Disability Advocacy and Information Service Inc

Indigenous Culture

An Aboriginal person or a Torres Strait Islander person is a person of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent who identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander and is accepted as such by the community in which he or she lives.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are complex and diverse. The Indigenous cultures of Australia are the oldest living cultural history in the world - they go back at least 50,000 years and some argue closer to 65,000 years. One of the reasons Aboriginal cultures have survived for so long is their ability to adapt and change over time.

Today, Indigenous communities keep their cultures alive by:

• Passing their knowledge, arts, rituals and performances from one generation to another
• Seeking and teaching languages
• Protecting cultural property and sacred and significant sites and objects

Culture and Recreation Portal. 2007. Australian Indigenous Cultural Heritage. [online]. Culture and Recreation Portal. Available at: http://www.cultureandrecreation.gov.au/articles/indigenous/ [accessed 25 September 2007]

Making Two Worlds Work

Building the capacity of the health and community sector to work effectively and respectfully with our Aboriginal community 

A project between Upper Hume Primary Care Partnership, Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation & Women's Health Goulburn North East

The Making Two Worlds Work project aims to build the capacity of the health and community sector to more effectively work in partnership to deliver services to our Indigenous community.

The main components of this project are:

• To develop a range of resources for the PCP and generalist health and community services to support them to incorporate Aboriginal health needs at three levels:

• Policy Development
• Program planning and implementation
• Health promotional and communication strategies

• To offer Cultural Awareness and Equity training to workers and agencies in UHPCP catchment who participate in the project.
• To use art as a health promotion and community development tool with local Aboriginal community members to produce culturally appropriate visual images.
• To design and use an evaluation tool that is relevant and useful for both Mungabareena and the Indigenous community and PCP agencies.
• To establish and support a reference group to oversee the project development as an adjunct to the Health Portfolio meetings. 

Further Information about the Project:

For further information about the Making Two Worlds Work project visit www.whealth.com.au or contact the following:

 

 

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