Indigenous Health Perspectives: A Case Study of Nova Peris' Life

This essay delves into the life of Nova Peris, an Indigenous Australian athlete and politician, focusing on her experiences with mental health challenges, specifically anxiety and hyperventilation, as well as a hamstring injury that threatened her sports career. It chronicles her rise to fame, including her gold medal win at the Olympics, and explores her coping strategies, including seeking support from a sports psychologist and drawing strength from her Aboriginal customs and beliefs. The essay also examines the impact of her health issues on her career, including her political involvement, and how she overcame these obstacles. The narrative highlights the importance of resilience, cultural factors, and community support in navigating health challenges and achieving success, particularly within the context of Indigenous health perspectives. The essay also includes a brief history of her life and career, detailing her achievements and setbacks, and concludes by emphasizing her strength and determination in the face of adversity.

Running head: INDIGENOUS HEALTH PERSPECTIVES
Indigenous Health Perspectives
Name of the student:
Name of the university:
Author note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction:..............................................................................................................................2
Brief History:.............................................................................................................................2
Mental health and it impact:......................................................................................................3
Hamstring injury and its impact................................................................................................4
Conclusion:................................................................................................................................6
References:............................................................................................................................7

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Introduction:
Illness or a disease has a significant impact on not only the life and living of the
individual involved, but the impact of the illness has a profound effect on the their family and the
wider community as well, either directly or indirectly. As mentioned by authors, the impact of
the illness or injury depends on the severity of the disease or disability, although the life of
individual is often altered to a certain extent (Peris & Heads, 2003). Although, different
individual have different coping strategies, the life journey of an individual impacted by a
particular illness or disease cam reveal several significant coping factors. This essay will attempt
to be a narrative summation focusing on the life journey of Nova Peris, who had been struggling
with psychological issues such as anxiety and hamstring injury and still had been able to reach
the pinnacle of success in her field. It can be hoped that her story will be able to highlight not
only effective coping strategies but also a story of pain, hardship and bravery to overcome it.
Brief History:
Nova Peris is a star hockey player born on 25th February, 1971 in Darwin, Northern
Territory to an indigenous family. She is reported to be one of the finest Australian athletes
belonging to the aboriginal background and she also had been a former politician. Considering
her history of success gained in the field of Olympics, she had been the first Australian
aboriginal woman to win gold medal in 1996 Olympic Games (Peris & Heads, 2003). Nova also
had been successful in securing a remarkable position for herself among the athletes of the world
via the excellent performance she showcased in the 1998 commonwealth games and 2000
Olympic Games as well. On a more exploratory note, her sporting career took off when she was

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selected as the representative in the Australian Women’s Hockey team in 1996 Summer
Olympics and she excelled in the opportunity that she had been provided by winning gold medal
for Australia and made history for being the first aboriginal woman to win a gold medal in the
Olympics (corporate.olympics.com.au, 2018). After that she had participated in several other
prestigious competitions and also managed to become a double gold medalist in the 1998
Commonwealth games of Kuala Lampur by winnin the 200m sprint. Her success journey
enabled her to win the title of Young Australian of the year in 1997. However, unfortunate
events of her psychological issues and the hamstring injury in the year of 2000 had a significant
impact on the growth curve of sports career although she had employed effective coping
strategies to be able to cope with the distress and carry on with her flourishing career. Although,
her career took a turn towards politics in the year of 2013 when she was invited by the Australian
prime minister to join the Australian labor party as a candidate for the senate for the Northern
Territory. Peris had been elected as the first indigenous woman in Australia to the federal
parliament in the 7th of September and had been an Senator for three years after which she did
not recontest for her senator seat in 2016 (Ryan, 2016).
Mental health and it impact:
Even with the spectacular career that Nova had her life journey had not been very easy.
She had been a sufferer of mental health issues such as anxiety and hyperventilation. As per the
research evidence, Peris suffered from anxiety attacks and had issues of hyperventilation during
her Hockey games which affected her performance to a considerable extent and Peris had to visit
a Sports psychologist as well to help overcome the impact of the stress and anxiety and
effectively cope with it so that it does not have a profound detrimental impact on her sports

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career (heraldsun.com.au, 2018). However, as per the Hockeyroos protocol, an athlete requiring
frequent visits to a sports counselor can be a reason to be declared ineligible for further
participation. This had been a considerable issue for her with respect to professional growth in
her career and the impact of the indigenous disadvantage faced by her and her family also have
had a significant impact on her psyche (Fitzgerald, 2018). However, the star athlete had been
successful in coping with her psychological issues effectively without requiring frequent visits to
the counselors that saved her sports career from being destroyed before it could properly
flourish. However, her career growth was subjected another hardship and struggle when she had
to suffer through a flu in 2000 and soon after suffered a hamstring injury which threatened her
chance to participate in the 2000 Olympics, a significant milestone in her career (Peris & Heads,
2003).
Hamstring injury and its impact
Nova Peris suffered from a hamstring injury in the year 2000, which created a negative
impact on her career in sports by threatening her participation in the Sydney Olympics
(Piotrowski, 2014). Research suggests that hamstring injuries involve tear and sprain to the
tendons and/or large muscles that are located at the back portion of the thighs. Depending on the
severity of the injury, it is generally categorised into different grades namely, grade 1, 2 and 3
(Ekstrand, Waldén & Hägglund, 2016). Although she was the first indigenous female who won
gold at the Olympics, this incident was a major setback to her career in sports. Evidences have
established the fact that strain or pulls in the hamstrings are extremely common among
individuals who are into athletes. Athletes who depend upon explosive speed suffer this injury.
The fact that these injuries commonly encompass tear in the muscles thereby creating a pain and

