How to be a Good Ally

As non-Indigenous workers we can all play a role in supporting First Nations peoples and initiatives in the workplace and in the community. Some people call this being an ally. Being an ally is not just showing up during NAIDOC week or Reconciliation week, it means walking the walk with First Nations Australians every day, in whatever way we can. WellMob has a range of resources to inform us how we can do that.

This resource sheet features Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people explaining what being an ally means to them. It describes what cultural humility and cultural safety mean and how we can practice it what cultural load is and how we, as non-Indigenous workers, can ease the pressure off our Indigenous colleagues and share the cultural load.

Check out these resources and build your skills and understanding about how to be a good ally.

1. How to be a good ally to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island People: Alice Currie, a Mununjali woman explains how non indigenous people can become effective allies, speaking out about racism, and learning about and advocating for mob and cultures. Read more
2. Being an Ally: Part of the "Racism, it Stops With Me" campaign, this web page explains what being an ally means and how to take action: Read more
3. Outback Tom Yarns with Mob about Being a Good Ally: Tom Forrest interviews Aboriginal people about their ideas of how non-Indigenous people can learn to be allies. View the resource
4. How to be a good ally to Indigenous Australians: First Nations leaders Trent Nelson, Tracey Rigney and Rona Glynn-Mcdonald explain what allyship means to them: Building a better understanding of the local community, speaking up against racism, listening deeply and standing in solidarity. Learn more
5. How to show up as an ally for first nations people, today and every day: Dr Clinton Schulz explains what is meant by an ally. He gives several suggestions on how to persue self-education - videos, books, reports, podcasts and websites of key Indigenous organisations. Learn more

This resource has been reproduced and shared with permission from WellMob. Visit their site for more social, emotional and cultural wellbeing online resources for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People