(Photo by Tom Roe provided by the Akeyulerre Healing Centre)
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Note: Parts of this interview have been edited for brevity and clarity.
As the Western biomedical system dominates Australian health care, the system stays rooted in colonial structures. The health outcomes of Australian Aboriginal People are 2.3 times worse than non-Aboriginals. When accessing health care, they experience racism both systematically and interpersonally. Being denied access and receiving misdiagnoses are major causes of poor health among Aboriginal people. Their negative experiences with racism when accessing health care can lead to them avoiding hospitals altogether.
The term “Cultural safety” illustrates the importance of recognizing one’s identity and cultural background. Feeling culturally safe is crucial in making health care accessible. The connection between Aboriginal people, their culture, and land is significant when creating a culturally safe space.
Cultural centres, which are located on land that Aboriginal communities are connected to, provide a culturally safe space. Here, they can practice cultural traditions and grow connected to their identity, strengthening the mental health of Aboriginal people. Traditional healing and well-being practices create a safe space that modern hospitals do not. What can the Australian health care system learn from the vision and implementation of Aboriginal cultural centres?
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Join the Sphere →Arrernte and the Akeyulerre Healing Centre
Akeyulerre is a cultural centre in Alice Springs, central Australia. Alice Springs, alongside the MacDonnell Ranges, is home to the Arrernte People who have lived there for thousands of years — one of the world’s oldest continuous communities in Australia. They have a rich history of cultural traditions, religion, kinship systems, and language. Artistic expression, traditional healing, and storytelling about their ancestors’ connection to the land are central to Arrernte culture.
Arrernte People faced many challenges after the British settlement. Forced adjustment and land dispossession resulted in intergenerational trauma, which is still present among Arrernte families today.
The healing centre, Akeyulerre, aims to offer a culturally safe space for Arrernte People on their own land. Individuals and families can come together to practice important traditions. Elders pass on their knowledge to visitors, keeping the Arrernte culture alive.
To better understand the centre and its vision, Spheres of Influence had the opportunity to talk with Gaia Polidori, Akeyulerre’s Strategic Communications & Enterprise Development Officer. Before the conversation started, Gaia informed Spheres of Influence that the information she would share is not meant to represent absolute truth and comes solely from her own experience working for Akeyulerre.
Why was Akeyulerre created, and what are the most important values that Akeyulerre upholds?
“Akeyulerre was created in the early 2000s by a group of Arrernte Elders and women. They created this centre to heal their community by coming together and practising traditional healing. The founders’ main value is to provide a safe space where Arrernte people feel appreciated and seen. Akeyulerre organizes activities that are important to Arrernte people.
Healing for Arrernte is holistic in the sense that simply talking, or as the Elders say ‘yarning’ together, a word they use to describe open dialogue, is considered healing. Making art together, for example jewelry or boomerangs, or hearing stories from Elders, is also healing. Another part of healing comes from the land: bush medicines and Ngangkari healing. Ngangkari can be physical, emotional, and spiritual. Traditional Ngangkari healers practice Ngangkari healing in different ways with patients, let’s say, depending on the patient’s needs.”
“They use bush medicines to create smoke in a way that is comparable to a cleansing practice. The relationship with the land is important for Arrernte People and Akeyulerre. A term they use is going on country, or being on country. On country means going out in nature and, for example, creating a fire together, or having a feed. There are all these terms that my Aboriginal and other co-workers use in a very specific way.”
What is the importance of Akeyulerre’s location?
“The word Akeyulerre is the Arrernte word for Billy Goat Hill, the hill where the centre is located. The hill is a place where Arrernte women practised healing in the past. It’s highly connected to the Arrernte culture. The hill also connects to an important cultural story about the creation of the world. Aboriginal people use the term ‘Dreaming stories’, or just ‘Dreaming ’, for real stories in their culture about the beginning of creation. Some stories are public knowledge and can be shared with visitors. Other stories are very much private, and they’re only for the people who originated in that land.
So, a Dreaming story relevant to the Alice Springs region, one I know is connected to the hill where the centre is located, is about caterpillars. The idea is that three giant caterpillars, at the beginning of everything, came together in this part of Australia and formed all the hills, such as the MacDonnell Ranges. As they were passing through this area, their movements and shape created the mountains and hills. The caterpillar story is an important Dreaming story for this location. Hill Akeyulerre was also created in that process.”
When someone comes to Akeyulerre, what will their visit look like?
“The centre has different parts. The first part is a visitors centre, with a cafe and a shop. The second part is a community centre where people can walk in, have a seat, and participate in activities. You can do cultural activities such as boomerang art classes or other art-making practices. We also offer cultural services that people need to book on our website.
