On a chilly Tuesday morning, Echuca Regional Health chief executive Carol-Anne Lever welcomed all to celebrate 50 years of NAIDOC at the hospital.
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The morning began with a traditional smoking ceremony.
Echuca Fire Brigade junior leader Colin Atkinson gave welcome to Elders past and those present there.
Mr Atkinson explained that he would be using cherry ballart and red gum leaves to create the smoke for the ceremony.
“We’ll do smoking ceremonies to welcome each other, but also to heal our mind, body, and spirit, but also to get rid of that bad energy in those bad spirits,” he said.
“It’s quite a privilege to actually do a smoking ceremony on my people’s country, the Wollīthiga country under the Yorta Yorta nation,” Mr Atkinson said.
“We’ve been doing this for tens of thousands of years. And over time, our culture has adapted to modern society. This is one of those adaptations.“
While Mr Atkinson tended to the fire, Aboriginal liaison officer Merinda Slater welcomed all and spoke about the significance of NAIDOC Week.
“On behalf of ERH I would like to acknowledge that I am delivering this welcome with the support and permission of my Yorta Yorta Elders from the Bagot Morgan and Elizabeth Atkinson family group,” she said.
“On behalf of my Yorta Yorta people, I welcome you here today.”
Ms Slater explained that NAIDOC was born from resistance, and grew from the efforts of Aboriginal people who fought to have their voices heard, their rights recognised and their cultures respected.
“What began as a movement for justice has become a national celebration of the strength and continuing languages of our peoples,” she said.
“As we celebrate 50 years of NAIDOC, I can't help but also honour the generation who came before myself. For me, that is my grandmother Elizabeth Morgan.”
Elizabeth Morgan dedicated her life to Aboriginal people, and established Australia's first Aboriginal women's refuge, now known as the Elizabeth Morgan House in Melbourne.
“May we continue to walk with purpose today, guided by the strength, resilience and wisdom of our Elders. May today be an opportunity to do all of that together,” Ms Slater said.
After those who wished to, including many of the ERH staff, took part in the smoking ceremony, the flags were raised and a morning tea was held.
Along with this was access to a small shop featuring items with the artwork of local Indigenous woman Alkina Edwards. Her artwork depicts the Yorta Yorta people and country, representing strong identities, guidance and deep listening.
Ms Lever spoke about the importance of celebrating NAIDOC at ERH and the organisation’s role in reconciliation and moving forward together.
“One of our main strategies, one that we believe in, is providing a safe environment for all people who come to access our service. And in particular our First Nations patients that come,” she said.
“We want to embrace, we want to listen, we would like to hear, we want to learn, we want to provide a more culturally safe service.”
“Uncle Gilbert and Merinda, our Aboriginal liaison officers, really help us and guide us in our management and treatment of our First Nations patients,” Ms Lever said.
“It’s so important because if you do’t feel safe accessing our health service, your health outcomes are a lot poorer. We want to make sure that when you walk through our doors, you feel safe and welcome.
“It’s really a week of celebration for our First Nations staff and to celebrate their culture and put it forward and look at all the positive things that it’s brought us.”
Aboriginal liaison officer Uncle Gilbert Wanganeen also spoke about the importance of celebrating NAIDOC Week at ERH and creating a culturally safe environment for First Nations people.
“It’s important to us because our stories from the past haven’t always been good. By sharing those stories and understanding why they’re important to First Nations people, we can move forward together and ask, ‘How can we get better at this?’” he said.
Uncle Gilbert said creating a welcoming healthcare environment encouraged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to seek medical care earlier, rather than waiting until they were seriously unwell.
“Without NAIDOC, this hospital was a place where we didn’t want to come. But now we know it’s okay to come into the hospital and not wait until we’re very sick,” he said.
“It’s about knowing that prevention is better, so just come in.”
Uncle Gilbert said changing perceptions of hospitals was an important step in improving health outcomes for First Nations people.
“If we can get our people to think of the hospital not as a place of death, but as a place of life,” he said.
“We want our young children to grow up with positive views of hospitals and see them as places where people go to get better.”
He said cultural safety was essential to encouraging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to seek medical care early.
“Cultural safety for our people is very important because we’ve seen people not want to come to hospital,” he said.
“We want to get past waiting until people are really sick or bedridden before they seek help. Prevention is always better.”
Uncle Gilbert also highlighted the vital role Aboriginal liaison officers played in ensuring patients felt genuinely supported from the moment they arrived until they returned home.
“In the past, when we needed help or guidance, we had our Elders to talk to,” he said.
“Today, we also need to be able to trust our hospitals. As Aboriginal liaison officers, we’re here to support our people, make sure they feel safe while they’re in hospital, and help them return home well.”