13/06/2025
Executive staff, consumer representatives, and special guests from across our hospitals, aged, and home care came together recently to celebrate with a special bush tucker-inspired breakfast.
As part of his Welcome to Country, Jack Buckskin gave a powerful and entertaining insight into aspects of the important work that he does within the South Australian and wider Australian community to further the spirit of Reconciliation. We are privileged to have a long-term connection with the Buckskin family, with Jack’s Aunty Mary having trained at Calvary North Adelaide, graduating in 1978.
Her outstanding contribution as a nurse, Aboriginal hospital liaison officer, clinical educator, senior health administrator and policy adviser created an inspiring legacy for a new generation of young Aboriginal leaders and health care professionals.
Regional CEO Sharon Kendall then addressed the group;
“Some people might imagine that Reconciliation Week is a box-ticking exercise to convey that we, as an organisation, care about Aboriginal people. It is actually the complete opposite. What I have learnt from people like the Buckskin family, and from John Lochowiak, our amazing Calvary First Nations Cultural Advisor, is that it is actually a profound act of care from Aboriginal people towards us. It is Aboriginal people’s gracious invitation to us to walk with them in the imaginative and creative effort of becoming a better nation together. With great generosity, and in spite of many years of painful experiences of marginalization, they remain prepared to share with us, their culture, their spirituality, their traditional knowledge, and their incredible commitment to community and to country."
