Introduction by Croakey: On the first day of national sessions at the recent Healthy Environments and Lives (HEAL) Network conference (HEAL2024), a series of powerful presentations went to the heart of the climate crisis.
Danielle Manton, a Barunggam women grown up on Dharug Country, tuned in from Sydney, where she works as the Director of Indigenous Health Education at the University of Technology.
In the post below for the Croakey Conference News Service, she weaves some of the important themes together to present a picture of how Indigenous ways of connecting to Country and each other are key to restoring much needed balance to our world.
Bookmark this link to read all the articles from the conference, with more to be published.
Danielle Manton writes:
Logging onto the HEAL2024 conference on an unusually hot day for November in Sydney felt immersive. I could actually feel the climate crisis through every bead of sweat, giving me the sense that our Country was sending an undeniable message to do something now!
The Welcome to Country by Aunty Professor Linda Payi Ford, her daughter Chloe, and young granddaughter, Eden, reinforced the importance and urgency for action. Country is not only important for our global and population health. It is imperative culturally for our physical, spiritual and psychological health.
Aunty Linda Payi Ford, a Traditional Owner, Rak Mak Mak Marranunggu woman and Professor at Charles Darwin University, told the conference, “For us it’s about lifestyle and how we engage with it (Country) traditionally and contemporarily.”
Eden’s presence in the Welcome to Country was a reminder of the work we need to do now to ensure she has the opportunity to connect with Country.
Aunty Professor Ford spoke later of Eden’s eagerness to be involved and contribute to the conference. Even at a young age, she understands the importance and is willing to do the work to speak up, speak out, and share her culture.
The conference theme, Healing with Country for a Sustainable Future for everyone, was well established.
A call to act now
The call to action was consistent throughout the day’s program, with many presenters recognising the importance of moving research into policy and practice. Traditionally, this has not been a rapid evolution.
Speaking at the final plenary of the day, Dr Carmel Williams, an Associate Professor at the South Australian Medical Research Institute and Co-Director of the WHO Collaborating Centre for Advancing Health in All Policies, told the conference, “it takes 17 years for research to translate to policy, impact and practice on the ground”.
But the presenters were consistent in reiterating – we don’t have the time to wait for research to translate to impact. We must be proactive.
In his opening remarks, Professor Sotiris Vardoulakis, Director of the HEAL Network, called the Government to action – to be proactive to transition services and people away from coal energy sources.
Professor Vardoulakis also noted that most of the research on climate crisis was focused on the problem rather than on proactive interventions and solutions, which needed to change.
Healing through connection with Country
In a powerful opening to the first afternoon plenary, Gunggari scholar Dr Vicki Saunders, from the Centre for Indigenous Health Equity Research, First Nations Academy, Central Queensland University, spoke passionately about the deep, often unspoken, relationships that connect us to the land and to each other.
“Each of us here is already in a relationship with something inexpressible, precious, and dear,” she said, reflecting on how these connections, whether visible or not, shape our lives.
“This relationship is easiest to understand if expressed as our connections with Country – those places where our families live, love, and instil love.”
Saunders’ words resonated deeply, verbalising the profound and often intangible bond Indigenous peoples share with the land.
She emphasised that healing through Country is not solely about restoring individual or community well-being but also about addressing systemic issues that perpetuate disconnection and harm.
“We are in a world out of balance,” she said, acknowledging the larger forces that disrupt harmony between people and the environment.
For Indigenous communities, this imbalance is exacerbated by centuries of colonisation, land dispossession, and environmental degradation. However, Saunders believes that Indigenous ways of knowing and being hold the key to restoring equilibrium.
“Indigenous knowledges offer pathways to restore balance,” she explained.
By integrating this time-honoured wisdom with contemporary decision-making processes, Saunders alluded, society can begin to close the divide between community-led initiatives and top-down policy. This approach, she said, would ensure that solutions arise from the ground up, rooted in local context and community needs.
Central to Saunders’ vision is the creation of “enabling environments” that honour Indigenous knowledges and foster reciprocal, respectful relationships between communities and the systems that impact them.
“It’s about building connections, not just between people, but between people and the systems that affect their lives,” she said.
Such environments would recognise the value of Indigenous wisdom and its vital role in shaping policies that promote sustainability and community resilience.
Saunders’ call to action invites both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities to work together to heal not only the individual, but also the systems that have perpetuated disconnection.