Services include smoking ceremonies for cleansing and healing, or Ngangkari traditional healing. Because our cultural services need some preparation, people need to book in advance.
The Arrernte ladies, however, are always on site to talk about bush medicine or show the lab where they make the medicine. Akeyulerre aims to be an open space where people can stop by and learn more about Arrernte culture. Groups of school kids from around the area also participate in our workshops. They learn about bush medicine, and Arrernte ladies show them all the products that we make. Together they make their own traditional bush medicine by sitting on mats and grinding herbs by hand. The kids can see the whole process and have the opportunity to ask questions.
We do a lot of different practices and activities depending on the day. Even though many visitors are Arrernte, the Akeyulerre centre is open to anyone.”
What pressing issues are affecting Arrernte People right now? And how does the centre help resolve them?
“From my experience, I see people who are trying to heal from intergenerational trauma. Many people are still struggling mentally because of the effects of colonization. Traumatic events from the past get passed to each generation, leaving the wounds still fresh. However, generally, I see people who love life, especially when they visit Akeyulerre.
Occasionally, I see a shift in the moment they come in and leave. Coming in, they appear a bit tired and quiet. After doing some activities, their energy changes, and they start laughing together and having fun. So I think that is really powerful. It is nice to see that people feel seen and appreciated, as this is one of Akeyulerre’s key values. Even though most of the founders have passed away, I can see their vision is still present.”
What does Akeyulerre provide for Arrernte People that the Australian health care system lacks?
“Although being a healing centre, we are not a health care service, and we don’t want to replace hospitals or their work in any way. Both physical and spiritual healing are very valuable, and Akeyulerre aims to provide spiritual healing.
I see Arrernte people who have difficulty finding a safe space in hospitals coming to Akeyulerre. The centre offers the safe space they may be missing. Some Arrernte People first book a cultural service or come by to meet Arrernte healers on site, then go to the hospital after. People choose to come to the healing centre first because they know how we work and they know the spiritual value behind healing.
They also come first to us to find connection before going to the hospital. Many people, for example, are connected to the staff. Akeyulerre provides a family-oriented space that offers comfort and safety. It is a place where Arrernte People can just relax and decompress.
Akeyulerre also provides bush medicines to the nearby hospital, which offers them to patients. We want to provide this option because many Arrernte patients want to feel connected to their culture while staying in the hospital. Some of them can also visit the centre while staying in the hospital, or go out on country or in nature.
For those who are not allowed to, or can not physically leave the hospital, Akeyulerre provides bush medicine so they have something to remind them of home. I think that is really valuable because, especially in Aboriginal and Arrernte culture, it is not just about healing physically. The plants are quite effective for the healing of the spirit. I can feel the difference for patients on a spiritual level.”
What would the future of an accessible health care system that actually serves Arrernte People look like? How could Akeyulerre and its services be part of that?
“I think it’s really beautiful when hospitals reach out to an Aboriginal healing centre such as Akeyulerre and ask how they can improve a space for Aboriginal patients. Alice Springs Hospital is a good example of reaching out to collaborate with our healing centre. There is always an open conversation, and the hospital is quite interested in being more culturally aware. I think our staff can provide knowledge about what is culturally appropriate. What I’ve seen with our partnership with Alice Springs Hospital is that they want to put care in the space they have.
For example, they want to collaborate with us to develop a little educational bush medicine garden at the hospital. A communal garden can create a space where Arrernte patients can relax and browse through the medicines. Maybe some younger patients can even learn about bush medicine plants from Elders at the hospital.
From conversations that I had with the staff where I work, there is still a need for more Aboriginal Liaison Officers, or ALOs, at the hospital. ALOs are support units who guide Aboriginal People through hospitals in a culturally safe way. They have a few now, but the number is too low, so that would be really helpful. It helps overcome barriers such as language and cultural differences.
ALOs provide a cultural lens in the health sector for Aboriginal People. But Alice Springs Hospital wanting to build a communal space, such as gardens with some bush medicine plants, is already a step forward.
So I see there is a will to change and make Arrernte patients feel more at ease and more connected to their culture. However, it does depend on the area in Australia, because in Alice Springs, there is a high percentage of Aboriginal People. Therefore, the willingness to adjust is higher as well. Whereas in bigger cities or other areas in Australia, the percentage is lower. Areas with a lower percentage of Aboriginal People might see less value in adjusting. But an open conversation with cultural centres is definitely an important way to create accessibility.
It does not resemble a perfect future, but projects with the same goal of creating communal spaces are definitely the way forward. Spaces that remind Aboriginal patients of their land and community.”
Edited by Alexas Vieira
