Empowering research with Indigenous communities
Being black in Australia: A case study of intergroup relations
This article presents a case study in Australia’s race relations, focusing on tensions between urban Aborigines and recently resettled African refugees, particularly among young people. Both of these groups are of low socio-economic status and are highly visible in the context of a predominantly white Australia. The relationship between them, it is argued, reflects the […]
Educating for anti‐racism: producing and reproducing race and power in a university classroom
In this paper I explore some of the issues associated with teaching about race, culture, and ethnicity in a psychology program. These curriculum initiatives are part of a broader agenda of raising awareness about racialised oppression and exclusion and contributing to the development of ways of researching and practicing psychology that are transformative and culturally […]
Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia: The dilemma of apologies, forgiveness, and reconciliation
This article presents a qualitative study of the indigenous Australian perspective on reconciliation with nonindigenous Australia, with a focus on the role of an apology for the oppression and violence perpetrated by nonindigenous Australians, and forgiveness on the part of indigenous Australians. A brief historical analysis of the relationship between Aborigines and waves of settlers […]
Letters: Would the Northern Territory plan pass the Government’s own ethical guidelines?
One of the sad realities of human nature is our propensity to seek immediate solutions that at first glance appear simple and effective yet ignore the complexities of a given situation. In Australian history, particularly for Indigenous people, there are many examples of ‘simple’ solutions that have had devastating consequences, and the only good thing […]
Constructing racism in Sydney, Australia’s largest EthniCity
Contemporary Australia is in a contradictory situation as a nation where multiculturalism co-exists with various forms of what are collectively called racisms. Based on a survey of Sydney residents, this study uses a social constructivist approach to investigate the nature and sociospatial context of racist attitudes in Sydney, Australia’s largest EthniCity. Results show a mix […]
Indigenous reconciliation in Australia: do values, identity and collective guilt matter?
This paper reports an investigation of the impact of shared values and identities on Australian attitudes towards Indigenous reconciliation across two studies. In Study 1, University students were assigned to one of two conditions in which they completed a questionnaire that measured their value priorities and reconciliation attitudes; either as an individual or as an […]
Decolonisation: A critical step for improving Aboriginal health
Aboriginal health continues to be in crisis in Australia although expenditure has increased in service provision, strategic planning, research and policy development over the last thirty years. This paper recommends that a shift must occur to make Aboriginal health improvement a reality. This shift requires the decolonising of Aboriginal health so that the experts in […]
Attitudes toward indigenous Australians: the issue of “special treatment”
Previous research has found that people who report negative attitudes toward Indigenous Australians also report acceptance of false beliefs such as “being Indigenous entitles you to more social security benefits”. In the present study, we were interested in examining negative attitudes toward Indigenous Australians across three Western Australian locations, and comments spontaneously generated by participants […]
A systematic review of empirical research on self-reported racism and health
This paper reviews 138 empirical quantitative population-based studies of self-reported racism and health. These studies show an association between self-reported racism and ill health for oppressed racial groups after adjustment for a range of confounders. The strongest and most consistent findings are for negative mental health outcomes and health-related behaviours, with weaker associations existing for […]
Towards a culturally appropriate mental health research process for Indigenous Australians
The aim of this paper is to consider culturally appropriate research methodologies for working with Indigenous Australians and to suggest some alternatives. The emphasis is on developing culturally sensitive approaches that are not culturally offensive or continue a colonial mentality (Smith, 1999). Historically, Australian Aboriginal cultures have been one of the most researched in the […]
Exploration of Australian and New Zealand indigenous people’s spirituality and mental health
Background: Spirituality has been defined as an overarching construct that involves personal beliefs or values that provide a sense of meaning and unity with self, people, nature and universe. Spirituality may be experienced within or outside formal religion. At least in English-speaking countries, therapists reported discussing spiritual issues with service users more frequently than before. […]
Attitudes toward Indigenous Australians and asylum seekers: The role of false beliefs and other social-psychological variables
Australia has a long and chequered history regarding relations between different cultural groups. Indigenous, Asian, Yugoslav, Italian and Arabic Australians have all suffered from negativity directed toward them by ‘‘mainstream’’ Australia. At the beginning of the 21st century there has been much publicity about two groups: Indigenous Australians and asylum seekers. In this paper, we […]
Western psychotherapeutic practice: engaging Aboriginal people in culturally appropriate and respectful ways
Until recently the majority of psychologists in Australia have been confronted by the lack of information relating to culturally appropriate methods of engagement and therapy with Aboriginal clients. Findings from a qualitative study undertaken in Western Australia indicated that Aboriginal conceptualisations of mental health appear more holistic and contain elements that are both cultural and […]
Ambivalent helpers and unhealthy choices: Public health practitioners’ narratives of Indigenous ill-health
Public health practitioners in Australian indigenous health work in a complex political environment. Public health training is limited in providing them with conceptual tools needed to unpack the postcolonial nexus of ‘fourth-world’ health. A workshop was designed by the authors to facilitate critical reflection on how the concepts of race and culture are used in […]
Examining discourses of whiteness and the potential for reconciliation
Affirmative action and equity in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
Constructing racism in Australia
There is a dearth of empirical evidence on the extent of racist attitudes, broadly defined, in Australia. A telephone survey of 5056 residents in Queensland and NSW examined attitudes to cultural difference, perceptions of the extent of racism, tolerance of specific groups, ideology of nation, perceptions of Anglo-Celtic cultural privilege, and belief in racialism, racial […]
Guest Editorial: Engagement of Indigenous clients in mental health services: What role do cultural differences play?
Stereotype change and prejudice reduction: short- and long-term evaluation of a cross-cultural awareness program
The present study reports an evaluation of an applied prejudice reduction intervention. Previous research has indicated that such programmes achieve limited success. The programme evaluated was an in-house anti-racist education programme aimed at reducing prejudice towards Aboriginal Australians. The target audience were employees of a large public service organization. Knowledge of, prejudice towards, and stereotyping […]
Incorporating Indigenous and crosscultural issues into an undergraduate psychology course: experience at Curtin University of Technology
There has been a clear expression of the need to incorporate Indigenous and crosscultural issues into psychology curricula and to develop models to guide the process. This paper outlines the process of developing an Indigenous and crosscultural psychology unit at Curtin University of Technology. A conceptual framework that includes foundational, professional, and socially responsive knowledge, […]
Psychology and reconciliation: Australian perspectives
Australia is engaged in the process of reconciliation. In this paper we argue that psychology has a key role to play in the process, and outline a position on psychology and reconciliation. We begin with and overview of reconciliation and by identifying the some of the factors that have impeded psychology’s involvement with Indigenous people. […]
“Why should i feel guilty?”: Reflections on the workings of guilt in white-Aboriginal relations
Statements by various public figures that White people ought not to feel guilty about Aboriginal dispossession, and although many Australians assert that they feel no guilt in the matter, this paper asserts that White attitudes to the Australian Aboriginal people are strongly influenced by guilt. The nature of a guilt that ostensibly does not and […]
Unresolved grief and the removal of Indigenous Australian children
This paper considers the usefulness of theory and practice in mainstream psychology in relation to the experiences of Indigenous people directly affected by the practice of child removal. It consists of an interview in which one of the authors, Joyleen Koolmatrie, an Indigenous psychologist, reflects on her work with Indigenous people affected by the removal, […]
Reconciliation 2
An annotated poem inspired by the inquiry into the separation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from their families challenges us to consider our involvement in this issue.