Abstracts and Bios

Expanding health service options in Vancouver by restoring Indigenous traditional-based health-education
The purpose of this study was to support the transmission of traditional health knowledge in Vancouver, to actively respond to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples with regard to the creation of culturally appropriate services, and to address a call by traditional knowledge holders to resolve issues around traditional healing in the city. Using Indigenous holistic theory, which embraces the principles of interconnectedness, balance and the importance of respectful relationships, and using storywork and talking circle methodologies, two gatherings and 19 dialogues were recorded, towards the creation of a collective story. Research group members (traditional-based practitioners, their clients and facilitators), came up with a variety of health service recommendations to strengthen traditional-based practices in the city, to create more space for traditional-based epistemologies, and to work towards healthy partnerships with non-traditional-based agencies, systems and personnel.
What is significant is that both the research process and the research findings have a potential for influencing transformation in the status quo of academia, education, and health service crises for the urban Indigenous population, through intellectual engagement, curriculum design, policy challenge, conscientization and thereby, raising the status of traditional-based Indigenous ways of being, knowing and doing, across all domains.
This presentation will showcase some of the key processes and findings of this work-in-progress, through a mixed display of visual representations, handouts and objects.

Dawn Marsden is a PhD Candidate at Mississaugas of Scugog Island First Nation. Her current position is at the University of British Columbia Faculty of Education as a Research Assistant for Ts’’kel and the Indigenous Research Institute

Why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Peoples Should Boycott Research! Why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples Must Boycott Research!
The first Nations Peoples of Australia faces extinction within the next generation! Policies of the past are being repeated under new forms. Lessons of the past are not being learnt with no new alternatives or strategies that unite the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander nations and its peoples as sovereign peoples, nationally, politically, systematically and culturally.
Does our professional responsibility diminish our cultural responsibilities through the need to participate in research to address our national disadvantage? Are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural survival, systems and protocols being weakened through the systematic research process and that we fail to recognise that this process is utilised by governments to systematically promote the propaganda that misinforms, divides and trivialises our devastation to the Australian nation while destroying any opportunity critically needed to unite the first Nations Peoples, nationally, politically and culturally.
Can the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Early Childhood sector play a role through the process of uniting their policies, nationally, systematically and culturally, establish the framework for self governance and in the process identify ethical concerns relating to research protocols?
This session will outline the issues confronted by Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islanders peoples undertaking their first "research" activity whilst adhering to the Abori9ginal and Torres Strait Islander protocols and University Ethics Review protocols. It will explore the present strategies needed to be addressed through the collective boycotting of research and media voices until the First Nations Peoples are3 represented by a system based on cultural foundations that brings together our common cultural diversity and represents the nations within a nation.

Bevan Cassady - Curriculum Vitae.
Current Position: National Co-ordinator of the Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood Services) degree program and lecturer within Warawara, Dept. of Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University
Background: From Nwyaigi Nation and the Tann Island, a New Hebrides Man.
Qualifications: Bachelor of Teaching (Early Childhood), Queensland University of Technology. Brisbane, (1991).
Experience: Bevan has extensive experience in teaching, particularly with Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander children in Early Childhood. He was Director and Teacher for 3 yrs as an 'identified' Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Early Childhood Centre targeting Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander children.
During this time, he became involved in many community based and state based initiatives in Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Education and particularly those related to Early Childhood Education. He has been a lecturer at Warawara, the Dept of Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University, Sydney, for the past eight years.
As a lecturer within the team of early childhood specialists, Bevan has worked extensively with fellow team members in the development phase of the Bachelor of Teaching Early Childhood program at Macquarie University. The program was recognised by the Australian Universities Teaching Committee as a finalist for its services to Indigenous communities in Dec 2003. He teaches in the program and is involved in on-going work for the course through development of course materials and development of a pedagogy that is sensitive to Aboriginal &B Torres Strait Islander Students. His work includes extensive consultation and collaboration with Indigenous s6tudent teachers across four states.
Bevan co-ordinates the Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Health Units and Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Cultural Studies at Macquarie University.
He was recipient of the Neville Bonner award, National Indigenous University Teacher of the Year in Dec 2003 awarded by the Australian Universities Teaching Committee.

Practical re-colonisation: A new direction for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health
Policymaking in Indigenous health employs four rationalities which all interact in a complex manner (Larkin et. al. 2003). It has been argued that these four rationalities (political, cultural, social and technical) should engage with and take into greater account social and cultural rationalities. Euro-Australian policymakers, researchers and politicians need to be more aware of their assumptions which normalise Euro-Australian experiences and distort and deligimatise the validity of Indigenous Australian experiences. Re-colonisation in the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health is an extension of ideas concerning evidence-based policymaking to encompass colonialism, re-colonialism and gender inequalities. John Borrows, from the Ojibway Nation in Canada, has developed a theory on the ways in which Indigenous people can enjoy the benefits of colonialism by asserting their rights to claim these benefits as re-colonisers (Borrows, 2004). The rights of Indigenous peoples to participate in the re-colonisation of Australia with state backing and support could co-exist with the Federal Government's policy on similarity of treatment. This paper considers Borrows' proposal for re-colonisation as a pathway towards a new approach in health policymaking, and program delivery. A feminist perspective on inequality within the established social order
can also apply to racial inequality. Eveline (1994) argues that male and non-Indigenous privilege are both denied and protected as they are taught to view their lives as normative and morally neutral. By exposing the hidden assumptions and unfairness of male and non-Indigenous advantage as normative and immutable, we can reveal the established order as unacceptable, and make changes. Formal recognition of the major benefits of colonisation enjoyed by non-Indigenous Australians may lead to the de-marginalisation of Indigenous peoples to share in the fruits of re-colonisation. We discuss in this paper Indigenous re-colonisation through a graduated reformulation of health policies and programs.