By re-establishing our connections to Country, and by ensuring that these connections are woven into the fabric of decision-making, we can begin to restore the balance that has long been lost.
“The healing of the land is intrinsically tied to the healing of our communities,” she concluded, urging all to recognise the importance of healing through connection with Country.
Our connection with Country brings many health and wellbeing benefits, including immense joy and grounding.
Gamilaraay/ Wiradjuri scholar, Dr Kisani Upward presented her PhD research, “Guwiinbarraan: Close to Fire Project” in the same plenary.
Her research included the co-creation of an amazing video (linked here), made on Nucoorilma Country with the community, in which Nucoorilma Elder, Aunty Val Munro, speaks to the restorative essence of being in a relationship with the land when she says, “You feel so good when you are on Country.”
Upward acknowledged the diversity of Australia’s climate and the multiplicity within its First Nations communities, urging us to be responsive to local contexts and to “prioritise place-based research,” which tailors solutions to the unique needs of each community.
The movement to reconnect with Country is not only a call to Indigenous peoples but a global invitation to heal fractured relationships with the Earth. By embracing Indigenous voices and Indigenous-led approaches, we have the potential to find our way back to a world in balance – one that respects and nurtures both people and land.
Indigenous Knowledge and relationality
Indigenous communities have long understood the deep relationality between people, Country, and wellbeing. As Aunty Professor Ford shared, “We are part of Country, and Country is part of us – it is a much deeper connection to Country for us Aboriginal people.”
This relational view offers profound insights into healing practices that nourish both the land and the people, paving the way for a future grounded in sustainability.
Dr Veronica Matthews, Quandamooka woman and Associate Professor at the University of Sydney’s Centre for Rural Health, chaired a concurrent session, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and knowledge translation for building resilience to environmental change.
Presenting at this session, Aunty Professor Pat Dudgeon, from the School of Indigenous Studies, University of Western Australia, shed light on the crucial role of relationality in fostering a sustainable future, particularly through Indigenous worldviews that emphasise the interconnectedness of culture, spirituality, and the environment.
“Connection to culture is important. Connection to your spirit and spirituality is important,” Aunty Pat explained, but she emphasised that “for this discussion, connection to Country” was foundational to Indigenous identity.
This deep bond with the land is a vital part of how communities understand themselves and their place in the world.
Aunty Pat also addressed the long-lasting effects of colonisation, noting that, “we have gone through an experience of colonisation, which has been devastating,” and highlighting the need for healing from this historical trauma.
She emphasised that true recovery lies in the empowerment of Indigenous peoples, asserting, “Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander people need to be in charge of their own lives.”
This self-determination, she argued, was critical not only for social and political sovereignty but also for the protection and nurturing of Indigenous knowledge systems, which are essential to sustainable environmental practices.
Aunty Pat highlighted the profound connection between climate change and the environmental destruction facing Indigenous communities, noting that for many, these challenges – such as flooding, fires, and land degradation – were “a reality” that deeply impacted our culture, livelihood, and way of life.
Despite these adversities, Aunty Pat emphasised the importance of Indigenous-led initiatives, such as traditional land management programs, which honour our ancestral knowledge and are protective factors to build resilience.
Calling for a collective effort to “be a part of healing Country,” Aunty Pat stressed that environmental conservation was a shared responsibility for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.
Healing with Country is not merely an environmental concern; it is an understanding that the health of our bodies, minds, and spirits is intimately connected with the health of the land, and that Indigenous cultures have lived in harmony with the Australian landscape for millennia.
Dr Matthews spoke to this to this by recognising “the importance of holistic health grounded in culture,” emphasising that traditional knowledge systems offer invaluable tools for physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing.
Building trust through meaningful engagement
Professor Alan Rosen’s presentation highlighted the importance of building trust through meaningful engagement, especially when addressing the mental health impacts of climate change on First Nations communities.
Rosen, who has Professorial roles at the Universities of Sydney and Wollongong, and has been a Visiting Psychiatrist for the Far West Local Health District Mental Health Service in NSW, highlighted the strengths, knowledges and learnings that could benefit all peoples, when he said “First Nations people bring with them strengths like transgenerational resistance and resilience,” drawing from their centuries-old connection to land and culture.
These strengths are essential in navigating both the current challenges of climate change and the enduring impacts of colonisation.
