First Nations mental health during the Voice campaign

By Dom Barry

On Saturday 14 October 2023 many Australians will head to the polling booths to have their say on whether we should change the Constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by establishing a body called the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

The Voice referendum is a critical moment in our history. The outcome of the referendum will have significant implications for the future of every First Nations person.

Yet voters will be asked to vote “yes” or “no” in response to a single, simple question. The question on the ballot paper will be:

“A Proposed Law: to alter the Constitution to recognise the First Peoples of Australia by establishing an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice.

Do you approve this proposed alteration?”

Many Australians already know how they will vote. For some it’s a passionate and forthright “yes”, for others it may be a passionate and forthright “no”. Plenty of other people are undecided. However, this piece is not interested in how you will vote or the reasons why.

This article is written from my position as a Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara man and a provisional psychologist who wants to support mob with their mental health. In the weeks leading up to and immediately after the vote, First Nations people may find it tough when people talk about the Voice or say things about our culture and customs. You may find yourself feeling emotional or upset as the days go on. As mob, in these difficult circumstances we should first and foremost remember to take care of ourselves – take care of our social and emotional wellbeing (Gee et al., 2014), both as individuals and as a community.

Earlier this year in January 2023, Ipsos conducted an opinion poll asking what First Nations people thought about the Voice to Parliament referendum. They found that 80% of First Nations people supported the Voice, leaving 20% of First Nations people who either did not support the Voice or were undecided.

Each category – yes, no or undecided – no doubt includes a long list of proud First Nations people who all value community, culture, family, language and want a better future for their mob. Here, I simply want to support the emotional and social wellbeing of those grandfathers and grandmothers, mums and dads, aunties and uncles, brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews, elders and young people – regardless of which language group they belong to and of which way they may vote. As an added benefit, I also hope to educate non-Indigenous people on ways they might support First Nations people during an important and emotional period in their lives.

Mental health and social emotional wellbeing

While it would be wonderful if all Australians could feel excited or hopeful about the Voice referendum, the truth is not everyone feels that way. In the lead-up to referendum voting day on October 14, we are witnessing some ugly public conversations – on the news, on social media, in Parliament – which I’m sure cause pain and distress for many of our mob.

At this time, you may sometimes feel burdened by bad memories or some strong, heavy emotions – feelings like grief, sorrow, confusion, even despair. Other emotions you may experience in response to debate about the Voice might include anxiety or worry, shame, sadness, fear or even anger. You may notice you are feeling tense, annoyed, irritable or upset.

For mob in particular, it’s important to look after your emotional health and social wellbeing, which are impacted by many different things (Gee at al., 2014). Any fresh feelings of pain, distress or anger are likely to damage spirits already weighed down by the First Nations experience of Australia’s Colonial history and any adverse personal circumstances – leaving us feeling worn out as people, as communities, and as mob.

Three key triggers

There are many reasons why a person might experience difficult feelings during the Voice campaign, but mob are likely to be exposed to three key triggers:

• Microaggressions
• News and media reports including Facebook, X (ex-Twitter), Instagram or TikTok
• Being the “go-to” Voice person

1 Microaggressions

A microaggression is a “subtle, often unintentional, and brief comment, action, or behaviour that communicates a derogatory or negative message to individuals based on their race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, or other characteristics. These actions may be subtle and may not always be consciously intended to harm, but they can have a significant impact on the person causing feelings of discomfort, frustration, or marginalisation. These can take various forms, including verbal, nonverbal, and environmental” (Jenkins et al., 2023; Mellor, 2003).

You may experience microaggressions as you go about daily life. Indeed, there are different types of microaggressions you or your family might encounter, such as “microassaults”, “microinsults” and / or “microinvalidations”.

Microassaults can be verbal or non-verbal attacks, avoidant behaviours, and purposeful discriminatory acts. An example can include explicit racial derogations such as “What else do these people want? If we give them an inch, they’ll take a mile”.

Microinsults are more subtle but they can still be deeply insulting and harmful. They often include rude remarks that can undermine one’s cultural identity. An example includes a statements like “Isn’t the Voice really for the people living in remote regions (i.e. traditional Blakfellas)?” and “I thought the Voice is for people who are struggling, but you’re doing OK”.

Microinvalidations are words and behaviours, whether expressed or unspoken, that undermine or invalidate a person’s or group’s beliefs, emotions, or lived experiences. Examples include a selective view of history, such as: “Look at all the good things Europeans / Colonisation gave you”, or “We are all Australians, we are all one nation.”

