The core of what we need to do is to get back to country and to a sense of sacred, of our ancestry and of our true values
(Hobart workshop)
This report, Voices from the campfires: Establishing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation, documents the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation Development Team’s findings from a national consultation process, conducted from May to August 2009, regarding healing and the establishment of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Healing Foundation.
Chapter one provides an overview of the policy context and academic literature in relation to healing. Chapter two presents the findings from the Team’s consultations with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, communities and organisations on their ideas relating to healing and the possible roles and structure of the Foundation. Chapter three discusses these ideas and makes ten recommendations on the Foundation’s establishment. Each chapter is introduced by an excerpt from ‘Healing is a movement’, a poem by David Cole, which is reproduced in full at Appendix A with the author’s permission.
The Team would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the report, in particular Dr Lowitja O’Donoghue for acting as the Team’s patron, David Williams for the beautiful artwork, David Cole for his wise words and Brenda Campe and her team for their unflagging enthusiasm. Lastly, thank you to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members who generously shared their stories. This is your report.