A key to fostering trust, according to Rosen, is the principle of “working two ways” — integrating both Western clinical practices and traditional Indigenous healing methods.
He emphasised the critical role of “local, trusted Indigenous mental health workers,” who possess the leadership, cultural authority and deep knowledge of their communities, enabling them to deliver services in a way that resonates authentically with the people they serve.
This model has already proven effective, with community-controlled responses during early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic leading to hospitalisation rates six times lower than the general population.
Rosen also called for the inclusion of Indigenous leadership across sectors such as health, education, and fire management, stressing that “strong local Indigenous representation” is key to developing sustainable, long-term solutions.
By recognising Indigenous leadership and fostering trust through collaborative, cross-cultural approaches, we can empower First Nations communities to take an active role in both mitigating climate change and improving community wellbeing.
Efforts to engage with Indigenous knowledges must centre and value meaningful, culturally respectful relationships.
Kataya Barrett, a Gumbaynggirr and Bundjalung woman from Jagun Alliance Aboriginal Corporation, stressed this in her presentation, saying, “Distil information that is useful to mob on the ground, guided by community.”
This means moving away from inaccessible, top-down reports and embracing more intuitive, community-centred tools – like conversation maps – that reflect local stories and collective decisions of the community to implement self-determined solutions.
Barrett explained, “The community are map makers to connect stories and decide the direction to support climate change,” highlighting how shared narratives create a roadmap for collective action, grounded in lived experience.
Yet, trust remains a major challenge to overcome to build trusting relationships with communities. As Barrett pointed out, “The element of trust is hard won at times due to a legacy of bad research.”
Rebuilding this trust demands a commitment to honesty, transparency and accountability, as well as implementing Indigenous research methodologies, including storytelling through art, song, and other forms of cultural expression.
Aunty Professor Ford reinforced this, recognising the importance of art as a means of connecting to Country, explaining how it becomes a visual representation of identity and relationship to Country.
Reconnecting through words
In a rapidly shifting world, the question of balance has never been more pressing.
Throughout the HEAL Conference 2024, Indigenous community leaders and researchers highlighted the profound connection between people, and Country, emphasising that healing begins with a renewed relationship with the land.
The title of the first afternoon plenary was, Speaking Indigenous Research for/with/on Country, a concept which was modelled throughout the conference and, at its heart, highlights the centrality of Country, culture, and community.
Dr Vicki Saunders told the conference, “The climate change crisis is our lost relationship with Country.” Her words contain a critical truth: our environmental challenges are deeply tied to the severance of cultural and spiritual ties with the land.
For Indigenous communities, Country is more than a physical space – it is a living, breathing entity that nurtures and sustains spirituality, physically and psychologically.
Nucoorilma Elder, Uncle Paul Munro, echoed this sentiment in the video presented by Dr Kisani Upward, reminding us of the reciprocal relationship we must foster: “Our Country looks after us, now it’s our turn to look after Country.”
This call to action emphasises the shared responsibility to protect the land that has given so much. However, the journey to reconnection is not without pain.
Upward described this pain, telling the conference, “There is a grief and loss associated with a loss of relationship with Country.”
This loss reverberates through generations, affecting identity, health, and wellbeing.
There is deep healing power in words and the connections we build through them.
As Dr Saunders reminded the conference, “The power of our words to heal as well as to harm” holds transformative potential, particularly when words are woven through poetic dialogue and storytelling.
These forms of expression are not merely about the words themselves but about the spaces in which they are shared. Saunders said, “Creating safe spaces for courageous conversations engages our hearts and minds as researchers and as humans.”
Poetic inquiry, for example, offers a way for Indigenous voices to rise, honouring culture while fostering mutual understanding.
“Poetic inquiry helps in a gentler way to amplify our voices,” Saunders explained, creating a platform where truth-telling and advocacy can be heard with respect and care.
Vision for the future
By honouring these knowledge systems and fostering deeper relationality, we can create a future where both Country and community thrive together –sustaining health, culture, and the environment for generations to come.
This vision calls for a return to balance, where the power of connection – between people, Country, and story – becomes the foundation for healing and transformation. In honouring the wisdom of Indigenous communities, we can move forward in ways that restore both people and the planet.
Danielle Manton is a Barunggam women, grown up on Dharug Country, and is Director of Indigenous Health Education, and a PhD candidate at the University of Technology Sydney (UTS).
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