Ngara Dyin

Mary Goslett,Vanessa Beavan

doi:10.5204/ijcis.v10i1.146

Abstract

The marginalised position and unequal health status of Aboriginal people in Australia are a direct consequence of the trauma and dispossession of colonisation. Aboriginal women experience even greater levels of distress and ill health than Aboriginal men, and are more disadvantaged than any other group of women in Australia. While strength of cultural identity leads to increased social and emotional wellbeing (SEWB) and reduced socioeconomic hardship, Aboriginal people in urban and regional areas suffer greater discrimination and resultant psychological stress than those in remote areas; they are additionally subjected to accusations of inauthenticity. Improving Aboriginal women’s SEWB is pivotal in advancing Aboriginal SEWB overall. This research has explored nine regional Aboriginal women’s experiences of culture and identity by a process of deeply listening to each woman: Ngara Dyin (Dharawal language). The aim was to discern means to strengthen cultural attachment and enhance positive cultural identity for this group of women, and consequently their community. Through the process of interpretive phenomenological analysis, seven interdependent overarching themes were developed: walking and talking black; it’s not easy growing up in a white society; we sit down and listen; connection to Country; strong black women; the way forward; and, wanting that magic. Decolonising approaches to increasing Aboriginal women’s SEWB dictate that understandings of culture and identity must be informed and guided by the very people whose experience is being sought, and these women clearly indicate the need for strengthened cultural connection through funded gatherings and connections with senior women from remote areas.

Highlights

Aboriginal people occupy a marginalised position in mainstream Australian society, experiencing greater rates of morbidity, mortality, socioeconomic hardship and adverse mental health than non-Indigenous people (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS] 2006; Dick 2007; Durie 2004)
Aboriginal women suffer even greater psychological distress than Aboriginal men and have poorer overall mental and physical health than any other groups of Australian women (Campbell, Kelly & Harrison 2012; Fredericks 2003). This unequal health status is directly related to the decimation of Aboriginal people since colonisation, successive government policies aimed at eradicating the social and cultural unity of Aboriginal communities, and the subjugation of women (Atkinson 2002; Kurtz et al 2008)
Pseudonyms were allocated to participants, quotes have been taken directly from the raw data, and changes to quotes have only occurred when necessary to clarify the participants’ experiences

Summary

Introduction

Aboriginal people occupy a marginalised position in mainstream Australian society, experiencing greater rates of morbidity, mortality, socioeconomic hardship and adverse mental health than non-Indigenous people (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS] 2006; Dick 2007; Durie 2004). Aboriginal women suffer even greater psychological distress than Aboriginal men and have poorer overall mental and physical health than any other groups of Australian women (Campbell, Kelly & Harrison 2012; Fredericks 2003). This unequal health status is directly related to the decimation of Aboriginal people since colonisation, successive government policies aimed at eradicating the social and cultural unity of Aboriginal communities, and the subjugation of women (Atkinson 2002; Kurtz et al 2008). Established reserves and missions largely perpetuated violence and abuse, and the dislocation of families and whole communities (Baker 2012; Kidd 1997)

Methods

Results

Conclusion