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Yiriman keeping country and young people healthy

Join the Yiriman Project in reconnecting young indigenous Australians with culture, community elders, and country to prevent self-harm and substance abuse. Learn how traditional practices lead to healthier outcomes.

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Yiriman keeping country and young people healthy

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  1. Yiriman keeping country and young people healthy National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Suicide Prevention Conference, Alice Springs May 2916

  2. Introductions

  3. Our involvement with Yiriman • Janna: I have been with Yiriman for over 12 months now. I work for them, go out on trips, work in the office and help organise camps, set everything up and look after the old people when we are on country. • I have been going on a number of cultural trips. Elders take out kids from their group, young people from 14-19 years old. • On the last trip we took 23 girls, 10 ladies and 4 elders. One lady came up from Cultural Health, the local Aboriginal Medical Service, a lady from the hospital doing sexual education, signs of suicide workshop, Alcohol and Drug Awareness workshop. and a few others.

  4. Let’s listen to Mr John Watson and Mr Joe Brown talking about getting things started. http://governance.reconciliation.org.au/toolkit/3-0-getting-started-on-building-your-governance https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6C3nsmdt7rA#t=32

  5. What is Yiriman? • The Yiriman Project was conceived and developed by the elders from four Kimberley groups: Nyikina, Mangala, Karajarri and Walmatjarri/Wangkajunka • Elders concerned about young people, self-harm and substance abuse • Saw need for a place where young people could separate themself from negative influences & reconnect with their culture in remote and culturally significant places • Decided to follow old ways & set up an organisation to take young people, elders and the middle ages on‘trips to country’to visit the ’old people’ (This means they wanted us to return to the areas where our ancestors live with their spirits looking after country)

  6. What is Yiriman

  7. Let’s go on a Yiriman Trip The Yiriman Project and caring for country https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOiYOYOvFvY

  8. What Yiriman does • Arrange ‘back to country trips’to visit the ‘old people’ (ancestors who ‘sit’ on that country) • Bring together young people with elders, middle ages and others from outside community • Everyday on country young people and elders involved in deep learning and transmission of culture, skin (respect), language, old and new stories,’ sweat’ on country and making artifacts. • Give young people an experience away from‘humbug’, alcohol, drugs and self-harm • Take care of country and get taken care of by country • Give young people many ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunities for being on and with country, culture and law.

  9. What Yiriman does

  10. What has this got to do with suicide? “If they lose language and connection to culture they become a nobody inside and that’s enough to put them over the edge.” Joe Brown – Fitzroy Crossing, W.A

  11. Evidence of correlation between cultural elements and other ‘outcomes’ Aboriginal Gardiya Jobs in market economy Participation in training Staying in formal education Improved cardiovascular function Improved renal function Improvement in smoking and alcohol related illness Drop crime and justice involvement Suicide prevention Cultural immersion On country activities Language learning and maintenance

  12. Evaluation assessed that Yiriman is very strong in: Cultural immersion On country activities Language learning and maintenance

  13. How can we show others it is working? • Check in with elders and family • Follow young people • Record young people’s views • Record cultural activity, language & on-country time • Young people who have ‘been through’ Yiriman are taking on leadership roles (ie rangers, AEOs, etc) • Won National Governance Award in 2012 • Recorded amount of work with other organisations (schools, ngos, police etc) • Yiriman’s methods are consistent with ‘success’ elsewhere

  14. How to know young people getting healthy? Yiriman elder: The signs that countrymen are getting healthier is that old people are on country. We know young people healthy because they on country with the old people. We know us old people are healthy because we with young people. We know country is healthy because together we on country. That is the sign. We always tell when country is healthy … the old people is there, country bin fired, plenty of food on country and jila (water hole) is clean. Then we get taken away from country … it get sick … we get sick … we come back and country come alive …and we come alive … young people come alive.

  15. Yiriman, country, culture, health and bringing out the stories of young people https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqm0etpmxac

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