Evidence-based policymaking in Indigenous health in Australia: a critique
Evidence-based policymaking in Indigenous Health is of great importance when addressing issues of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health inequalities. The concept of evidence and what Lin (2003) describes as competing rationalities is explored in this paper, within the context of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health. The three competing rationalities as described by Lin are cultural, political and technical. A social rationality can also be included which relates to how we see and know the world. The social rationality can differ according to class, race and ethnicity. White-middle class Australians and Indigenous Australians do not think and interpret realities in the same way because of their divergent structural positions, histories and cultures. We argue that cultural rationalities inform and shape social, political and technical rationalities because in our view the latter are grounded in and developed by the former. We case study past and current government policies in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health to support our arguments.

Steve Larkin is a Kungarkany man from Darwin in the Northern Territory. Stevehas spent over 17 years working in urban, rural and remote Aboriginal communities in health and community development programs throughout the NT whilst working with the NT Govt. Steve moved to Canberra in 1995 to commence employment with the Australian Medical Association (AMA) as their National Aboriginal Health Adviser before moving to the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (NACCHO) in 1997 to take up the position of the inaugural Chief Executive Officer. In 1999, Steve joined the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care as an Assistant Secretary in the Office of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health (OATSIH) where he managed the Social Health (including the Bringing The Home program), Substance Misuse, Men's and Prison's health, and Research and Data programs. This was followed by a short stint with the Department of Employment, Workplace Relations and Small Business where he managed the national Indigenous Employment Program. Steve moved to the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies as Deputy Principal. In 2002, Steve was offered an Adjunct Associate Professorship in Indigenous Health by James Cook University, and continues to maintain both an ongoing personal and professional interest/involvement in this area. Steve was recently appointed Principal of the Institute for a five year term commencing June 2004.

Is disease theory a mythical fabrication embedded in Australian historiography to rationalise the misappropriation of another peoples' lands and waterways?

Greg Blyton is currently undertaking his Phd in Aboriginal Studies with Umulliko Indigenous Higher Education Research Centre, the University of Newcastle.

Creating a Space for Indigenous Voices: Authenticity, Identity and Colonialism
In the context of colonialism, Indigenous people are talked about rather than to and have little opportunity to have their voices heard in the meaningful way that is offered by academic discourse. In Australia for example, historians celebrate the development of “Aboriginal history” since the 1970’s but a small proportion of this history is being written by Indigenous people. There is a large body of Indigenous biographical and autobiographical writing that is arguably considered to be marginal to academic discourse.
Thus academic discourse in Australia is struggling to remove itself from the colonialist model. Non-Indigenous researchers have become preoccupied with notions of “political correctness” and the ethics of research that impacts on Indigenous people. Issues like who has the "right" to say what and how, what "voices", "representations", "identities" are being heard and how they are being heard, are increasingly debated. Much of this debate is recognisably about non-Indigenous researchers attempting to hold their ground by proving the ethics of their involvement or conversely, arguing that the ethics have no place in this research.
At the same time there is much speculation about the identity of Indigenous people – who is authentically Indigenous, representative, and so able to have their voice heard?
This paper describes the positions of various Indigenous and non-Indigenous writers and theorists, in order to fully identify the issues in the debate.

Vicki Grieves has almost twenty years experience as an educator, administrator and manager with the context of Indigenous Affairs in universities, the Commonwealth Public Services and Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations. Vicki is currently employed as a Lecturer at Wollotuka School of Aboriginal Studies, the University of Newcastle.

Maho'oi: The Intrusion of inferiority by the perpetual ghost in Education
"Every Hawaiian has a built in inferiority complex. You can't help but have it, because you come from a culture that's no good, and nothing in it is good...Everywhere you go, you get reminded of the fact tht you are Hawaiian...that you are lazy, that you don't have a brain (Kanahele 1992, p.22).
Kanahele is referring to what he articulates as "the ghost of inferiority", a common phenonmenon regarding the inferior behavious of Native Hawaiians as we face mainstream expectations and life. this is a basic truth lived out in great form quite often by many Indigenous people including these authors. Our conscious effort to know and understand who we are as Aboriginal people of Hawai'i and Australia is plagued by the constant stereotypical reminders that we will nevery make the mark. The intrusion of these racist, oppressive notions into our world as Native people continues to manifest itself in our workplace, schools, communities and even in our families. Our intention is to discuss these impacts on ourselves.

Kerri-Ann Kealohapau'ole Hewett is an assistant professor in the Institutefor Teacher Education at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Her work in Hawaiian Education reflects her passion for improving the quality of life and education for Native Hawaiian children.

Anthony Fraser is the Deputy Head of Wollotuka School of Aboriginal Studies at the University of Newcastle. He is currently a Phd student with Umulliko Indigenous Higher Education Research Centre at the University and his interests include Indigenous Adult Education and Indigenous identity.

Centering Indigenous Voices in Research: Highlighting Ethical Protocols in Indigenous Research
With the abolition of ATSIC it is imperative that research is now deliberately and strategically used as a vehicle for bring to the fore and centering the voices and concerns of Indigenous people is the years to come. Starting from the premise that ethical concerns in Indigenous research encapsulate Indigenous World Views that are fundamentally different from ethical consideration in other domains, the research that is presented in this paper highlights these differences and particular guidelines that all researchers embarking on research in an Indigenous context should be aware of prior to designing and conducting their research. Having contextualized Indigenous research ethics within imperial, colonial and postcolonial times, the paper expounds upon each of the various aspects of indigenous research ethics and procedural guidelines that have been endorsed by indigenous peoples, universities and professional bodies. Identifying and interpreting these Indigenous ethical guidelines and research protocols provides an important starting point, yields valuable insights and suggest appropriate and beneficial directions that ought to aid researchers and participants alike when considering, designing, implementing and evaluating research projects in Indigenous contexts.

