Unlike other programs, we draw from Indigenous wisdom so participants gain a deep understanding of Indigenous culture, and can apply this knowledge to better inform their work practice.
Indigenous cultures have a strong sense of belonging that comes from placing family, land and community at the heart of all they do. In our one day Belonging in the Workplace™ program, we explore Indigenous concepts of family and what it means to belong.
We look at how organisations can foster this sense of family and belonging to benefit employees and boost staff morale.
In Aboriginal kinship, there are no orphans, no outsiders. Everyone belongs, for everyone and everything is interrelated and interconnected. When workers have a deep sense of belonging they develop a stronger sense of ownership over what they achieve in the workplace, which fosters communal pride and accomplishment.
The Skin Game: Understanding Aboriginal concepts of Family
A popular activity in the belonging course is the skin game. A strong sense of belonging becomes immediately apparent in the Skin Game, where we explore Aboriginal concepts of family. Traditionally all Aboriginal nations operated under a social kinship system known as ‘skin’, where everyone in that tribe is related to one another, whether they are related through blood or not.
Participants are given skin names and placed into 1 of 8 skin groups (the actual number varies according to the different nations). Following a brief introduction they are then tasked with finding all their relatives. There is much frivolity, confusion and perplexity as participants attempt to crack the genetic code, an extraordinary feat of logic and mathematics. Mathematicians attending the course marvel at the scientific ingenuity of Aboriginal culture and its system to maintain genetic diversity in a small population. The wonder and amazement among participants is always palpable.