“Don't let anybody ever put you down culturally…. it's not good…”: Creating spaces for Blak women's healing

Abstract

Research has highlighted the importance of Indigenous knowledge and cultural practice in healing from ongoing histories of trauma, dispossession, and displacement for Indigenous peoples in Australia and elsewhere. Connection with culture, Country, and kinship has been identified as protective factors for Aboriginal social and emotional well‐being and as facilitating cultural healing. This paper draws on stories mediated through cultural practice specifically, Wayapa and bush‐dyeing workshops, to explore how women resignified experiences and engaged in “healing work.” Our collaborative analysis of the stories shared resulted in three main themes that capture dialogs about the need for culturally safe spaces, vulnerability and identity, and culture, Country, and place. Centering Aboriginal knowledge, our analysis shows the meanings of Country, spirituality, and the coconstitution of people, culture, and the natural environment. Through Indigenous cultural practice, the women “grew strength in relationship” as they engaged in the psychosocial processes of deconstruction, reclamation, and renarrating personal and cultural identities.

The global development of community psychology as reflected in the American Journal of Community Psychology

“…More recent publications from Australia and New Zealand offer examples of efforts that embrace indigenous ways of knowing and doing (e.g., McNamara & Naepi, 2018; Quayle & Sonn, 2019; see VSI). Balla et al (2022) document how Aboriginal cultural and knowledge practice can be used in processes of healing, remembering, and empowerment.…”

From talk to action: Indigenous Reference Groups drive practice change in kidney transplantation care

“…Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices were privileged by the creation of a safe, decolonised space through which the IRG could communicate with the clinical world. As no non‐Aboriginal people attended the IRG meetings, the space was seen as a wholly “Blak space”, 12 where only Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander people were invited to participate, lead and govern meetings. The IRG was positioned as a catalyst to forming trusting relationships between the patients and the hospital staff, as two‐way communication and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander‐led change were actively embraced at a local level.…”

“…Reflective practices were employed to ensure meetings were examined and improved upon, a practice that reflects Aboriginal ways of knowing, being and doing by valuing the acts of deep listening and reflection 12 . Questions such as “have the communities’ needs been heard and met?”, “what worked for us and what did not?”, and “how can we do it better next time?” were asked after each IRG meeting.…”

Blak women’s healing: Cocreating decolonial praxis through research yarns.

“…Given the COVID-19 pandemic and attendant lockdowns that caused major disruptions to everyday lives, the initial project was adapted for online delivery. For this project (see Balla et al, 2022), Rowie and Paola led a series of cultural practice and yarning workshops for Aboriginal women who expressed a need for connection and engagement. The group came together for 2 hr a week over a 12-week period (8 Wayapa sessions followed by 4 bush dyeing).…”