Physio for First Nations: A Call for Transformative Action
Growing up in the bush in south-west New South Wales near Balranald on Mutti Mutti country, I have been lucky to live a life enriched with indigenous culture. I’d always felt I was ‘doing my bit’ as an advocate for celebrating indigenous history and culture, and found great joy in pursuing professional and educational opportunities with Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations. As I’ve progressed in my career, I decided to dig a little deeper and see what indigenous communities had to say about reconciliation and how best to be an ally to indigenous Australians. And how was this reflected in the literature? It was a fulfilling yet sobering experience, and below is a snapshot on what came out of it.
​Pride in culture.
​
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s strong connection to family, land and culture forms the foundation for strong social, economic, and individual wellbeing. The passing on of aboriginal history, culture and knowledge of country is a critical part of our national identity and our ability to grow and prosper as a nation moving forward. Many Australians demonstrate their commitment to celebrating and valuing indigenous Australians' culture through participating and celebrating in NAIDOC Week and National Reconciliation Week, and through Reconciliation Action Plans. But, can we do more?
​
A confronting notion.
​
As Australians, we can all be proud to be the home of the oldest continuous civilisation on earth, extending back over 65,000 years. Throughout this time, indigenous Australian’s have overcome huge challenges, which have led to vast health inequalities when compared to non-indigenous Australians. The health inequalities reported between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians are not natural or inevitable, rather they have been created, established and maintained by societal structures and institutions with conventions and systems that were introduced with early British colonization. These systems continue to perpetuate the disparity today. Rhys Jones, senior lecturer University of Auckland, acknowledges that although the overarching efforts of Australian healthcare are directed towards reducing this disparity, a perhaps confronting notion is that, as professionals that operate within these inherently colonial institutions, healthcare professionals are actually playing a role in perpetuating the disparities further (Jones, 2014). The industry’s acceptance of this fact is an important acknowledgement to make, in order to pave the way for more appropriate healthcare delivery methods to be established.
​
Although there is a perception that health professionals treat all patients the same, there
is a discrepancy between intent and outcome. In Australia, colonial representations of Indigenous inferiority remain, and are socially conditioned into the general population. It is important that in continuous allied health professional development, therapists are made aware of these biases so they can be controlled and overridden in the short-term. In the long-term, however, therapists must engage in a lifelong, transformative unlearning process to decolonize their consciousness.
​
Become an Ally. Decolonize your consciousness.
​
For a lot of therapists, it may be difficult to know where to start. Michael Reynolds (Aboriginal physiotherapist and former chair of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Committee) suggests these simple steps in your journey toward being a culturally sensitive, competent therapeutic ally to indigenous Australians.
1. Start listening, to stories and to the community.
2. Learn about the place where you live. The land that you’re on. Who the traditional owners are.
“You can’t pretend to be an ally if you don’t even know who you’re being an ally with. Once you’ve developed some level of cultural awareness, it gives you more confidence and understanding about what the next steps can be. “
​​
Reference:
Jones, R. (2014) A call for transformative decolonisation of the health sector.
Retrieved 10th October, 2014, from http://blogs.crikey.com.au/croakey/2014/08/10/a-call-for-transformativedecolonisation-of-the-health-sector/
​
About the author
​
Luke Spinks is a Senior Physiotherapist at Spinks Physio with 10 years of experience. Luke has developed his skills across a variety of settings, including private practice (musculoskeletal focus), residential aged care, indigenous health and now a community-based setting supporting aged care and NDIS participants.
Luke’s approach to physiotherapy is founded on developing a strong therapeutic relationship with participants, and his relaxed nature facilitates open and honest communication which supports holistic treatment plans to work towards collaborative, participation-based goals, and outcomes. Luke has developed a strong passion for working with marginalised communities and people experiencing hardship, leading him to establish himself as a key support for aged care and NDIS participants with mental illness.