Connection to Country for Aboriginal Health and Wellbeing
Connection to Country is a significant determinant of health and wellbeing for Aboriginal people and is a part of Aboriginal peoples’ self-determination.
The Joint Statement of Action is a collaborative statement which reflects the voices of over 80 representatives from communities and organisations across the health, environment and Aboriginal community sectors.
The Statement documents an agreed understanding of the importance of Connection to Country for Aboriginal health and wellbeing. It acknowledges that Aboriginal people understand and benefit from a strong relationship with Country. The reciprocal and interdependent relationship between Aboriginal people and their ancestral lands and seas is sustained by cultural knowledge and connection. This relationship, and the cultural practices and customs that strengthen and protect it, vary between places and communities. The relationship with Country is a personal one, Aboriginal people see themselves as belonging to Country, and every aspect of themselves and their life as holistically interconnected with Country.
The Statement articulates principles to guide how Aboriginal people in South Australia can be better supported to connect to Country through the combined action of government, the non-government sector and the community.
The Statement is an advocacy tool and document to guide partnership for the Aboriginal community, the non-government sector, state government agencies and the South Australian community as a whole.
The Statement contains:
- nine ‘Key Principles’ which articulate the core and fundamental elements that are required to foster and promote connection and/or reconnection to Country
- twelve ‘Key Asks’ which are the specific actions that the authors of the statement invite partners to deliver to support Aboriginal connection to Country.
