“Aboriginal people were instrumental in guiding the yarning, helping all participants understand each other, taking time to find the right words to express feelings and discover shared experiences.
The researchers found that many Aboriginal people were happy having non-Aboriginal people involved if they followed ganma and listened. Sometimes it led to a sense of reconciliation between the two groups.
In this context, ganma has come to mean ‘If you listen to us, we’ll listen to you’. That is, two cultures listening to and learning from each other. It’s symbolic, representing different communities working to find practical solutions when dealing with ecological grief and the loss of nature and home.”
More on ‘If the land is sick, you are sick’: An Aboriginal approach to mental health in times of drought: In Australia, psychological tools developed with Aboriginal people can also support farmers whose land is suffering the effects of climate change by Georgina Kenyon via Mosaic.
UBC Family Practice Residency Program: Abbotsford-Mission Site 