The research article, “If the land is healthy… it makes the people healthy”: The Relationship between caring for Country and health for the Yorta Yorta Nation, Boonwurrung and Bangerang Tribes,” is written by Jonathan Yotti Kingsley, Mardie Townsend, Rebbecca Phillips, and David Aldous, which they explored the health and well-being of 3 indigenous tribes in Victoria, Australia and discovered that a healthy self-identity was an important process for these tribes and that involved having a strong connection to the land (291).

For their research to begin, the team had to first build strong relationships and trust with the indigenous tribes in Victoria. For months, the research team went out and talked (in semi-structured interviews) and discussed negotiations with the tribal Elders and the indigenous people in the southeastern state of Victoria, and also with government agencies (292-293).  The research team’s aim was to see what the indigenous communities needed, and learning how to build trust with all the indigenous tribes in Victoria became a crucial part in their research (294).

Australia once had over 600 Indigenous Nations, and each nation had its own distinct language, culture, and customs, which were “complex, and ever-changing as these tribes moved from place to place within their boundaries constantly” (292).  The south-eastern state of Victoria has been an Indigenous homeland for these tribes for more than 50,000 years (293).  The three tribes that this research project focused were the Bangerang, the Boonwurrung, and the Yorta Yorta tribes (293). 

The research team focused on the “well-being benefits of caring for Country” for the three tribes in Victoria (291).  The indigenous people believed that if a person had a strong connection to the land and a strong cultural identity, it meant he or she was in good health (292). A person’s well-being depended on cultural factors, and the indigenous people believed that having a connection to the Country meant having a “strong sense of community and kin” (292).

Bibliography:

Kingsley, Jonathan ‘Yotti’, Townsend, Mardie, Phillips, Rebecca, Aldous, David. “If the land is healthy… it makes the people healthy’’: The relationship between caring for Country and health for the Yorta Yorta Nation, Boonwurrung and Bangerang Tribes.” Health & Place 15 (2009): 291–299.