Voicing the problems and pitfalls that inhibit the entry and advancement of Indigenous women academics in contemporary academic environments.
The research presented in this paper draws attention to a number of complex human relations and associated detrimental factors, issues and problems that have systematically prevented the population of Indigenous women academics from growing in contemporary academic environments. Evidence evoked by a review of the literature clearly indicates that there are good reasons why this research study should investigate, privilege, and centre the voices, experiences and observations of Indigenous women academics in order to ascertain what they perceive to be the key factors, issues and problems that have hindered their entry into, and advancement within, the world of academia.

Daisy Webster

Relatedness and research: Re-naming, Re-claiming, Re-newing for Re-storing our Stories and our Voices.
Relatedness is an essential process by which our lives have been, are, and will continue to be. Relatedness serves as the underlying premise upon which our worldview (Ontology), knowledges (Epistemology) and lives (Practices) occur in everything we do, including Western research, in other words our Ways of Knowing, Ways of Being and Ways of Doing. In this workshop I will share the Indigenous research framework, the anchors and processes I developed in my PhD work to ensure Aboriginal Stories and Voices were not erased, lost, limited or diminished but were embedded as the premise for decisions and actions in the interface between what we want out of, and what is expected in research.

Karen Martin
I am a Noonuccal woman from Minjerripah (Nth Stradbroke Island - South East Qld)And also have Bidjara ancestry (central Qld). I have teaching experiences that span early childhood, primary and secondary schooling and adult training and higher education. I have taught in Aboriginal Community controlled kindergartens for over 15 yrs in the Ipswich, Logan and Far Nth Qld regions. I have also lectured in Aboriginal education and early childhood education with Qld University of Technology and more recently lectured in Indigenous Studies at James Cook Uni Townsville. I have been a member of the Board of Directors of The Brisbane Aboriginal and Islander Independent Community School since 1996. I am currently employed as the Children's Ambassador with the Creche and Kindergarten Association of Qld. I am completing a PhD by research (James Cook University, Townsville) where the topic is with regards to the processes and practices and outcomes of being an Aboriginal researcher working with another group of Aboriginal people. I soon found I needed to develop a framework that identified, named and addressed the assumptions of research so that its theory and methodology and practices embed Aboriginal worldview, knowledge, values and beliefs. I also found I needed to develop ways to draw deeply on my own cultural frameworks as the basis from which to engage research at the interface.

Indigenous Governance in Higher Education
This paper explores the opportunities and tensions that exist in the exercising of governance for Indigenous people within Universities. It draws upon the current body of work being produced in North America on Indigenous Governance and it’s relationship to the social, cultural, economic and political well being of Native Americans – as well as the research on Indigenous Governance being undertaken here in Australia.
Universities have been central in the creation of knowledge and the intellectual development of many western civilisations for centuries. Often this knowledge production has ‘dehumanised… [Indigenous people and] privilege[d] Western ways of knowing, while denying the validity… of [Indigenous] knowledge, language and culture’. (Smith, 2001: 183)
Despite this, it is recognised that there is a need for Indigenous people to engage in learning of Western knowledge systems as any other member of our society does. We have seen increasing numbers of Indigenous people in Australia graduate from University as Doctors, Lawyers, Architects, Social Workers and so on. This is a necessary part of our struggle for social inclusion and does not detract from our need to remain critical of these mainstream professions and disciplines. Importantly, universities can have a valuable role in being sites of social transformation and the development and articulation of Indigenous paradigms and worldviews to counter that of dominant societies. Further, Universities provide forums for the discussion, debate and implementation of strategies to redress many misconceptions represented by non-Indigenous researchers and academics. Overarching these critical developments is that the agenda should sit squarely in the hands of Indigenous control and management.
The need for Indigenous people to participate in mainstream studies and the need for control and management of the development of Indigenous knowledge(s) brings with it broader sets of demands on the role of Indigenous control and governance within the tertiary sector.

Rob McPhee
I am a Waanyi/Yamatji person and have lived in Perth, WA, all my life. I joined the Centre for Aboriginal Studies at Curtin University Of Technology in February 1998 as Lecturer in Aboriginal Community Management & Development (ACMD). My current position is Associate Coordinator of the Indigenous Community Management and Development and Aboriginal Health Programs as well as the Bachelor of Education Conversion Course.

Prior to joining the Centre I spent six years working in community development positions both in the public and community sector across Western Australia within the areas of Indigenous employment and training. I have completed a B.A. in Aboriginal Community Management and Development at Curtin University in Perth and am currently undertaking a Masters in Human Rights Education.

The NSW Annual Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout: a history
This paper details the origins of the Annual NSW Aboriginal Rugby League Knockout tournament through to its current expression. The study of the history of this annual event for NSW Aboriginal people seeks to demonstrate the significance of the Knockout for the NSW Aboriginal community and the contribution and place of the Knockout event in the context of cultural revival, cultural expression, self-determination, identity and economic development. The Knockout began in 1971 and grew from the existing all Aboriginal Rugby League teams coupled with the new and growing inner-city Sydney community. Since this time it has grown to a full three day carnival with up to 60 teams competing annually over the long weekend in October. Today it is widely referred to as a "modern day Corroborree". There are few events of this type that fall into the sporting and social category, that have maintained there existence over a long period of time. This study of the Knockout provides a unique opportunity to understand the social and political dimensions - of an Indigenous initiated and controlled sporting event over a 30 year period - that provide insights into modern political organisations, networks and families.

