1. Speaking the same language? Building relationships between non-Aboriginal and Nyoongar peoples to decolonize mainstream spaces Aunty Margaret Culbong Tiana Culbong Rosemary Walley Tanya Jones Marg O’Connell

2. Aunty Margaret… 40 years in Aboriginal health Champion for Aboriginal rights Advocate for culturally appropriate health services to Aboriginal peoples Aunty Margaret… 40 years in Aboriginal health Champion for Aboriginal rights Advocate for culturally appropriate health services to Aboriginal peoples

3. Elders: Custodians of Nyoongar lore and culture (protocols, kinship, Country) Portal into community, connecting families, histories, and more Pivotal to legitimatize the work Not beholden to ‘the system’ Elders: Custodians of Nyoongar lore and culture (protocols, kinship, Country) Portal into community, connecting families, histories, and more Pivotal to legitimatize the work Not beholden to ‘the system’

4. How can non- Aboriginal peoples take up an adaptation role?

5. Working with cultural protocols, Nyoongar way Working within dynamics of the community, Nyoongar way Working with cultural protocols, Nyoongar way Working within dynamics of the community, Nyoongar way

6. What does this tell us about new ways of working? How do we weave these contemporary dynamics with traditional knowledge? What does this tell us about new ways of working? How do we weave these contemporary dynamics with traditional knowledge?

7. Learning about culture… open to new ways of knowing, being and doing (seeing, listening, feeling) open to new ways of learning open to being changed being vulnerable (and feeling held) tolerating uncertainty (or ‘dwelling in unknowing’) experiential / immersive - multisensory Learning about culture… open to new ways of knowing, being and doing (seeing, listening, feeling) open to new ways of learning open to being changed being vulnerable (and feeling held) tolerating uncertainty (or ‘dwelling in unknowing’) experiential / immersive - multisensory

8. Non-Aboriginal peoples’ experiences of working respectfully with Nyoongar peoples…

9. How does understanding Nyoongar lore and culture help non-Aboriginal peoples to connect and develop a shared understanding of working together?

10. Change journey… Begins with individual Interactions and collective reflection – weaving the stories Agents of change – deconstructing/restructuring Change journey… Begins with individual Interactions and collective reflection – weaving the stories Agents of change – deconstructing/restructuring

11. Decolonizing? Deconstructing Reframing Restructuring Retelling Decolonizing? Deconstructing Reframing Restructuring Retelling

12. How do we deepen this ‘language’ of working together? How do we weave the strands together? How do we deepen this ‘language’ of working together? How do we weave the strands together?

13. Contact | tanya.jones@telethonkids.org.au 08 9489 7760 With thanks to... Nyoongar Elders (southeast metro and Kwinana areas) and their communities Participating mental health and drug and alcohol support services Our partners, Ruah Community Services Centre for Research Excellence in Aboriginal Health & Wellbeing, Telethon Kids Institute, UWA Lotterywest Mental Health Commission WA Curtin University Dr Michael Wright & Danny Ford The Looking Forward Project team

14. Location A project that brings together the Nyoongar community in the south-east metropolitan corridor of Perth with mental health and drug and alcohol support services, to develop new ways of working to provide more culturally secure care to Nyoongar families.

15. Status Being teachable Staying connected Commitment Motivation Bunuru Adolescence Kambarang Birth Birak Childhood Djeran Adulthood Djilba Conception Makuru Fertility Being present Worldview of Nyoongar Nation “Culture is healing” Continuous weaving Minditj Kaart-Moorditj Kaart Engagement Framework: Learning Outcomes (how to work) & Practical Outcomes (what to work on) Held in cultural way symbolized by six Nyoongar seasons