This article presents the developmental stages of a nationwide whole-school strengths-based behavioural intervention by Maori and centring on Maori interests; an initiative that has the potential to transform educational success and opportunities. The initial phase involved a cycle of data collection. This was conducted via a series of focus…

The education system, as it relates to very remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in Australia, faces challenges. While considerable resources have been applied to very remote schools, results in terms of enrollments, attendance and learning outcomes have changed little, despite the effort applied. The Cooperative Research…

The Martu people originate from the Pilbara region in Western Australia. Despite policies of removal, incarceration in prison and the need to leave community for health services, Martu maintain identity and connection to country. Their narratives have been used to inform a wider Australian audience about the history and culture of Aboriginal…

The paper will present findings from a Social Science and Humanities Research (SSHRC) funded participatory evaluation conducted over the past four years in the Cree nation of Wemindji in Quebec, Canada. COOL (Challenging Our Own Limits) or "Nigawchiisuun" in Cree, was launched in 2003 as part of a broader program of governance initiatives within…

In order to better understand the present trends in New Zealand's schooling contexts, there is a clarion call for educators to develop sensitivity and sensibility towards the cultural backgrounds and experiences of Maori students. This paper reports on the work of four scholars who share research that has been undertaken in educational settings…

For a while now I have been researching and writing about Australian Indigenous education issues. Like you all, I have seen much good work and learnt much from what is going on across the country and internationally to improve outcomes for Indigenous learners in formal education processes. And still we go on with the struggle and with the…

Colonialism has had significant bodily impacts on Indigenous peoples through medicine. Excluded from the German race, Sami have been burdened by mainstream prejudices which perpetuate myths about Sami having poor genetic material and, as a consequence, having an inferior culture and language. This offensive burden and subsequent humiliation has…

This article explores the Sami philosophy of the gift as a basis for a transformative pedagogical framework. Grounded on the Sami land-based worldview, this philosophy calls for the recognition and reciprocation of gifts, whether gifts of the land, interpersonal gifts or giftedness of an individual. In particular, the article considers two Sami…

The purpose of this exploratory article is to illustrate the worldview, epistemology and relationship with the natural world from a Nehithawak (Woodlands Cree) perspective. The contents of the article represent a personal narrative of an educator of Woodlands Cree cultural heritage from the Reindeer Lake area of northern Canada. A brief history of…

As Aboriginal peoples gain more access to schools of social work, the academy needs to respond to their educational needs. This involves incorporating Aboriginal worldviews and research methodologies into social work education. This paper focuses on one definition of worldviews according to Aboriginal epistemology and implements an anti-colonial…

The question of what is humanity and how it is expressed has endless and dynamic answers. My paper is an attempt to construct and explain the answer based on the insights Indigenous humanity expressed in the continent called North America. The four fundamental insights are organised around the concept of creation as ecology, the insights of…

An Australian researcher exploring the underlying assumptions held by non-Aboriginal educators involved in Aboriginal education reexamined his first childhood history book, "Australia from the Beginning" (Pownall, 1980). Although a liberal and sympathetic treatment, the book reflected non-Aboriginal assumptions about assimilation as "success" and…

The Yolngu people of Australia's Northern Territory trace their lineage through places in the land and water. Movements of currents represent movements of clans over time. Patterns of sound and design are associated with particular groups and with body parts. These essences are conveyed in ritual songs that are crucial ways of knowing oneself and…

Spiritual experience is a taboo topic within Western institutions of higher learning. The silencing of this integral aspect of Indigenous people's lives often results in research findings that are inaccurate, incomplete, and invalid. Indigenous scholars are speaking out about how they integrate their spirituality into formal academic research,…

Indigenous knowledge is a living, breathing concept and must be treated with care and respect. This living knowledge is transmitted orally. At the University of Queensland (Australia), the Torres Strait Islander Studies course was taught in the Indigenous way, and elders were involved throughout, from formatting the course outline to the running…