Gayaa Dhuwi (Proud Spirit) Declaration: National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Leadership in Mental Health

The Wharerātā Group of Indigenous mental health leaders from Canada, the United States, Australia, Samoa and New Zealand developed the Wharerātā Declaration in 2010.1 It comprises five themes on the importance of Indigenous leadership in addressing the common mental health challenges faced by Indigenous peoples around the world. Member countries of the International Initiative for […]
Cultural Responsiveness in Action – An IAHA Framework

The IAHA Cultural Responsiveness Framework provides information and support to prepare you to engage in a transformation so that, whatever your role, you can positively influence the health and wellbeing, quality of life, future aspirations, and prosperity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals, families and communities.
Increasing cultural competence and Indigenous representation in psychology

Reflections on what has/has not worked for Psychology Educators. This document was developed for the Australian Indigenous Psychology Education Project (AIPEP) ‘How To’ forum held at the APS Golden Jubilee Conference, September 2015. It provides brief points on what has and has not worked for psychology educators involved in the project when attempting to implement […]
Indigenising the Psychology Curriculum – Traps and Tips

An easy to read spreadsheet listing traps, tips, and resources for psychology educators in the process of Indigensing the psychology curriculum. This document is a work in progress, all feedback and suggestions are welcomed.
Are We Asking the Right Questions? Why We Should Have a Decolonzing Discourse Based on Conscientization Rather Than Indigenizing the Curriculum

In this paper, we pose the question of terminology and definitions associated with the concept of an indigenized academy or curriculum. Calls to indigenze the academy or curriculum are implicitly asking for an overlay or inclusion of Indigenous content, preferably by Indigenous peoples, as a mechanism to incorporate histories, traditions, and knowledges that are divergent […]
Ngara…Deep Listening…Seeing ‘two ways’: What can Indigenous knowledge, mindfulness and observational skills training

The third Slice of LIME seminar was hosted by Flinders University SA on 12 September 2014. Presenters for this third Seminar include Uncle Lewis Yerloburka O’Brien (Kaurna Elder), Aunty Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr-Baumann, Prof. L.C. Chan, Dr Heather Gaunt. Rapporteur for the session was Prof Lambert Schuwirht and it was facilitated by Prof. Dennis McDermott.
Having the Hard Conversations

The second Slice of LIME Seminar was presented by Professor Dennis McDermott & Mr Dave Sjoberg from the Poche Centre for Indigenous Health and Well-Being at Flinders University South Australia, on 12th August 2014. It focused on cultural safety in health professions, & explored pedagogical methods for addressing issues such as racism, white privilege & […]
Statement of Intention to Improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Wellbeing

Twenty-four national allied health organisations became signatories to the Statement of Intention to Improve Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health and Wellbeing, at Parliament House in March 2014.
The Elders Report into preventing Indigenous self-harm and youth suicide

Interview excerpts of Elders featured in the Report. The Culture Is Life campaign aims to give a platform for Indigenous Elders and community leaders to influence public awareness, policy-making and service provision around Indigenous suicide prevention. One of the initial actions of the Culture Is Life campaign was the development of the’Elders Report on Preventing […]
Critical psychology in a context of ongoing acts of colonisation

Although encompassing a broad range of topic areas, approaches to analysis, and theoretical frameworks, it is arguably the case that critical psychology in Australia is best represented by research undertaken on the topic of racism. The primary reason why critical research on racism has been so prevalent in Australia, is because of the ongoing history […]
A reference list for teaching about Indigenous Australians in psychology

The purpose of the list is to compile a reference list for psychology professionals who might be searching for relevant research to cover in their undergraduate courses. The list is partial and doubtless will expand in future updates. Sections include: 1) Scholarly articles 2) Coverage of relevant issues in psychology textbooks; 3) Psychology studies with […]
No time like the present: Determinants of intentions to engage In bystander anti-racism on behalf of indigenous Australians

Do indigenous health curricula in health science education reduce disparities in health care outcomes?

