Aboriginal identity, world views, research and the story of the Burra'gorang

Abstract

). As a result, it should be understood that this chapter is written through a lens shared by the authors. This lens emanates from clans within the D'harawal nation or language group located in south-west Sydney, Australia. In our own ways, we have each struggled against the longstanding and continuing impact of colonisation, ranging from popular media misinformation to our location, learnings, stories and oral histories being contested by quasi-anthropological works relying on, and selectively ignoring, confl icting evidence from the diaries and scribblings of the early colonisers (cf. Kohen 1993 ).Despite family histories of dislocation and imposed reserve life, Stolen Generations, and forced denial of identity, we have retained and maintained our cultural values and Creation and Law Stories that are integral to our strong sense of kinship today.By engaging with the works of respected Indigenous scholars and the traditional D'harawal Law Story of the 'Burra'gorang' ('Giant Kangaroo') , we invite you to embark on an intellectual quest to identify some of the learnings within this story that, in part, parallel the identity violence that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities are forced to endure today. We share this story because within the D'harawal context, storytelling is one of our most important methods of communication, learning, and promoting mutual respect and understanding (Bodkin 2013b ). This story offers insights into our traditional philosophies and we challenge you to attempt to discover some of its layers of meaning. We also hope that you understand that the knowledges shared here are as much for our community, and our future generations, as it is for yours.

Trends in Indigenous and Non-Indigenous Multidomain Well-Being: Decomposing Persistent, Maturation, and Period Effects in Emerging Adulthood

“…Likewise, we suggest that the macrocontext has an effect on happiness and, to the degree that the macrocontext is different for Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth, has an effect on group differences. For example, there is a consistent theme within much Indigenous scholarly research, which suggests that broader sociopolitical contexts continually threaten and/or silence the very strengths, identities, and growth of Indigenous peoples and their cultures (Behrendt, 2016; Bodkin-Andrews, Bodkin, Andrews, & Evans, 2017; Paradies, 2016). This coincides with findings from representative surveys of Australian youth that show notable and consistent well-being disadvantages for Indigenous youth, particularly in relation to those reporting dissatisfaction with life (e.g., Cave, Fildes, Luckett, & Wearring, 2015).…”