Initiatives to create health and economic equity for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have lacked long-term planning and have proved costly 7. Governments and policy makers now concede that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples must either lead, or be part of the design of, programs that are meant for them 8 and it is clear that government initiatives must be grounded in trauma-informed principles. Historical trauma, collective trauma 4 and cultural trauma 5 have broken down the fabric of a once rich and healthy culture. Misguided policies and service-delivery practices are perpetuating systemic racism 6, and unless we incorporate an understanding of trauma into cultural safety training, we cannot become culturally safe in our practice. The violent acts of colonisation, including genocide 2, have left a devastating legacy 3. We argue that, without an understanding of the impacts of trauma, ticking the box of cultural safety training is not enough.Ĭolonisation has inflicted immense damage on the traditional diets, lore, land ownership and ways of living that kept First Nations peoples thriving for more than 50 000 years 1. This article examines the origins of cultural safety as a practice for working with Indigenous peoples, demonstrating its flaws and shortcomings. We have found that understanding the impacts of trauma has the power to enable systems to repair and communities and individuals to heal. For several years, The Seedling Group and other Indigenous organisations have been training government teams, not-for-profit organisations and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to work in culturally safe and trauma-informed ways. Keywords:Īustralia, First Nations peoples, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, cultural awareness, cultural lens, cultural safety, decolonising trauma studies, trauma-informed training, culturally safe trauma-informed practice.Ĭulturally safe, trauma-informed practice training is essential to achieve cultural safety and healing. Trauma-informed cultural safety can allow profound change for individuals and the systems within which they practice. Sharing this knowledge with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations also has the potential to create safe healing spaces and interrupt trauma being passed on through generations. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are drawing immense strength and hope from understanding trauma and its impact on their lives.

Organisations that are serious about working and partnering with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are becoming ‘trauma informed’. Recognising the role that historical and other traumas play in Indigenous people’s communities and lives is a prerequisite for respectful and safe practice.Ĭulturally safe, trauma-informed practice training makes cultural safety more achievable.

It is critical that those working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities acknowledge and understand the impacts of trauma in order to engage in culturally safe practice.

Intergenerational transfer of trauma