Indigenous bush medicine gets official recognition

For more than two decades, Linc Walker has been showing curious Australians how traditional practices have served First Nation communities for millennia.

Custodian of Indigenous medicine Linc Walker. Picture: Sam Yeomans

For more than two decades, Linc Walker has been spruiking the ­secrets of bush medicines.

Now the traditions that have served Indigenous communities for millennia are about to become part of the nation’s digital health records.

Whether it’s mullet soup washed down to soothe aching joints, ground hibiscus leaves to ease an upset stomach or even beach lettuce squeezed over irritated eyes and skin, Mr Walker says there’s a lot we can learn from Indigenous Australians about bush medicine.

“I’ve always loved guiding people around my home and educating them about the different bush medicines that can be extracted from the natural environment … And I enjoy the reaction when you explain that goanna’s fat is good protein or tell them to lick the ­behinds of green ants because their great for vitamin C.”

Mr Walker, who founded Kuku Yalanji Cultural Habitat Tours in 1999, has been a custodian of Indigenous bush medicines since the region’s elders introduced them to him as a young boy.

“I can’t think of a time when bush medicine wasn’t there; it was just a normal part of life growing up in an Indigenous community.”

“I think for a long-time the practices have been viewed negatively and even ridiculed, but I think we’re seeing signs of better understanding now.”

One of these signs, Mr Walker suggests, is the Australian Digital Health Agency’s new scheme allowing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to upload their use of bush medicine to their personal My Health Record. It’s a move GPs and healthcare providers have welcomed, saying it will help overcome a generational blind spot in Indigenous care.

But it’s also an initiative that works both ways, insists Mr Walker. “By allowing these treatments to be recognised on My Health Records, it will really help change some of the stigma surrounding bush medicines and it will help in the exchange of ideas.”

And the ADHA’s chief clinical Adviser Steve Hambleton agrees.

“In the west, we’ve marvelled at Chinese treatments for almost 2000 years ... But here we’ve had First Nations’ innovations for at least 40,000 years … and now that we can recognise and integrate them for health care providers is a great step forward.”

“Every aspect of Indigenous life is spiritually connected with the land, and bush medicines are clearly a big part of that, and this interface will help all of us to learn from the First Nations.”

Previously, physicians were unable to upload bush medicines to medication lists, Dr Hambleton says, but now the interface will allow them to be included in the personal summary of an individual’s My Health Record.

“We know Indigenous people move across communities, and now if they seek medical advice or go to a pharmacy, they’ll have this information already there for them … it won’t be locked away on someone’s desktop.”

Port Douglas pharmacist Brad Reilly, who participated in the scheme’s rollout in northern Queensland, says the new capability will provide a “more complete record” of Indigenous health across the region and lead to a better understanding of different cultural perspectives.

“When I first met Linc and he showed me some of the bush medicines I was completely blown away … the seasonal dynamics that are part of the treatments are astonishing and left me feeling very naive,” Mr Reilly says.