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making it difficult to heal. Presence of an imbalance between the strengths of the quadriceps and
the hamstrings might have resulted in the injury that made Nova Peris suffer. Some other risk
factors that might have increased her susceptibility to the condition includes lack of warming up
sessions. Some of the most common symptoms that were exhibited, following the event
comprise of tenderness, severe pain, muscle spasms, bruising, and swelling. Her participation
and fifth rank in the Sydney Olympics is appreciable, despite the fact that when athletes return to
sports after such an injury, they might experience pain due to contractions in the tissues.
Hamstring injuries are particularly common in sport related activities that involve kicking,
sprinting and extensive movement of the muscles.
Evidences have confirmed the fact that these injuries create different challenges for
sportsperson and increase the recovery time and likelihood of recurrent injuries (Erickson &
Sherry, 2017). She improved her core strength that provided important benefits to her hamstrings
and the entire body, thereby allowing her to participate in the Olympics. Her recovery can be
attributed to the Aboriginal faiths and beliefs that provided assistance in her coping journey.
There exist a range of coping strategies in the indigenous culture that commonly encompass
technological, social, cultural and economic aspects. Economic diversification forms an essential
element of coping. Presence of more than one income source is regarded invaluable during
stressful circumstances. Furthermore, cultural factors also comprise of religious views and
perceptions that make the Aboriginals cope up challenges that are presented by life. One of the
key characteristic of the Aboriginal community is to assist the spirit of an individual emerge with
the experiences of life (Tousignant & Sioui, 2013). This spirituality might have helped Nova to
know her stand in relation to the broader society, her family and the environment. Furthermore,
sharing and caring forms the heart of Aboriginal spirituality that reminds adults to look after

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their family and community members. Moreover, recovery from the injury and her return to
sports can also be accredited to her camaraderie with the members of her team and the good
rapport that she shared with all (Tam, Findlay & Kohen, 2014).
In addition, she did not let the injury of her previous psychological disorder to interfere
with her life and was invited by the Australian Prime Minister to become a member of the
Australian Labour Party in 2013. Her wide experience and popularity made her stand as a
candidate for the Northern Territory Senate in the 2013 elections, following which she became
the first indigenous female, who get elected from the federal parliament. Her entry into politics
was marked by an apology to the mistreatment that the Aboriginals had faced over the years.
However, after a successful stretch as an Aboriginal leader she decided to leave the field. She
cited her Aboriginal customs and beliefs as the reason that made her take this decision as she
wanted to devote more time to her family and children (Davidson, 2016).
Conclusion:
To conclude, Nova Peris was an eminent indigenous politician and athlete and was the
first Aboriginal to win a gold medal at the Olympics. The discrimination faced by the indigenous
people did not deter her from participating in sports and politics, thereby representing the entire
community on a global platform. Despite the presence of anxiety symptoms and hyperventilation
during her sports career, she did not let them create a negative impact on her performance and
effectively coped with the challenges posed by them. A hamstring injury accident also failed to
lurk over her sports career, and was counteracted by her participation and fifth rank at the
Olympics. Thus, her strong beliefs in the Aboriginal customs and values made her lead a

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disciplined life and provided her assistance to face the setbacks and trials that was in store for
her.

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References:
Australian Olympic Committee: Nova Peris. (2018). Retrieved from
http://corporate.olympics.com.au/athlete/nova-peris
Biography - Nova Peris - Indigenous Australia. (2018). Retrieved from
http://ia.anu.edu.au/biography/peris-nova-17821
Davidson, H. (2016). Nova Peris defends her decision to quit politics: 'I am leaving on my
terms'. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/may/26/nova-peris-defends-
her-decision-to-quit-politics-i-am-leaving-on-my-terms
Ekstrand, J., Waldén, M., & Hägglund, M. (2016). Hamstring injuries have increased by 4%
annually in men's professional football, since 2001: a 13-year longitudinal analysis of the
UEFA Elite Club injury study. Br J Sports Med, 50(12), 731-737.
Erickson, L. N., & Sherry, M. A. (2017). Rehabilitation and return to sport after hamstring strain
injury. Journal of Sport and Health Science, 6(3), 262-270.
Fitzgerald, R. (2018). Indigenous women closing the health gap. Retrieved from
https://www.katherinetimes.com.au/story/5520813/indigenous-women-closing-the-
health-gap/

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Nova Peris and fake history. (2018). Retrieved from
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/blogs/andrew-bolt/nova-peris-and-fake-history/news-
story/dbc75d42107f0ccaeef3f854b9457bea
Peris, N., & Heads, I. (2003). Nova: My Story: the Autobiography of Nova Peris. ABC Books.
Piotrowski, D. (2014). The turmoil of life for Nova Peris since winning Olympic gold. Retrieved
from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2811865/Tensions-track-Labor-party-
warfare-allegations-freaky-sexual-tryst-turmoil-life-Nova-Peris-highs-winning-Olympic-
gold.html
Ryan, T. (2016). Seen but unseen: Missing visible Indigenous women in the media and what it
means for leadership in Indigenous Australia. PLATFORM: Journal of Media &
Communication, 7.
Tam, B. Y., Findlay, L., & Kohen, D. (2014). Social networks as a coping strategy for food
insecurity and hunger for young Aboriginal and Canadian children. Societies, 4(3), 463-
476.
Tousignant, M., & Sioui, N. (2013). Resilience and Aboriginal communities in crisis: Theory
and interventions. International Journal of Indigenous Health, 5(1), 43-61.