Alice Springs forum to address way forward for kids on country

A new forum is hoped to provide tangible ways to get kids back on country and heal the intergenerational trauma impacting Alice Springs. Read what to expect.

A three-day forum in Alice Springs is hoped to be the first of many to address intergenerational trauma and produce community-led solutions to the current crime crisis.

Arrernte custodian and elder Peltherre Chris Tomlins said Kids on Country: A Community Conversation would engage with the community around trauma, how it works, and how it impacts everyone around them.

Mr Tomlins said the forum would also address how to move forward on the path to self-determination, and how having mob back on country could alleviate issues within the community.

“We want the white community to understand what intergenerational trauma is, to go through it, and if they can work with us, support us, we can walk together on this,” he said.

Mr Tomlins said that it was the community, and not the government, that would be able to find solutions to the current issues in Alice Springs.

“To get our kids and get our people back on country the first step is to start supporting the healing process and everyone understanding what is actually going on with us here.

“We’ve just come out of 15 years of an epic injustice that was served on us. Those 15 years had a huge impact on us and we want to create awareness of that impact and how best we can work together, reconnect these mob back to country and back to community.”

The forum would be the first of six that will take place in the next year to address current issues and create long-term solutions with tangible outcomes.

“This is the first step to set down the foundation, get our head around it, and then we’re going to be seeking people who wish to go back to community, and starting that process,” Mr Tomlins said.

Mr Tomlins said it was up to the people to make a change now, as he did not believe the government would be able to provide a solution to current issues.

“The situation (in Alice Springs) is going to stew, boil, bubble all the time and nobody is doing anything,” he said.

Professor Judy Atkinson will present the keynote speech at the event, discussing a “culturally informed trauma integrated healing approach”.

“I think the community should not wait on the government to do something, the community should be engaging in it, we can do it together.

“Kids on country is my big focus, there is a range of things that can be done and we can work on it in these 12 months and at the end of the day we can have something in place where the community has worked on the solution and achieved a positive outcome.”

Speakers at the three-day forum will include Professor Judy Atkinson, who is an expert on working on intergenerational trauma with a culturally informed approach, and the Central Desert Grandmothers group.

The event will run between 10am and 4pm from Tuesday, April 18 to Thursday, April 20 with a donation suggested for entry.