Examining the Associations between Indigenous Rangers, Culture and Wellbeing in Australia, 2018–2020

Abstract

The centrality of culture to Indigenous peoples’ health and wellbeing is becoming increasingly acknowledged in government policy. In Australia, the Indigenous Ranger program is a leading example of employment that supports increased cultural participation. In 2017, we demonstrated higher life satisfaction and family wellbeing among Indigenous Rangers compared to non-Rangers in Central Australia. Using an expanded national dataset, this present study aimed to: examine if associations between Ranger status and wellbeing continued to be observed in Central Australia; assess if these associations were observed among non-Central Australian Rangers; and, quantify the effect of mediating variables (Rangers status, cultural factors) on wellbeing outcomes. We analyzed Mayi Kuwayu baseline data (n = 9691 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) and compared participants who identified as past or currently employed Rangers compared to non-Rangers across two geographic locations (Central Australia, non-Central Australia). Ranger participation was significantly associated with very high life satisfaction and family wellbeing in Central Australia (high life satisfaction PR 1.31, 95%CI 1.09–1.57, and family wellbeing (PR 1.17, 95%CI 1.01–1.36) and non-Central Australia (high life satisfaction PR 1.29, 95%CI 1.06–1.57), family wellbeing (PR 1.37, 95%CI 1.14–1.65). These findings concord with those observed in the 2017 proof-of-concept study. Additionally, we found that Ranger status partially mediated the relationships between existing cultural practices (first language as your Indigenous language and living on your country) and the two wellbeing outcomes. Current cultural practices, spending time on country and speaking your Aboriginal language, also partially mediated the associations between Ranger status and high life satisfaction, and between Ranger status and high family wellbeing. This analysis supports evidence that both Ranger employment and cultural participation are contributors to wellbeing. Ranger work is not only good for land, but it is good for people. As such, determining policies that mutually acknowledge and enhance culture, health and wellbeing will likely have additional benefits for the broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population.

The Health and Wellbeing of Indigenous and Tribal Peoples around the Globe: Ensuring and Promoting Best Practice in Research

“…A range of mechanisms across the life of the research project or program, from setting research priorities to ongoing communication to dissemination of results, were described. These included: membership of Indigenous and Tribal people on advisory groups, working groups, steering committees, and governance committees [ 7 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 23 , 25 , 27 , 30 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 37 ]; involvement of community Elders, other community leaders, and Tribal health centres [ 19 , 25 , 28 , 35 ]; formal and informal partnerships with Aboriginal Community-Controlled Health Organisations, Tribal health services and other community organisations [ 8 , 10 , 14 , 19 , 20 , 22 , 25 , 29 , 30 , 31 ]; hiring and training Indigenous research staff, especially from the relevant community/ies [ 7 , 9 , 10 , 13 , 16 , 18 , 23 , 35 ]; the use of community-based participatory research approaches, co-design, and consumer engagement and involvement [ 12 , 19 , 20 , 23 , 25 , 32 , 33 , 35 ]; and the involvement ...…”

“…In addition to approval by Human Research Ethics Committees and Institutional Review Boards, which are embedded within Western academic institutions, a range of other mechanisms for ensuring appropriate Indigenous and Tribal governance in research were described in the papers included in the Special Issue, such as: approval by a Tribal government, an Indigenous Ethics Committee (e.g., the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council’s ethics committee in New South Wales, Australia), or an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 16 , 18 , 19 , 22 , 23 , 25 , 28 , 29 , 31 , 35 ]; the use of cultural reference groups and governance committees [ 11 , 13 , 16 , 19 , 23 , 25 , 27 , 33 , 34 ]; and having formal agreed Terms of Reference and/or Resolutions of Support [ 10 , 20 , 29 ].…”

“…Some authors specifically mentioned aspects of data governance and data sovereignty, such as Tribal/community ownership of data, approval of manuscripts for publication, establishment of a data governance committee, and reference to specific data sovereignty principles [ 10 , 11 , 20 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 30 , 35 ]. For example, Ward and colleagues [ 35 ] sought to understand the role of land in the wellbeing of Labrador Innu people.…”

“…The resulting Special Issue includes 31 papers in total, with 21 from Australia [ 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 ], 4 from the United States [ 28 , 29 , 30 , 31 ], 3 from Aotearoa/New Zealand [ 32 , 33 , 34 ], 1 from Canada [ 35 ], and 2 from authors in multiple countries [ 36 , 37 ]. This represents a substantial body of research on the health and wellbeing of Indigenous and Tribal peoples, possibly the largest collection ever published.…”

Collaborative Social-Epidemiology: A Co-analysis of the Cultural and Structural Determinants of Health for Aboriginal Youth in Victorian Schools

“…Recently, there have been increasing calls to strengthen the evidence that cultural determinants are connected to health outcomes [24] as well as calls for research to critically engage with the broader social and political dimensions of health [25]. Although we recognize increasing work in this area to at least measure cultural determinants, we remain acutely aware of the lack of appropriate data, measures, and methodologies for quantifying the social dimensions of Aboriginal lives [26,27].…”