Introduction
We have our Elders, our land and our ancestors to guide us. We have our families to hold us and keep us strong. We have the love for our children to remind us of our responsibility to keep them strong in our culture (Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care [SNAICC] 2012, p. 6).
ABORIGINAL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT is about growing and building people from the womb to life's end. It's about people who walk alongside each other in their life's journey. It's about relationships. Aboriginal community development is about people.
Australia's Aboriginal people have suffered and continue to suffer the effects of colonisation and in particular forced separation which has had and still has lingering effects on family functioning (Kickett-Tucker, Nilson, Bessarab & Scrine 2015). Refer to Chapters 1, 3, 5, 7 and 10 for further detail on the effects of colonisation. In sum, we know that Aboriginal people have a significantly lower life expectancy than other Australians (Australian Bureau of Statistics [ABS] 2014). All Australian governments in the last two decades have acknowledged that Aboriginal people are the most disadvantaged citizens across all socioeconomic indicators, including primary health indicators (ABS 2014). In fact, Aboriginal Australians are one of the most disadvantaged Indigenous populations in the world (e.g. Cooke, Mitrou, Lawrence, Guimond & Beavon 2007). Despite the intergenerational trauma and the daily life struggles affecting individuals and communities, Aboriginal people and their communities remain in solidarity, showing much strength, resilience, hope and optimism for them, as evidenced by their children. The prominent Aboriginal psychiatrist Dr Helen Milroy has stated:
I observe many psychological strengths even in some of the most traumatised children. These include children's sense of autonomy early in life, their ability to understand psychological issues, their capacity for humour and their general creativity and playfulness evident in their love of drama, art and imagery. They have a strong sense of commitment to their siblings and family. The very fact that Aboriginal peoples are the oldest living culture and have survived the impact of colonisation is testimony to their resilience and the Elders must have passed this on to the children of today (Milroy, cited in Zubrick et al. 2005, p. xxiv).