Foucault's Governmentality Literature and Indigenous Affairs.
The emphasis of this paper will be to develop an understanding of the so called 'governmentality literature' and Foucault's account of political power, as it extends through and beyond the state, and its application to a particular piece of legislation. This paper will draw on the 'governmentality literature' to reveal the underlying continuities as well as discontinuities in the state's administration of land rights, and Indigenous affairs more generally. This literature suggests an approach to the study of policy, legislation and administration which seeks to scrutinise the underlying forms of political reasoning or political rationalities which informed the construction of certain conceptions of Indigenous interest in land.

Heidi Norman is an Academic at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning, University of Technology, Sydney. She has developed curriculum and teaches in the areas of Indigenous Australian history and public policy. Heidi completed her Bachelor degree through the University of Sydney majoring political economy and women's studies and her Masters at the University of Technology, Sydney in Social Policy. Having grown up in Sydney she descends from the Gamilaroi nation in north-western NSW. Her thesis proposal is a political history of the NSW Aboriginal Land Rights Act (1983).

What can we learn from Ghandi on How to Record Indigenous History?
“In what would perhaps become known as Mohandas Ghandis’ first importantwritten work, Indian Home Rule in 1909, Ghandi compares a Gujarati, version of history which translates as meaning ‘it so happened’, to western notions of history. Today I want to talk about Ghandi’scriticisms of European notions of history which he describes as ‘focusing too much upon the recording of countless interruptions which occur mainlybetween nations, families and kings’. Considering Ghandi’s criticism, I however wish to open discussion and further discuss why I feel it is necessary for Aboriginal historians to discover new ways of recording and teaching history, and why Aboriginal history need not only be a history about colonial interruptions of our past and everyday lives."

Frances Peters-Little (BA, Communications, UTS, 1991, Masters of Philosophy, Australian Studies, ANU, 2002). Frances is currently employed as a Research Fellow and Deputy Director at the Australian Centre for Indigenous History, Australian National University. Her areas of research interests are Aboriginal arts and media; Aboriginal recent political history and identity; Indigenous higher education

Does Love Conquer All?: Black-White Relationships in a Racially Divided World.
Drawing from a postcolonial, feminist framework, this 'work in progress', provides a beginning exploration for how race matters and does not matter within a social cultural context for families, couples, and women who are in committed Black-White relationships. In focusing on partners of Caucasian 'White Australian and Aboriginal "Black" Australian in North Queensland, it seeks to determine whether the importance of race continues to be a core and defining category that structures and shapes the character and texture of Queensland society today. Preliminary data indicates that race matters because racism remains, despite official multicultural policies. As a means of protecting themselves and their families from stereotypes about Black/White unions, women in particular make claims that race does not matter, yet at the same time they describe ways that stereotypes impact their self identities and their couple interactions. This paper ends by addressing why research such as this is timely and needed in Australia, both at the micro level of blending cultural differences as well as the macro level of dealing with racism.

Sharon Moore is a proud Aboriginal woman from far northwestern, New South Wales. A graduate of the Uni of New England - Armidale, she has actively been involved in teacher education and curriculum development at the school and tertiary level for the past ten years. Her areas of interest include Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advancement and a concern for social issues facing Indigenous Australians today. She has a strong commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander advancement and a concern for social issues facing Indigenous Australians today. She is enrolled in a Masters of Indigenous Studies and her topic is - Intimate Relations.

The history of western education in Australia for Indigenous peoples has been destructive to Indigenous beliefs and culture. Throughout colonisation education evolved from apathy, denial and the ideology of Imperialism that ultimately lead to the process of Assimilation. This ethnocentric view has always been the motivation behind the western education systems as it reproduces the dominance over all nations within its respective domains. This educational practice does not accommodate or incorporate diverse cultural beliefs and practices. This is evident in most if not all curriculum within teaching institutions. For Indigenous people to embrace and harness this type of education and utlise the benefits that western learning has to offer, the curriculum must be constructed in such a way that integrates and recognizes cultural diversity and Indigenous identity. The School of Aboriginal Studies at The University of Newcastle has designed a Bachelor of Aboriginal Studies that has as its core an exploration into individual and community identity. This paper will explore whether addressing individual Indigenous identity in the Bachelor of Aboriginal Studies is beneficial to students’ overall learning and their ability to perform as Indigenous people in their chosen fields of employment.

Joe Perry is currently employed as a Lecturer at Wollotuka School of Aboriginal Studies, the University of Newcastle.

Indigenous quantitative research
Little has been written about Indigenous health research methods in the area of quantitative research. A frequent criticism of evaluations of Indigenous health programs is that the findings were limited to stating the number of people that participated. For Indigenous people participation in a highly significant finding as it shows the program was well accepted by the Indigenous community and that the process or design has been successful. In Koori health the research process (Or research design) is more or just as important as the research (or method). Commonly if the p process isn't appropriate for Koori people the research fails to progress as people do not participate. This presentation explores comparisons between standards for quality of evidence of research produced in the area of public health to Indigenous research designs and ways of improving quantitative research in Indigenous health.

