Bushfires and the Aboriginal Experience

The current bushfire crisis in Australia is unprecedented. With the entire country affected and thousands displaced, it’s a cause of great concern. In fact, for many Aboriginal communities, their sacred ancestral lands have been destroyed. Unfortunately, a large amount of non-indigenous Australians are unaware of this unique Aboriginal trauma. For this reason, a ‘one size fits all’ recovery approach is ill-suited for indigenous populations. Vanessa Cavanagh, a Bundjalung and Wonnarua Aboriginal woman, PhD candidate, and Associate Lecturer at the University of Wollongong, as well as Dr. Jessica Weir, Senior Research Fellow at Western Sydney University were on-air to discuss.