Dudgeon Pat, Ryder Angela, Collova Jemma, Selkirk Belle, Derry Kate, Hansen Colin, Penny Fred, Phillips Cheryl, Pryor Marie, Taylor Margaret, Alexi Joanna, Chang Ee Pin, D'Mello Craig, Kashyap Shraddha, Platell Monique, Milroy Helen
School of Indigenous Studies, The University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia.
Langford Aboriginal Association, Langford, Australia.
Aust J Psychol. 2024 Nov 14;76(1):2425624. doi: 10.1080/00049530.2024.2425624. eCollection 2024.
Aboriginal Elders have supported Aboriginal health and wellbeing for generations. Aboriginal Elders also play an important role in guiding those who work in health systems to work in culturally safe ways. The Cultural Exchange Program was developed to encourage reflexivity among non-Aboriginal researchers ( = 6) through experiential learning and relationship building with local Noongar Elders ( = 5). This paper examines the transformative impacts of this program for both the Aboriginal Elders and non-Aboriginal participants.
The Cultural Exchange Program was developed through an Aboriginal Participatory Action Research (APAR) approach. The Elders and researchers had active involvement and influence over the research process and interpretation of data. Themes were co-created through the APAR approach, including a reflexive thematic analysis and feedback loop.
For the Elders, the program promoted a desire to educate and bring about change, facilitated healing through truth-telling, and led to experiences of cultural respect. For the non-Aboriginal participants, the program evoked deep respect for the Elders and their knowledges, surfaced unsettling colonial realities, encouraged an inwards reflection, and motivated social justice change.
These results highlight the transformative and healing experiences which can exist at the intersection of reflexivity, truth-telling, truth-witnessing, and relationship building.
原住民长者数代以来一直支持着原住民的健康与福祉。原住民长者在引导卫生系统工作人员以符合文化安全的方式开展工作方面也发挥着重要作用。文化交流项目旨在通过与当地努恩加尔长者（共5位）进行体验式学习和建立关系，鼓励非原住民研究人员（共6位）进行反思。本文探讨了该项目对原住民长者和非原住民参与者的变革性影响。
文化交流项目是通过原住民参与式行动研究（APAR）方法开展的。长者和研究人员积极参与并影响了研究过程及数据解读。通过APAR方法共同创建了主题，包括反思性主题分析和反馈循环。
对于长者而言，该项目激发了他们进行教育和推动变革的愿望，通过讲真话促进了疗愈，并带来了文化尊重的体验。对于非原住民参与者来说，该项目唤起了他们对长者及其知识的深深敬意，揭示了令人不安的殖民现实，鼓励了内心的反思，并激发了社会正义变革。
这些结果凸显了在反思、讲真话、见证真相和建立关系的交叉点上可能存在的变革性和疗愈性体验。