Karen Adams is a Koori Woman based in Melbourne, Victoria. Karen is currently completing a PhD in Public Health at the Vic Health Koori Health and Community Development Unit at Melbourne University. The aim of the PhD research is to develop community based interventions for the prevention of Otitis Media in Victorian Koori kids. Karen is also employed the Vic Health Koori Health Research and Community Development Unit in the Centre for Excellence in Indigenous Tobacco Control at the Melbourne University as a researcher for a National Projects Register. Karen has worked in public health as a Personal Care Attendant. Registered Nurse, Educator and Trainer and Researcher. She has completed a Master's in Applied Epidemiology In Indigenous Health at the National Centre for Epidemiology and Public Health, Australian National University. She has also been a Coordinator to establish and implement Aboriginal Health Worker Training at the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

Beyond Pedagogical Norms: Country, Story - Aboriginal Perspectives and Learning
Accepted learning paradigms are challenged once the holistic notion of knowledge transfer, or culturally appropriate pedagogical practices, is incorporated into the development and delivery of Aboriginal Studies. Regardless of the learning institution, it is the Australian cultural norm to teach within a classroom environment. A growing number of Aboriginal teachers who are exploring and introducing culturally appropriate teaching practices, in the area of Aboriginal Studies, are challenging this norm. The representation of Aboriginal history and cultural traditions is severely restricted when wholly delivered within a classroom environment. Classical classroom delivery perpetuates the notion of the Aborigine as the object of study or ‘other’; it is only when the student engages with country and experiences a living Aboriginal culture that the reality of the complexities and diversity of Aboriginal cultural practices and perspective come to life. As a result of challenging accepted pedagogical practices, with regard to Aboriginal Studies, an increasing number of mature age Aboriginal students are exploring cultural identity through Aboriginal Studies as an educational foundation before engaging in articulated pathways to further education.

Annie Vanderwyk is a Ngarrindjeri mimini (woman) from the mouth of the Murray River, South Australia and am currently engaged in PhD research after receiving First Class Honours mid-year 2004. My Honours research focus was in the disciplines of Anthropology/Law focusing on the place of cultural perspective on emerging Indigenous research methodologies. I have a Bachelor of Arts (Anthropology/Sociology, English Literature) from the Newcastle University. I currently teach within the Diploma of Aboriginal Studies Hunter Institute of TAFE and lecture Sociology within the Open Foundation Adult Entry program at Newcastle University.

Multimediation as a Culturally Appropriate Tool for Indigenous Researchers
The practice of applying tools of multimediation to academic research processes has been widely accepted as a valid support of formal research publications. Engaging these tools as the key dissemination process for academic research has however, rarely been explored outside of Fine Arts or Design faculties. In this early examination of process, I will be discussing the development of Indigenous Reflections: Re-Searching and the Indigenous Reflections Website, and the ongoing exploration of cultural appropriateness in utilising orality and functional multimediation for Indigenous research and, discretely, by Indigenous researchers.

Sandy Indlekofer-O'Sullivan is undertaking a Fine Arts PhD at the University of Newcastle in the fields of multimediation, orality, gender and sexuality. Sandy spent three years in the Middle East lecturing in Broadcast Media at Dubai Women’s College, lectured in Sound Art at Wollongong University, and spent two years as Artist-in-Residence at Wollongong Regional Gallery. She currently lectures in Digital Media in Fine Arts at the Ourimbah Campus of the University of Newcastle, and is assisting Umulliko in an external research project. Sandy is a member of Indigenous Reflections, along with Kathleen Butler, Annie Vanderwyk, and Julianne Butler.

Indigenous Research Methodologies: It's all about a good Yarn Up
Indigenous researchers nationally and internationally are experiencing many challenges in conducting Indigenous research within the Western framework of research ethics, philosophies and methodologies. This paper focuses on one of the major outcomes of my PhD research, Emerging Literacy in New South Wales Rural and Urban Indigenous Families, which has made a significant contribution to the emerging field of Indigenous Research Methodologies. Indigenous researchers choose to engage in research through the academy often to bring about change that benefits Indigenous peoples. They encounter many ethical, philosophical and methodological challenges in the process. It is important for Indigenous researchers to position themselves subjectively within the research in relation to the participants and the issues researched. This can be difficult, as most researchers would argue that the researchers themselves must be objective to conduct research in a scientific manner. This paper traces my journey in the research process and the challenges in conducting Indigenous research in a culturally appropriate manner, one in which fulfilled the requirements of the academy without compromising the protection of participants’ rights to confidentiality, ownership of the intellectual property and that the research produced outcomes which benefited them and their broader communities. Much of the discussion here is taken directly from my methodology chapter. In order to conduct and present the research from Indigenous perspectives, I needed to centre Indigenous voices. The issues of literacy and education were discussed in relation to Indigenous beliefs, values and social practices rather than looking at the education system and literacy standards, and where Indigenous Australians stand in relation to that. I took an Indigenous philosophical approach centring Indigenous voices within the research. I replaced the traditional notions of focus groups and interviews with the culturally appropriate ethnographic research tool of Yarn Times. Yarning empowers Indigenous Australians to use the traditional manner of sharing knowledge and information through narratives in the manner that they want information conveyed and in context. It replaces the traditional academic practice of framing questions to elicit information with a more culturally appropriate means of collecting ethnographic data for case studies.

Dr Wendy Hanlen is a Kamilaroi woman and is a Research Academic with Umulliko Indigenous Higher Education and Research Centre, Wollotuka School of Aboriginal Studies, University of Newcastle. Wendy is a lecturer in Aboriginal Education, Politics and Issues and Decolonisation in graduate programs and Decolonisation: An Australian Perspective for a Masters coursework program. She is a member of Kuriwa Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and Darkinjung Local Aboriginal Land Council. Some of the outcomes of Wendy’s PhD research made significant contributions to the emerging field of Indigenous Research Methodology. She is also a trained linguist and is interested in the use of language in the colonisation and decolonisation processes and her research centres Indigenous voices with the aim to bring about change and empowerment for our peoples. Wendy was awarded the Central Coast Business and Professional Woman (BPW) of the Year Award for 2002. BPW is an international women’s organisation that promotes the achievements of women worldwide.

