Caring for Country

Australian researcher Jonathan ‘Yotti’ Kingsley has spent the past few years conducting research projects on the connection that Aboriginal peoples in Victoria, Australia have to their traditional land, and the health and wellbeing benefits that arise from caring for Country.

Kingsley embarked in 2005 on a qualitative research study called Healthy Country, Healthy People, to better understand the connection between Country and Victorian Aboriginal peoples’ health. ‘Caring for Country’ is defined as having knowledge, sense of responsibility and inherent right to be involved in the management of traditional lands.

Health inequalities
Australia’s Indigenous Australian population suffers health burdens equivalent to a third world country. The life expectancy of Victorian Aboriginal people is between 10 to 17 years less than the non-Aboriginal population. Social and cultural determinants of health play a major role in the poor health of individuals.

Given these health inequalities, Kingsley says there was an obvious need for this research, particularly in Victoria where no studies of this kind had been done.

Healthy Country, Healthy People
The Healthy Country, Healthy People research project focused on three Indigenous Traditional Custodian groups located in Victoria: the Bangerang Tribe, the Boonwurrung Tribe and the Yorta Yorta Nation. Kinglsey points out that Aboriginal Traditional Custodian groups throughout Victoria practices different land management techniques and experience different lifestyles dependent on their geographical location, although all have a strong relationship with their land.

The study used qualitative methodology to identify the health and wellbeing benefits of caring for Country to the three groups. Qualitative data was used to describe the connection and perceptions that Indigenous Victorians have to care for Country to get a better understanding in a field that is lacking published work.

Partnerships
As a non-Indigenous researcher, Kingsley was acutely aware of the ethical issues involved in a study like this, and the need to build trust and collaborate with the groups and individuals involved.

‘It’s a process of building trust and you can’t go in there and bulldoze these ideas – it’s actually something that you work on together. I might have this idea in my head of what Healthy Parks Healthy People might mean, but it’s not up to me and that’s why it became Healthy Country, Healthy People,’ he says. ‘Parks is not a suitable word for Aboriginal people as Aboriginal Country was taken away and made into parklands which prevented Traditional Custodians practicing their culture… ‘Country’ is a word that better encapsulates Aboriginal culture and Aboriginal lands.’

To ensure a positive experience, Kingsley tried to involve the communities from the start of the project so that information was jointly understood and trust could be established. He says the most important ingredient was developing a reference committee (government, academics and Traditional Custodians), which guided him in understanding what these communities expected. It acted as a ‘gatekeeper’, identifying those who would like to participate in the study.

In his qualitative research document, Kingsley offers a blueprint for how to conduct future research of this kind. ‘One of the recommendations I made was to train Indigenous people, the Traditional Custodians of that land, to actually do the measurement and train Indigenous people to do this research,’ he says.

Study results
The Healthy Country, Healthy People study identified that caring for Country offers great benefits, including building self-esteem, fostering self-identity, maintaining cultural connection and enabling relaxation and enjoyment through contact with the natural environment. Results generated indicate that caring for Country may offer a means of improving the current poor health status of Indigenous Australian peoples.

The study noted that one commonality Indigenous people have is a strong connection to nature – participants saw caring for Country as their inherent obligation connecting them to their ancestry.

Kingsley says the results corroborate the theory of biophilia, which acknowledges humans’ innate and inherent connection to the natural environment. He hopes the research has shed some light on the situation of Victorian Aborigines. ‘I think there’s a misconception – people don’t think that Aboriginal people in Victoria are living in a traditional way. That’s what makes this research so interesting – we’re dealing with group that’s been ripped off their land, and we’re analysing it, and their connection to the land is exactly the same as the people up north – they have this strong connection. So the feelings are the same, the situation’s different.’

Outcomes
Kingsley’s report concludes that caring for Country may be a key way of improving Indigenous population health in Australia, and therefore policy makers should be focusing on such initiatives as facilitators of health.

On a practical level, following the project Kingsley’s research was used by Rebecca Phillips, Parks Victoria’s Research Officer, Indigenous, to produce an educational DVD. ‘Indigenous park rangers from around Victoria were interviewed – now every new Indigenous park ranger who comes into Parks Victoria watches that DVD and it is used as an education tool by the wider organisation.’

Kingsley hopes this research will help to advocate of the importance of caring for Country for Aboriginal health – not only in Australia but for Indigenous communities around the world.

Main picture of Barmah National Park by Milkwooders – Flickr

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