Tracy Hardy is one of only a handful of dietitians from an Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander background. In this eye-opening chat, Tracy shares her unique experiences working at the intersection of modern day nutrition science and Indigenous knowledge, cultures and food systems. She delves into the growth of her business, Wattleseed Nutrition, and the exciting projects she’s working on, and offers advice for dietitians to support Indigenous people entering the profession. We can’t wait for you to listen!

Biography

Tracy Hardy is a Gamilaroi woman, an Accredited Nutritionist/Practising Dietitian, certified and licenced Wayapa® Practitioner, Diploma Qualified Beauty Therapist and Founder of Wattleseed Nutrition, Health & Wellbeing, a 100% Indigenous owned and operated business based on the Sunshine Coast, Australia. She takes a personalised, holistic and culturally-centred approach to food, food environments, meal patterns, eating habits, health and wellbeing. Tracy has a particular interest in the importance of gut health, traditional foods (aka bushfoods) and therapies and their role in nutritional and total health and wellbeing. 

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Tracy’s experiences whilst studying
  • Her career before she became a dietitian and her first steps in the world of nutrition 
  • Her passion for research 
  • How dietitians can support more Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander people to consider dietetics as a career and how we can work towards a culturally-appropriate approach
  • What our profession as a whole can do to support our nation’s First People
  • Her learnings from the many challenges and opportunities she’s faced
  • The importance of mentoring

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Accreditation to address racism

Closing the gap between rhetoric and practice in strengths‐based approaches to Indigenous public health: a qualitative study

Closing the Gap Report 2020  (this is different to the Govt Led Close the Gap campaign)

Cultural safety strategy 2020 – 2025

Cultural determinants of health Webcast Series

Cultural determinants of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health roundtable

Deficit Discourse and Indigenous Health: How narrative framings of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are reproduced in policy

Deficit Discourse and Strengths-based Approaches

Griffiith University Cultural Capabilities E-Learning

HealthInfoNet – Cultural Safety for Health Professionals

Jolleen Hicks – Cultural Safety E-Learning and Online Workshops

Reframing discourse in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health and wellbeingSocial and Cultural Determinants of Indigenous Health

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Australia