Principles to practice: Beginning to see the door

The following section invites you as the practitioner to look and listen, learn and reflect, and practice these principles to support you in building genuine connections with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Diagram 1 outlines opportunities you can explore in your work with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, including:

Investment in relationships
Curiosity and seeking knowledge
Being seen and investing in ourselves
Being uncomfortable
Taking time
Making a stand and advocating
Maintaining hope and celebrating.

The preferred terminology used by Emerging Minds in our resources is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, as guided by our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social and Emotional Wellbeing National Consultancy Group.

Diagram 1: Building genuine connections

Fact sheet

The starting point: Investment in relationships

Emerging Minds

Relationships and connections are central to any engagement within Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Fact sheet

Seeking knowledge and being curious

Emerging Minds

Whilst many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are willing to share knowledge about their culture and history, it is important for you to take responsibility for your own learning if you want to build a genuine understanding of First Nations cultures.
Fact sheet

Being seen and investing something of ourselves

Emerging Minds

Connecting with Community wherever possible, through attending existing services or community events will give you the best opportunity to get to know Community and to be known.
Fact sheet

Being uncomfortable as a non-Indigenous practitioner

Emerging Minds

Working with different cultural groups can be challenging. Whilst you should always feel safe in your practice, there will be times when you may feel uncomfortable, and it is important to remember that this is both normal and OK.
Fact sheet

Taking time

Emerging Minds

On a deeper level, non-Indigenous practitioners are unintentionally part of a system that has left deep, lasting scars and wariness in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s contact with government and community services. This barrier is complex, difficult to navigate and takes time to overcome.
Fact sheet

Making a stand and advocating

Emerging Minds

Advocacy when working with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community takes on a different dimension. It is not just in the workplace; it is a belief about social justice. You will at times be required to make a choice about what you will stand for and what you will challenge in our community.
Fact sheet

Maintaining hope and celebrating

Emerging Minds

It is really important that where you are working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, particularly in roles that deal with the harder social and emotional issues, you are always looking for the strengths, hopes and wonders these individuals and communities have to offer.

Principles to practice: Beginning to see the door

The starting point: Investment in relationships

Seeking knowledge and being curious

Being seen and investing something of ourselves

Being uncomfortable as a non-Indigenous practitioner

Taking time

Making a stand and advocating

Maintaining hope and celebrating

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