Abstract:
This chapter describes the challenges experienced by Aboriginal people in their efforts to negotiate Australian society. Both authors are Aboriginal. One is a Noongar man, who is the chief investigator on a mental health research project (Looking Forward Project), working with the Noongar community of the south-east metropolitan suburbs of Perth, Western Australia. The second author is a traditional owner ofWadjuk boodja (or 'country', in Noongar territory) This chapter draws on the experiences of the authors, among others, of working with urban Aboriginal people in the urban Noongar communities and how narratives are used in Aboriginal ways of working. The importance of narratives is critical to creating the space that allows relationships with Aboriginal people to be developed in meaningful and deep ways. Such relationships provide the space for Aboriginal people to share their stories about their experiences of the world around them. Reframing ways of working is about deepening relationships with Aboriginal people in order to be open to the teachings of the ways in which Aboriginal people tell their experiences of the world around them. To share in deep and meaningful relationships with Aboriginal people means to open the self and engage all the senses, allowing you to absorb Aboriginal experiences and transform your understanding transformation is grounded in deep listening and modelled learning. Sandra Styres (2011) explains that 'when we listen to stories, we not only listen with our physical ears and process with our intellect; we also reflexively engage the journey with our emotional and spiritual self'.