Paddle with me
Now that you’ve “met” Dr. Ramsden, in this lesson, you’re going to meet some other wonderful leaders in the field of cultural safety.
Meet Uncle Richard.
At the 2015 Australian Theater Forum in Sydney, singer/songwriter, author and film maker Richard Frankland (Uncle Richard) shared his insights into the use of theater for “collective healing” and the opportunities to address the burden of “cultural load” (or cultural trauma) that is experienced by Indigenous Australians. Uncle Richard shares this quote from John Fire Lame Deer:
“Before our white brothers arrived to make us civilized men, we didn’t have any kind of prison. Because of this, we didn’t have any delinquents. Without a prison, there can’t be no delinquents. We had no locks nor keys therefore among us there were no thieves. When someone was so poor that he couldn’t afford a horse, a tent or a blanket, he would, in that case, receive it all as a gift. We were too uncivilized to give great importance to private property. We didn’t know any kind of money and consequently, the value of a human being was not determined by his wealth. We had no written laws laid down, no lawyers, no politicians, therefore we were not able to cheat and swindle one another. We were really in bad shape before the white man arrived and I don’t know how to explain how we were able to manage without these fundamental things that (so they tell us) are so necessary for a civilized society.”
Uncle Richard speaks of “cultural load”, portraying the concept with an on-stage activity utilizing plastic cups and volunteers. It’s ingenious. The point is, how can one person carry all that stress (load) and maintain balance in their life? Enjoy the video.
The Brascoupe article is a classic resource in the practice of cultural safety. You might find the case studies particularly useful for our last week of class. (make a note of it)
A Paddler’s Perspective
This week’s required article (Brascoupe) is a good summary of many concepts we have discussed throughout this course. I found the discussion on multiculturalism and cultural blindness very interesting as it lays out the limitations in these theories compared to the cultural safety model. This article reviews the social determinants of health. The “Application to Policy Areas” is important giving guidance for those in leadership positions. See page 30 for some recommendations on cultural safety. This resource will help you in your final work for this course. The case studies at the end should give you some ideas as well as we prepare you for your final week and your final case study.
Uncle Richard is a “kick”. I met him in 2016 at a conference. He has had a rough life and has overcome many personal traumas. All I could feel from him was resonating love – I was in awe of his own, personal resilience. These are the types of people.