Aboriginal communities.