Separatism - Is it a place where we now need to go?
When reviewing any aspects of Aboriginal education the issues of poor educational outcomes, non retention and truancy are key features of any of the arguments. These features highlight the limited success that is occuring within the boundaries of nonAboriginal educational institutions and forums. With the use of Information Communication Technology (ICT) new spaces can be developed to allow Aboriginal students cultural safe spaces to speak amongst themselves about themselves and their culture. It allows spacefor questions to be asked or a place to listen to others. With some expertise from Aboriginal educators and the experience of Aboriginal Elders these spaces can become interactive talking circles where you can listen to experiences voices. With no concrete Aboriginal Universities or schools, the use of ICT is a way for Aboriginal learning centres and networks between Aboriginal students to be established to provide learning spaces for these students. These spaces would be developed with Aboriginal pedagogical understandings underpinning all academic curriculum, teaching and education experiences. They would allow Aboriginal students to work on material that has relevance to their life experiences and allow them cultural experiences to be the norm and not a social experience that is questioned or challenged.

Michael Donovan is currently employed as a lecturer at Wollotuka School of Aboriginal Studies, the University of Newcastle.

Researched to Death: Exploring Indigenous Research Philosophy
Indigenous peoples in Australia are actively in research in ways never before seen.
Indigenous voices are centring themselves in the research process and in the stories told. This position is the result of over two centuries of research that has defined and categorised and castigated us as peoples. Indigenous peoples will no longer passively and politely comply with existing research methodology. Too much of ourselves has already been erased. Research recently conducted by the author for an Australian Research Council Indigenous Researchers Development Grant (ARC IRD) identified an overwhelming degree of cynicism amongst Indigenous Community peoples about the concept and experience of research. This paper will explore the outcomes of this research and in so doing, tantalise dialogue about the following questions:
i) Is there an Indigenous Research Methodology (IRM)?
ii) If so, does the IRM exist as a separate and distinct form of research methodology?
iii) Is Indigenous research guided by a distinct philosophy; one, which has an inclusive, set of protocols?
This paper argues that in centring Indigenous voices and Indigenous world views a distinct Indigenous Philosophy does exist; one that demands different process. Embedding and centring Indigenous world views allows us to frame our research, to deliver tangible outcomes to our communities and to enable our voices and those of our communities.

Associate Professor Nerida Blair's country is southwest central Queensland. Prior to her appointment to Umulliko in May 1998, Nerida was involved in Indigenous higher education in Victoria and NSW and in social justice issues with the Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission. As Associate Professor, Nerida facilitates Indigenous Community direction in culturally appropriate research and research training.

National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) Indigenous Community Ethics Guidelines.
Aim of the Workshop: To gain input from participants at the Indigenous Researchers’ Forum into the development of the Indigenous Community Ethics Guidelines.
Background: The NHMRC is currently developing Indigenous Community Ethics Guidelines aimed at informing Indigenous organizations, communities and groups about their rights and responsibilities in relation to research. The guidelines refer to research which may be proposed or conducted by Indigenous or non-Indigenous people from outside or within the organization or community and by different research institutions. Issues such as the right for Indigenous people to be actively involved in research decision making processes, intellectual property, and capacity building of Indigenous researchers are also addressed in the guidelines. A team of Indigenous researchers have been conducting workshops around the country. The latest draft of the guidelines will be provided to workshop participants and the facilitators will take them through a processes of examining the different sections of the guidelines and documenting recommendations.

Experienced researchers’ help will be enlisted to serve on the panel.

As more Indigenous researchers are involved in the research arena in different capacities, there are more opportunities to take control of the research agenda. In doing so there needs to be certain structures and mechanisms in place to mentor and support each other and to provide information which will build capacity. Although there has been some improvement over the years there is still a lack of Indigenous researchers particularly in roles such as mentors, post graduate supervisors, thesis examiners, grant reviewers, publishers, and chief investigators on research grants. What are the issues and possible strategies that will help developing researchers to achieve their goals? The aim of this information workshop is for the participants to identify issues in group work and to have a panel of experienced researchers to talk to the issues and share their experiences in a mentor/support role.

Gail Garvey

Daniel McAuly

Strategic Praxis: A Holistic Approach to Indigenous Research.
This paper argues that the research approach that underpins the provision of services to Indigenous Australians has failed and that a strategic praxis approach to research may produce better results. Since 1967 an environment has been created to promote equality of outcomes on social indicators for Indigenous Australians however, the paradox is that the services and programs implemented have failed to achieve their aims. Indigenous Australians, despite the allocation of increased resources, have become trapped within a social cycle that entrenches their disadvantage. It is self evident that the approaches taken, including the research that underpin them, have not been sufficient and may not be sufficient to resolve Indigenous Australian social disadvantages. The removal of discriminatory policies increasing services and resources has proved ineffective. The research that underpins this process
Has been unable to address the issues experienced by indigenous Australians necessitating a different approach - a response that includes indigenous Australian perspectives. Strategic praxis approaches account for a multiplicity of perspectives and factors rather than conducting research designed to satisfy the dictates of institutions and organisations derived from one cultural perspective or service responsibility.

