Moving Forward Together in Aboriginal Women's Health: - Theses ...

Moving Forward TogetherJanet Kellyplanned, which was very unfortunate as it was to be a central stall show casingAboriginal health professionals. As a result of the Aboriginal Outreach HealthService ‘crisis’, I took on the role of co-coordinating the SHAW event so asnot to leave the school in the lurch.One of the teachers whose role involved working with and supportingAboriginal students, and I, became the two key organisers of the event. Iworked with external agencies using my community health knowledge andcontacts, and she worked within the school. We planned a health promotionactivity that could be structured to fit into the school agenda and timetable. Avision grew of an outdoor lesson and lunchtime ‘market place’ event involvingvisiting health, education and support services. Students could each receive ashow bag, and walk from stall to stall asking questions at each stall and gettinga paper stamped. There would be fun interactive activities as well as healthinformation.We spent a lot of time discussing with Aboriginal staff, students andcommunity people how the day could support and promote Aboriginal people.In South Australia at the time there was very negative publicity aboutAboriginal people, particularly Aboriginal young men. The police had begun‘Operation Mandrake’, a strategy to ‘stamp out Aboriginal youth gangs (Cappo2007). Many Aboriginal people were speaking out about the negative effects ofthis strategy and the related media hype was having on their young men.Aboriginal people were becoming blamed for crimes that they did not commit.One mother discussed how her son was running along a roadside and waspulled over by police and then searched down to his underwear on the side ofthe road (Collaboration Area One FG4). Such strategies were worseningrelationships between Aboriginal people, authorities and the wider community.In response to these concerns, co-researchers decided that the SHAW eventshould have an underlying theme of promoting collaboration and positiveimages of Aboriginal people as significant and respected members of society.We asked each visiting agency to involve Aboriginal as well as non-Aboriginalstaff to attend on the day. Two student bodies were involved with the planningof the event, the student events team and Aboriginal students. Theirparticipation was advertised, and the event was viewed very favourably by287