Who Are Indigenous Peoples?

• Culturally distinct groups descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a region.
• Maintain original culture, language, and traditions.
• In Australia: Aboriginal peoples and Torres Strait Islander peoples.

What Is Indigenous Psychology?

A global movement aiming to:

• Develop research methods appropriate for Indigenous communities.
• Promote self-determination and Indigenous-led knowledge.
• Counter the dominance of WEIRD research (≈96% of psychology studies use WEIRD samples).
• Advocate for culturally grounded understandings of thinking, feeling, and behaviour.

What Is Culture?

Culture = all non-biological, learned experiences that shape how people think, feel, and act.

Why Western Psychology Often Overlooks Culture

1. People underestimate how deeply they are shaped by their own culture.
2. Cultural influence on behaviour, wellbeing, and cognition is undercredited.
3. Western psychology prioritises individual perspectives, not collective or relational ways of knowing.

Cultural Factors That Impact Behaviour

• Individualism vs collectivism
• Time orientation
• Personal space
• Age milestones
• Mental health beliefs
• Treatment of elders and community roles

Indigenous Australians: Context

• Prior to colonisation: ≈600 nations, 250+ distinct languages.
• Torres Strait Islanders: strong seafaring, trading, and navigational traditions.

Aboriginal Mental Health & Suicide Prevention

What is the best practice?

• Ask culturally specific questions.
• Recognise how language barriers affect treatment.
• Use community-wide interventions — collective healing is most effective.

Barriers to Indigenous Psychology Success

1. Education Pathways (Cameron & Robinson, 2014)

Barriers include:

• Institutional trauma associated with Western education.
• Lack of Indigenous content and teachers.
• Cultural insensitivity among university staff.
• Competing family/community responsibilities for Indigenous students.

2. Health Services (Working Together Report, 2014)

Challenges include:

• Complex impacts of colonisation on grief, trauma, and wellbeing.
• Limited access to culturally safe services.
• Very small number of Indigenous psychologists.
• Need for holistic, community-centred care.

Indigenous Research Approaches

Decolonising Methodologies (Linda Tuhiwai Smith)

We need to shift from:

• Research ON Indigenous people → research WITH and BY Indigenous people.

Comparison Table

Western Research	Indigenous Research
Focus on the individual	Focus on community & relationships
Researcher remains distant to reduce bias	Build trusting relationships
Ethics approval via institutions	Approval from Elders, community
Research goals driven by researcher	Research guided by community needs

Why Indigenous Psychology Matters

• Culture shapes cognition, emotion, and social behaviour.
• Restores trust in institutions that historically caused harm.
• Supports Indigenous-led mental health strategies.
• Centres community engagement, not individual pathology.
• Enables genuine communication about mental health and wellbeing.

Cultural Responsiveness in Psychology

• Psychology has historically contributed to harm against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
• Indigenous psychologists and Elders are now reshaping the discipline.
• Aim: a culturally safe field where Indigenous knowledge is valued alongside scientific knowledge.

Philosophies of Science & Coloniality in Psychology

How Coloniality Shaped Psychology

• Modelled after physical sciences → prioritised “objectivity” and ignored culture.
• Western knowledge systems framed as superior → minimised non-Western ways of knowing.
• Result: diagnostic tools, research methods, and treatments disadvantaging Indigenous and diverse populations.

How Was Intelligence Testing Biased Against Indigenous Peoples?

• Western IQ tests imposed on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
• Tools based on Western definitions of intelligence → produced biased, racist results.
• Supported assimilation policies and deficit narratives.

What Is The Role of AIPA?

• Australian Indigenous Psychologists Association (2009 → independent 2019).
• Increases Indigenous representation, promotes cultural safety, influences policy and training.

Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Traditional Culture

Ancient Continuity

• 65,000+ years of continuous culture.
• Pre-colonisation population: 300,000–950,000 people.
• 260+ Aboriginal languages; two major Torres Strait languages (Meriam Mir, Kala Lagaw Ya).

Lifestyle & Kinship

• Seasonal hunter-gatherers; Torres Strait Islanders practised agriculture.
• Kinship groups structured by obligations, roles, and reciprocity.
• Deep relational focus: sharing, collective responsibility, sustainable resource use.

Spiritual Connection to Country

• Country includes land, sea, sky, ancestors, and spirituality.
• Cultural law (Lore), gendered ceremonial responsibilities, and custodianship central to identity.

Impacts of Colonisation

Key Impacts

• Terra Nullius falsely declared Australia “empty” → justified land theft.
• Frontier violence, slavery, disease (smallpox, influenza) → catastrophic population loss.
• Loss of Country = loss of identity, language, food, medicine, and culture.
• Government policies: segregation, assimilation, child removal → profound intergenerational trauma.

Human Rights & Social Justice

What is SEWB?

SEWB = social and emotional wellbeing, emphasising holistic wellbeing.

Historical & Modern Advocacy

Key figures and movements:

• Charles Perkins (Freedom Ride)
• Vincent Lingiari (Wave Hill walk-off)
• Eddie Mabo (Overturning Terra Nullius)
• Redfern Speech (1992)
• National Apology (2008)

Global Framework

UNDRIP (2007): 46 articles affirming Indigenous rights to:

• Self-determination
• Culture and sovereignty
• Equality and protection

Systems Change in Psychology

How Can Psychology Improve? (Dudgeon et al., 2020)

• Develop culturally responsive mental health services.
• Train culturally competent clinicians.
• Decolonise curricula and practice.
• Address social determinants of health.
• Monitor and evaluate system changes.

Indigenous Psychology in Australia

Core Aims

• Decolonisation and strengthening cultural continuity.
• Understanding wellbeing through the SEWB model:
  • Mind, body, family, community, culture, spirituality, Country, and history.

Research Paradigms

Indigenous methodologies emphasise:

• Community-led priorities
• Capacity building
• Cultural revitalisation
• APAR (Aboriginal Participatory Action Research): cyclical, strength-based, action-focused

Ethical Values

• NHMRC: spirit/integrity, cultural continuity, equity, reciprocity, respect, responsibility
• AIATSIS: self-determination, Indigenous leadership, value/impact, sustainability/accountability

Allyship & Cultural Responsiveness

What Allies Do

• Use structural power to support Indigenous goals.
• Engage in self-reflection, ongoing learning, and cultural safety.
• Build respectful relationships with community members and Elders.

Four Key Ally Actions

1. Learn about colonisation and social justice movements.
2. Honour and respect Indigenous knowledge systems.
3. Build genuine relationships with Indigenous communities.
4. Participate in cultural safety training and reflective practice.

Ethical Issues in Research

Participant Rights

• Informed consent
• Right to withdraw
• Protection from harm
• Debriefing when deception is used
• IRB / HREC review for approval

Indigenous Research Ethics

• Follow AIATSIS and NHMRC guidelines
• Emphasise sovereignty, respect, cultural integrity, community benefit

Animal Research Pros & Cons

Pros	Cons
Understanding learning & brain function	Welfare concerns
Insights into treatments	Ethical validity issues
Controlled environments	Limited generalisability