Hidden obstacles to reconciliation in Australia: the persistence of stereotypes

The reconciliation movement in Australia aims to build mutually respectful relationships between indigenous and other Australians by eliminating ‘gaps’ in health and well-being, educating about Indigenous history and culture and addressing social disadvantages based on false beliefs and stereotypes. Psychological literature has much to offer to the last aim, with a wealth of research documenting […]
The contact caveat: negative contact predicts increased prejudice more than positive contact predicts reduced prejudice

Contact researchers have largely overlooked the potential for negative intergroup contact to increase prejudice. In Study 1, we tested the interaction between contact quantity and valence on prejudice toward Black Australians (n = 1,476), Muslim Australians (n = 173), and asylum seekers (n = 293). In all cases, the association between contact quantity and prejudice […]
The effects of a common in-group prime on intentions to help Indigenous and homeless Australians

The article reports on research designed to test Australian attitudes towards helping impoverished members of the Australian society, in particular, indigenous and homeless people. Australian university students completed a questionnaire to measure their attitudes towards helping homeless and indigenous people under conditions that primed a common Australian identity. The findings showed that priming an inclusive […]
A framework for decolonization intervention: broadening the focus for improving the health and wellbeing of Indigenous communities

Colonization has spread around the world and inexorably affected millions of people over the last few centuries. There have been many scattered intervention strategies to overcome some of the long-term effects of colonization, especially for health, education, and employment. With respect to the inequalities and discriminations that have remained after centuries, however, it is less […]
Atoning for Colonial Injustices: Group-Based Shame and Guilt Motivate Support for Reparation

An investigation of the role of group-based shame and guilt in motivating citizens of ex-colonial countries to support restitution to former colonized groups which were the target of violence and oppression. Study 1 (N = 125) was conducted in Australia during the lead-up to the first official government apology to Aboriginal Australians. Among white Australians, […]
Prejudice and the function of attitudes relating to Muslim Australians and Indigenous Australians

The aim of the present study was to examine prejudice against Muslim Australians and Indigenous Australians and the function of those attitudes using previously identified functions, direct experiential–schematic and value expressive, and including a new indirect experiential–schematic function. Respondents were categorised into two groups: accepting and rejecting. For the Muslim data there was no difference […]
Rejected! Cognitions of rejection and intergroup anxiety as mediators of the impact of cross_group friendships on prejudice

In a sample of White Australians (N =273), cross-group friendship with Aboriginal Australians was associated with reduced cognitions of rejection and intergroup anxiety, and these variables fully mediated the effect of cross-group friendship on conversational avoidance of sensitive intergroup topics, active avoidance of the outgroup, and old-fashioned prejudice. The novel mediator proposed here, cognitions of […]
The Boatshed Racism Roundtable Declaration

Over 40 leading researchers and academics from across Australia met at the University of Western Australia Boatshed in Perth, to discuss research concerning racism towards Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. The two-day meeting significantly advanced the themes of social justice and reconciliation in Australian society and has culminated in the production of a detailed […]
Let the healing begin: Response to the government to the national apology to the Stolen Generations. Transcript of Speech to the Member’s Hall, Parliament House, Canberra

Tom Calma, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, response to government to the national apology to the Stolen Generations.
Apology to Australia’s Indigenous peoples. Transcript of Speech by Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, MP, to the Parliament of Australia, 13 February 2008

Invited Members of the Stolen Generations heard first-hand in the gallery of The House of Representatives chamber at Parliament House, Canberra, the Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, speaking to the motion that was the Apology at 9.00 am on 13 February 2008.
Australian Reconciliation Barometer 2012

Reconciliation Australia and Auspoll began collaboration on the Reconciliation Barometer research project in February 2007. The objective of the research was to develop a tool to measure the progress of reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. This 2012 edition is the third iteration of the Barometer, following the initial two studies in 2008 and 2010. […]
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 […]