Bush medicine put to the test in WA

23 Mar 2010, 6:00 am   -   Source: SBS
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In a bid to reduce substance abuse in Indigenous youth, community elders in Western Australia are starting to use traditional healing and bush medicine.

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In a bid to reduce substance abuse in Indigenous youth, community elders in Western Australia are starting to use traditional healing and bush medicine.

SBS's Living Black reporter Allan Clarke travelled Eastern Kimberley's
Bungle Bungle region, where substance abuse is a growing trend among Indigenous youth.

Last year, authorities in WA found that almost 61 per cent of Indigenous teens were regularly using alcohol.

"It keeps taking them away from their culture and things, grog makes them forget everything, they can't even listen to us", says elder Nancy Nodea.

In Warmun, about 200 kilometres south of Kununurra, elders are working with a psychologist to figure out a way of combining traditional healing and conventional treatment methods.

"Fundamentally there's this sense of loss and disconnection you know and I see it and I do travel a lot in WA and Aboriginal communities and it's pervasive", says local psychologist Darrell Henry.

He believes reconnection is what the program is all about.

"Training our community senior people, the ones that are strong in our families, and there in every community no matter how bad people say the community is or what reputation, we've always got strong natural helpers who are compassionate and wise and they're the ones everyone goes to for counselling".

Troubled youth who want help are brought to the bush camp, where they spend three weeks learning bush medicine, dance and language.

27 year old Gwenette Nocketta, a mother of 4, is benefiting from this grassroots program.
She spent years abusing marijuana and alcohol.

"For me I'm grog in the community all the time but when I'm starting teenager I start drinking and things and so I wanted to go out bush, maybe clear my mind and thing", she says.
 

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Your Comments

fundraising for this project

ned sevil - from warmun, 3 years ago

hi anyone interested in hearing more about this project or supporting it, there is a fundraising exhibition tonight. The exhibition feature artworks from warmun art centre aswell as many other artists supporting warmun community with this event. All art is for sale helping to make this project sustainable and indepentent. So please come along to 38 lander st Darlington at 7-9 tonight. 25th of march. thanks from ned

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