The Importance Of Cultural Safety And Professional Relationships With Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander

preparing teachers with the skills and knowledge required to develop supportive and meaningful relationships with Indigenous students;

This meant that all matters that had to be discussed had to be approved by the government appointed Indian agent before a chief and council could address the matter. Once matters were discussed any resolution had to be agreed upon by the appropriate federal minister before being enacted. When people attempted to address grievances or complaints they had with the government and the Indian Act System, new laws were passed to stop them from organizing and effectively dealing with the issues brought to their attention.

The goals and visions behind my reconciliation action plan was to bring the two sides of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australians together in equality and harmony. Since the colonisation of Australia there has been a vast divide between the two sides that has caused many serious outcomes for Aboriginal people. My way of contributing to this is to create a better understanding, restore trust and eradicate racism as a positive way to help close the gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia’s.

The important relationship building teachers must conduct with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students is another key issue teachers must keep in mind for working successfully with Indigenous students. Price (2012) argues that teachers hold a special place in the Indigenous community, especially with parents and caregivers. She states that by “mastering the craft” of teaching, you will be rewarded both personally and professionally over the years of your career (Price, 2012). Over the last 30 years, a number of prepositions have been put forward that will assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to become emotionally healthy, so they can live out their entitlement to becoming a dignified citizen of Australia and the world (Price, 2012).

Abiding by these protocols will ensure our work respects Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural principles and practices. Complying with these protocols will encourage student’s collaboration, reciprocated respect and consideration of their right to protect their Indigenous heritage, rights, and interests (Price, 2012).

Through my life, I have seen several different approaches to Indigenous people’s rights and importance in Australia. I have been fortunate enough to visit Ayers Rock and undertake a tour which allowed me to see Aboriginal culture in art and drawings as well as hearing Dreamtime stories from guides. I have also witnessed family friends who have been severely racist and disrespectful of Indigenous heritage and history. I also was lucky to work with some Indigenous students who were in Reception during my Professional Experience 1, and I was able to see first-hand how a culture clash can affect a student’s behaviour. I feel that even before entering this course, I have had the privilege of being able to observe both positives and negatives

Devising a scheme that is beneficial to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and the communities is complicated as you will need to deliver the services that you are providing in a creative and flexible manner. By involving the Indigenous community in the planning and the implementation of the programs you are offering allows you to build trusting and respected relationships making them feel comfortable in using the services that are being provided. It is paramount that you have an understanding and knowledge of their historical background including local language and the way they like to communicate will also put you in good stead. To promote a culturally competent organisation you will need to have a set of values and principles that are implemented and practiced daily demonstrating behaviours, attitudes, policies

The first step in building positive and respectful relationships is to communicate positively. The importance of non-discriminatory and accurate language is outlined by NSW Health (2004) guide to appropriate Aboriginal terminology. This document outlines appropriate non offensive language that should be used including collective names used to describe Aboriginal people and terms not to used. It gives an example of when European colonists arrived they did not understand Aboriginal ways of life and the language they used was discriminatory and offensive, I believe this sort of offensive language, racism and prejudice is still being seen and used today in Australia. They state by using appropriate and accurate non-discriminatory language between non Aboriginal and Aboriginal people will help develop positive relationships.

How many years ago, is it estimated, that the shape of Australia’s coastline was defined?

Reconciliation is the process of building respectful relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and the wider Australian community. It is about understanding and respecting their culture and heritage and signifies ‘coming together’ to become one nation without racism and with equality for all. There are still vast differences in health, education, employment, and standards of living of the Indigenous peoples as compared to their non-Indigenous counterparts. Even today Indigenous peoples have a significantly lower life expectancy, up to 11.5 years for men and 9.7 years for women . The infant mortality rate for the Indigenous peoples is double the rate for non-Aboriginal Australians. Understanding these inequalities is the first step to reconciling the differences. Policies such as the stolen generation and assimilation policy destroyed Indigenous identity and culture and justified the dispossession of Indigenous people and the removal of Indigenous children from their parents. We can’t change the past but we can make a better future by understanding and learning from the mistakes of the past, reconciliation is about that. Many practical and symbolic strategies have been implemented over the last 50 years to achieve reconciliation such as ATSIC, Northern Territory Intervention and the Mabo decision. However, the most significant ones are the 1967 Referendum, Closing the Gap framework in 2008 and the ‘Sorry speech’. The aim is to improve the five dimensions of reconciliation: race relations, equality and equity, institutional integrity, unity, and historical acceptance.

It is clear that Aboriginal people are in critical need of the proper services to cater to their trans-generational trauma. Understanding the Aboriginal’s culture, spirituality, and values will provide the social work counsellor the tools needed in being culturally competent. This paper will examine the historical background of the Aboriginal people, the conflicts social workers face with cultural differences, as well as methods to overcome these challenges

The organizations where I work promote equality, diversity and inclusion in both policy and practice. Staffs should regularly be reminded the importance of equality, diversity and inclusion in day to day practice. Staff should respect the choice, preference, ethnicity, origin, rights, and wishes of service users. Care staff should be allocated to service user to make sure that

Describe a range of barriers Factors that are a barrier for Aboriginal students’ feeling of being welcomed safe and supported in an educational setting would include inappropriate teaching materials and a lack of Aboriginal role models. Education for these Aboriginal students requires a link for them to their communities and informed parents. Additionally, Many of the Aboriginal students’ first language is not English, therefore a major barrier would be the English teaching Material as it prevents them from fully understanding the work. Also, most of these students due to their overcrowded homes would not be able to study or do Homework whilst they are home, which leads to them falling behind in work. “Even the brightest of students in these

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are the native Australians and they have gone through lots of issues and trauma. The stolen generation, loss of land and culture, racism, discrimination etc. are some of the examples. Since, these events the Native Australians have stopped to trust the government and have shifted to the mountain side of the country. At present, we can see lots of changes since the last few decades. The government have given them priority in major fields such as work, and education. Despite the offers given to them, the organisations still need to encourage them to recruit themselves in the respective field. They are the most marginalised in Australia and due to the discriminatory policies and legislations, aboriginal communities have been denied access and participation in many areas such as education, health employment etc. Issues such as racism still prevails contributing to ignorance. Thus, the aboriginals need reconciliation, they need attention and inclusions to all the services provided by the government. They are the first people of Australia, which means they need more priority and importance and must be recruited in every field of development. The ways

Topic 4: The relationship between the social work profession and Indigenous people has been a problematic one. Discuss with reference to Stolen Generations.