Country Is Yarning to Me: Worldview, Health and Well-Being Amongst Australian First Nations People

• Published in: The British Journal of Social Work
• Main Authors: Terare, Mareese, Rawsthorne, Margot
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2019
• Subjects: First Nations
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/bjsw/bcz072; http://academic.oup.com/bjsw/article-pdf/50/3/944/33139715/bcz072.pdf

Abstract Health inequalities experienced by Australian First Nations People are amongst the most marked in the world, with First Nations People dying some ten years earlier than non-Indigenous Australians. The failure of existing responses to health inequalities suggests new knowledges and questions that need to be explored. It is likely that these new knowledges sit outside of western research or practice paradigms. Through the Indigenous practice of yarning, the importance of worldview and Country emerged as an under-acknowledged social determinant of Australian First Nations People well-being. Yarning is a process of storytelling that involves both sound and silence. It requires embodied deep listening through which stories emerge that create new knowledge and understanding. We anchor our learning by re-telling John’s creation story, a story of healing through discovering his Aboriginal Worldview through reconnecting to Country. Country for First Nations People is more than a physical place; it is a place of belonging and a way of believing. We argue for the recognition of trauma, recognition of diversity and the use of yarning in social work practice. We conclude that reconnecting to Aboriginal Worldview provides hopeful insights into the well-being of Australia’s First Nations People and the social determinants of health.