Dr Douglas L. Morgan is a Bundjalung man from Southern Queensland. He is the Senior Research fellow with the Indigenous College of Education and research, University of South Australia. He has a PhD in Indigenous Health Education Training from Flinders University with extensive experience in conducting consultancy and research work on behalf of government departments. Douglas provides expertise in research protocols and consulting with Indigenous groups and individuals. He is also a highly regarded and respected member of the Indigenous community and brings to this project recent experience in transition education, recruitment strategies and tertiary support programs; areas in which is he widely published. This includes work done with Aboriginal communities on behalf of ATSIC and the SA Dept. of Human Services. Currently the Chairperson of Neporendi Aboriginal Forum Inc. in the southern suburbs of Adelaide, his work has been published nationally and internationally in many journals and he has presented at numerous conferences in Australia and the Pacific region.

Bevin Wilson is an Ngarrindjeri man and an Indigenous educator with the indigenous Support Unit at the Uni of SA. He is a respected member of the Neporendi Aboriginal Forum Inc in the southern suburbs of Adelaide. He brings extensive experience in Indigenous education, cross-cultural program evaluation, community development and capacity building, evaluation of Community Development and Employment Programs (CDEP) for ATSIC and Indigenous health. He is a member of the southern Adelaide Metropolitan Health Board advising the South Australian Health Minister on Indigenous Health issues. Bevan Wilson has been a secondary educator for twenty years and a tertiary educator for the past ten years. Committed to Indigenous education he is a valuable member of a number of education committees including the Teaching and learning Committee ad chairs the catholic Education Indigenous Education Advisory Committee. He will make a useful contribution to the project team through his abilities to liaise between education and health organisations.

Jennifer Baker is a Snr Lecturer in the Unaaipon School at the Uni of SA where she coordinates the Aboriginal Health and Culture course. Jennifer's research interests centre on Indigenous Primary Health Care. Jennifer's PhD in the field of Aboriginal health is due for completion at the end of 2004.

Sheena Coleman is a Kokatha woman. Sheen a holds a Bachelor of Social Science majoring in Human Services. She is a postgraduate student at the Uni of SA where she is currently completing her Bachelor of Social Sciences (Honors).

John Browne is a Larrakia/Wulna man. He has worked in Aboriginal Affairs for most of his career. He has held positions including Regional Aboriginal Manager with Adelaide Central Health Service, Snr Assistant Director (Community Development) with DAA and ATSIC state office and Manager State indigenous Welfare Services Program with Family and Youth Services. He has worked and lived on Aboriginal communities within SA. John's current position is as a Lecturer working for the Indigenous Support Unit at the Uni of SA. John is a member of the Royal Association of Justices of SA Inc and Tauondi Aboriginal College Council of South Australia. John holds a Degree in Social Work, Graduate Certificate in Management and a Graduate Diploma in Social Science. He has also served on the boards
Nunkin Warrin Yunti and Ku managka Youth services.

Sydney Sparrow holds a Bachelor of Arts (Jurisprudence), Bachelor of Laws and a Graduate Certificate in Legal Practice. He currently works as Lecturer in the Unaipon School at the Uni of SA and has held that position since 2000. Prior to that, Sydney has worked in Aboriginal Affairs in Community managed organisations. Sydney is also currently the vice President of the Aboriginal Legal Rights Movement Inc and sits on the Reconciliation Advisory Committee for the Adelaide City Council.

Secrets of lost souls: an expose` of a Hidden past that affects a Nation.
Since the 1800's, bureaucratic processing concerning my family has left a paper trail in its wake. For instance, `in administrative history there are twenty - six pieces of legislation impacting on Aboriginal people to be found. Therefore, I'm able to re-trace what others have written about my people, culture… and family since settlement. However, Sandy Miller warns of the hazards to those searching for lost loved ones and identity: "I've had many people who I've given files to who have been absolutely devastated by the information received." Although I agree with Sandy's viewpoint that the recovery of one's records may understandably cause further grief, for me personally it was an opportunity to conceptualise my parents and their life experiences during the 'protection' eras. This necessity of those bureaucratic records to my current undertaking at University with the writing of mum's life-story, a brief family history. Conversely, Mary Ann bin Sallick recognizes how 'lucky' she is to know her extended family. She also states that the forcible removal of basic birthrights from indigenous peoples, due to discriminatory legislative laws, is and 'indictment of this Nation'.

Kathleen-Mary Graham - I was born on Kaurna Land, belonging to the Adelaide Plains People, and have lived in South Oz since birth. My six children are now adults, living with their partners, and so far I've been blessed with eleven, plus two, beautiful 'grannies, ranging from a few weeks to almost twenty years in age. They are my pride and joy. At present I'm studying at Adelaide University as a post-graduate student (3rd year) and intend submitting a completed 1st Draft by Xmas. In 2001 at the completion of my Honors - 1st Class - paper titled, Check - Mate: neither space nor place to move. A biographical study of Roy Howard Graham, my father, 1920 - 1974. I decided to continue writing my family's history as a PHD paper. Mum died midway through 'Honours" year, angry with me because I was writing dad's biography. However, as I did for my dad, I will continue to validate mum's life in death through the medium or oral histories, auto/biographical writings etc.

Tobacco interventions in eight far North Queensland Indigenous Communities.
AIMS: A collaborative research project between James Cook University and Queensland health the project aims to examine the impact of a multi-intervention anti-tobacco strategy in eight far north Queensland Indigenous communities over a three-year period.
The project has three broad aims:
" To increase the capacity of health services to implement and deliver
" anti-tobacco interventions.
" To increase community knowledge about the health risks of smoking, and
" To decrease the level of tobacco consumption within communities.
There is little published data on the effectiveness of smoking modification programs within the Australian Indigenous population. What is obvious from research within the non-Indigenous population is the need for multi-strategy intervention that targets not just the individual but also the community within which they live. Individuals will be more likely to succeed in modifying their smoking behaviour if their social and physical environments support their attempts. Any intervention therefore needs to address not just individual attitudes and resources but also the knowledge, attitudes and resources available at a community level.