2 News and social media

News reports are a big part of our lives and many of us mob also use social media – such as Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram and TikTok etc – to stay connected to one another. For all the good things these platforms offer us, they can also trigger distressing feelings, particularly as reporting and commentary on the Voice increases.

To help limit or reduce mental health challenges at this time, try to limit the amount of time you expose yourself to consuming news reports or scrolling through social media sites on the internet.  It’s easy to get stuck for hours on the net which can further intensify negative feelings. Whatever time limit you choose (e.g. 30 minutes every day, or 5 minutes every four hours) after the timer goes off do something nice for yourself, such as

• Reach out to a friend
• Make yourself a cup of tea
• Practise mindfulness (3 free popular apps include: Smiling mind, Calm, Exhale)
• Reflect by writing down how you are feeling
• Watch a new movie or old favourite
• Listen to music

3 Being the “go-to” Voice person

During this period it may sometimes feel like the “spotlight” is on you. As a First Nations person you may be seen as the spokesperson for mob when it comes to explaining the Voice to non-Indigenous people at work, school, uni, even at your club or community group.

While it’s no doubt sometimes good to help educate people who genuinely want to know more about the Voice, this can become an exhausting task. After all, ignorance about the Voice is barely an excuse, considering the large number of educational and explanatory resources available to the public. You have every right to take care of yourself and put your needs first at this challenging time.

So instead of feeling you have to be a spokesperson on all matters relating to the Voice, you can gently point people to the vast array of resources that will help them make an informed decision. If accessing material online is difficult for the person –maybe they have no internet access at home – you can help them identify a public library where there are Voice referendum explainers available to listen, watch and read. The Voice referendum explainers have been translated to 13 different First Nations languages accessible at: (https://voice.gov.au/community-toolkit/first-nations) and 45 different multicultural languages at:(https://voice.gov.au/community-toolkit/translated-resources).

Alternatively, you could alert the individual to the many public forums currently taking place across Australia, quite possibly in their local region, and to the many hundreds of conversations being had in community spaces around the country.

Taking care of your own emotional and social wellbeing

There are some simple strategies you can do to help you manage if you feel you are getting overwhelmed by all the messaging around the Voice.

What you do when your spirit is down or you can start to feel your spirit becoming weaker is up to you, of course. We all have different ways to boost our social and emotional wellbeing and get our spirit back to feeling strong again. What I do as a Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara man may be different to what you do wherever you are in Australia, but we all share the strong sense of connection we want from our family and kin.

But the ideas I suggest below may help you connect with good people in your life when your spirit is feeling weak. For many of us, a good person might be your nana or pop, mum, dad, your brother, sister, cousin, coach, friend, teacher or mentor. A good person can be anyone you trust and respect.

And if you are one of the good people who someone asks for support, please accept their approach as you are identified as a person they trust and respect. This is a time to listen, a moment to show empathy.

Iluwanti Ken https://www.instagram.com/tjalaarts/?hl=en

Some things that may help you manage your feelings

• Call up someone you trust for a yarn
• Go see someone you love and have a cuppa and a yarn
• Connect to a local community group
• Hang out with trusted friends and family
• Do a painting
• Reflect through writing, making a Tik Tok or creating a song
• Read a book or watch a movie about our mob
• Listen to music or podcasts
• Watch your favourite movies and shows

Dom Barry is a Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara provisional psychologist and interpreter & translator (Pitjantjatjara/English) from Kaltjiti (Fregon) in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands (APY Lands). He is studying for a Master of Psychology (Clinical) degree at the University of South Australia.

References

Gee, G., Dudgeon, P., Schultz, C., Hart, A., & Kelly, K. (2014). Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing. In P. Dudgeon, H. Milroy & R. Walker (Eds.), Working together: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander mental health and wellbeing principles and practice (2nd ed., pp. 55-58). Commonwealth Government of Australia.

Jenkins, M., Deol, A., Irvine, A., Tamburro, M., Qiu, J., & Obhi, S. S. (2023). Racial microaggressions: Identifying factors affecting perceived severity and exploring strategies to reduce harm. Journal of Applied Social Psychology.

Mellor, D. (2003). Contemporary racism in Australia: The experiences of Aborigines. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29 (4), 474-486.

Uluru Statement (2023, January 27). Indigenous people 80% for the Voice: Poll. https://ulurustatement.org/80_support/