Dallas Young is the Manager of the Public Health Field Research Program at James Cook University, Cairns. She is also a 2nd year Masters of Indigenous Studies student, through the School of Indigenous Australian Studies, James Cook University. Dallas's research interests include tobacco, community controlled health services and rural and remote area health.

People, Place and Time: The Weilmoringle Community.
This 'work in progress' will explore family history, and the oral traditions of the Weilmoringle community 100km North-East of Bourke, NSW. Lorinas research topic is, The Weilmoringle community; people, place and time and she is interested in the question of what are peoples' connections to and memories of place? The research will use a combination of qualitative and oral history methodology. The oral history interviews will document peoples' memories about, connection to, and experiences of place and time and will contribute to a deeper understanding of Weilmoringle the place it's past, present and future. The qualitative research will explore the following categories: time, p lace life stories, family relations, history, colonialism and work. It will also seek to identify and draw on previous research, as well as endeavour to analyse the station records and to map the residential spaces and their changes over time.

Lorina Barker - BA, M. Litt, GDED (UNE) and currently a PhD Candidate (UNE). Lorina is a descendant of the Mjruwari people of Weilmoringle and Brewarrina, and the Wangkumara people of Bourke, in the North-West NSW. Formerly, she was the Student Support Officer at the Oorala Centre UNE and and Aboriginal Community Liaison Officer with the NSW Department of Education and Training. Currently she lectures and team-teaches in Convict Australia and twentieth Century Australian History at the University of New England, Armidale. Her current research interest is family history and the oral traditions of the Weilmoringle community.

Universal Relationships and Responsibilities to sustainable living practices for cultural and enviromental well being.
This will be a multi disciplinary cross cultural exchange symposium on sustainable living practices, held with the intention of exploring Indigenous knowledge and belief systems within contemporary global perspectives.

Tjalaminu Mia

Do-Gooders”: White Women in the Foundation For Aboriginal Affairs
Contemporary criticism of feminism by Indigenous female academics points out the power white women have exercised in relation to both Black men and women. Many reject claims of solidarity, seeing race as more important than gender. In particular there is a focus on the way in which white women contributed to and benefited from the oppression of Indigenous people in the colonial period. White women also acted to help to transform Aboriginal people via assimilation, in the removal of children and as employees of the state in the ‘nurturing professions’- teaching, welfare, nursing etc. Distinctions of power between White and Black women are still evident today. This paper will examine the dynamics of power between middle and upper class White women and working class Black women at the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs in Sydney in the 1960’s. It will pay particular attention to the way in which White women sought to mould Aboriginal women into replicas of themselves, a move which Aboriginal women repeatedly rejected. As an Aboriginal member of the Foundation and its Women’s Auxiliary I will be critically considering some recollections of this time - Julianne Butler

Reconsidering Kinship: The Family in Indigenous Research
Anthropology has made the study of kinship systems a central feature of its research method. As an Indigenous researcher, I have found that my own kin-based sociality is a significant impetus for the direction of my academic inquiry, as well as providing a wealth of oral history that challenges mainstream representations of Indigenous peoples. In my reading of other Indigenous authors I have noted that the author’s family often occupies a central position in the narrative, although the nature of how this position is constituted varies greatly. In this paper I reconsider the role of the family in Indigenous research, comparing Indigenous perspectives to traditional academic models. In particular, I will be deconstructing the use of family photographs as a useful ethnographic tool - Kathleen Butler McIlwraith

Julianne Butler & Kathleen Butler-McIlwraith
Julianne and Kathleen are both affiliated with the University of Newcastle. Julie is currently studying at Umulliko, completing a thesis on the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs in the 1960’s. Kathy is an associate lecturer of Sociology and Anthropology at the School of Humanities. The Butler’s belong to the Worimi and Bundjalung peoples of N.S.W. Although our research and writing styles vary greatly from one another we are both concerned with acknowledging the continuing power of Aboriginal cultures, particularly in an urban setting. After meeting at the Aborigines Progressive Association in 1964, Julianne has been married to Wayne for 37 years. They are enjoying a ‘second parenthood’ to their grandchildren Phoebe and Andrew. Kathleen and husband Paul are looking forward to the birth of their third child in 2005.

Indigenous Researchers: Jackie's of all trades and masters of the bloody lot!
This paper explores the dilemmas of holistic approaches to research in the Indigenous domain. It explores the complexities involved in the pursuit of Indigenous research perspectives and the inherent multiple methodologies required to work through 'holistic analysis' and process. In particular the reality of the researcher's current experiences with his doctoral work on 'Why do Indigenous kids switch off school?' are utilized to exemplify the methodological minefield for Indigenous researchers as they come to terms with mastery of several methodological tools.

Professor John Lester is a Wonnarua man from the Singleton area in NSW, with over 21 years of operational and managerial leadership in Indigenous education and training covering school, TAFE and university. His appointment as the first Indigenous Aboriginal Studies Chair in the University of Newcastle recognised his outstanding contribution in Indigenous education. John is currently completing his Phd in Education and is on one year's study leave from his position as Head of Wollotuka School of Aboriginal Studies and Director of Umulliko Higher Education Research Centre at the University of Newcastle.