Topic outline
-
This section identifies culturally respectful dispositions which nurture reciprocity and relationships, mutual respect and understanding. These dispositions underpin effective engagement with Aboriginal Peoples. Read the document: Yurirka: Proppa Engagement with Aboriginal Peoples which highlights dispositions related to relationships, respect, listening, obligations, communications and engagement with Elders.
UniSA encourages relationships which are built on respectful engagement and aspires to create an environment where Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples work collaboratively in the spirit of reciprocity for mutually beneficial outcomes in research, teaching, learning and engagement (p. 7).
This section expands on dispositions as ways of being and doing. Core dispositions relevant to supervising Aboriginal HDR candidates include open-mindedness, kindness and gentleness. A focus on culturally respectful dispositions for working with Aboriginal HDR candidates is important because an Aboriginal HDR candidate may have had extensive inappropriate experiences because of their Aboriginality.
- Respect, in an Aboriginal sense, has been defined
by Sherwood (2010), an Aboriginal scholar, as follows:
Respect … means to listen and hear and value what we have to say about ourselves and our experiences, even if what we have to say challenges your ways of knowing. Respect means you are open enough to acknowledge that there are many ways of being in this world and that they all have their own authority (p. 20).
A key part of supervising Aboriginal candidates (as it is with all candidates) is for the relationship to be informed by mutual respect and an appreciation of what the candidate brings to the research space. Respect is enacted through supervisors being genuine and honest with themselves considering how they can learn about the candidates’ background, and how to straddle Aboriginal and Western knowledge systems and learn more about their own perspectives. - Open-mindedness provides an opportunity for supervisors to be involved in two-way learning by developing a deep understanding of Aboriginality. An attitude of open-mindedness values the potential for ongoing learning, acknowledging ‘not knowing’ and having possibilities of developing new perspectives.
- Be humble to engage fully with one another to make comments such as, ‘I am not sure’ or ‘Let’s try this again’. Also humbly recognise that the Aboriginal HDR candidate is the expert in the field rather than the supervisor. In this situation, the supervisors really need to listen to and work with the candidate.
- Be interested in how your Aboriginal HDR candidate ‘sees the world’ by asking your candidate to recommend some books to read and other resources. Be invested in the candidate’s viewpoints and experiences and discuss your own because shared understandings of one another’s worlds will result in better understandings and relationships. Listen deeply to Aboriginal perspectives and assure the candidate that they are being heard, even if their experiences are different from yours. Assure your candidate that these conversations will go deeper and deeper into critical issues and it is important that inexperienced and more experienced scholars listen to one another respectfully.
- Learn, unlearn and relearn – keep educating yourself as a lifelong learner on Aboriginal knowledges, ways of being and doing through reading, having conversations with Aboriginal colleagues and students, watching movies (see Section 7: Further resources for recommendations). Part of this learning process is to acknowledge the history of colonialism and the deficit positioning of Aboriginal Peoples, and so engage in the whole decolonising process. It means ‘unlearning’ much of the knowledge you might have about Aboriginal Peoples and being committed to an unlearning as well as ‘relearning’. For example, identify your own limitations, ask questions and learn about Aboriginal knowledge systems and uses of language. Read and engage with important relevant texts authored by Aboriginal scholars to foster knowledge about Aboriginal perspectives and ways of doing research.
- Be empathetic and supportive. Empathy is an important characteristic to walking ‘alongside’ a candidate. It means a supervisor aims to learn about and understand another person’s lived experience. Find out about issues that Aboriginal HDR candidates may be dealing with such as going to at least one funeral a year and needing to manage grief and loss, engaging in the Black Lives Matter movement, or resolving personal issues related to family members who may be incarcerated. Find ways to support the candidate in dealing with these tough times. Accept stumbles and uncertainty and in response think about further mechanisms to support the candidate long-term. Support them in developing resilience and having institutional flexibility, if needed.
- Invoke principles of trust and reciprocity of a two-way relationship. In this relationship the Aboriginal HDR candidate needs to trust their supervisor for the duration of the candidature. A trusting relationship will ensure that the candidate can discuss any research-related or other problems with their supervisors, for example, whether not meeting deadlines due to data generation issues or dealing with cultural obligations. A trusting relationship will ensure that open dialogue as partners occurs throughout the research process. Reciprocity within a supervisory relationship refers to a ‘relationship not of domination, but of intimacy and vulnerability’ (Doyle 2017, p. 144 citing Freire).
- Have regular conversations with Aboriginal colleagues and others, especially to refine understandings of cultural matters. Be brave and prepared to have ‘courageous conversations’ to learn more. Find out about families and experiences, learn about the past from an Aboriginal perspective, learn about Aboriginal insights. Also find ways to engage interested supervisors in ongoing discussions and readings of important texts authored by Aboriginal scholars.
- Become an advocate and ally for Aboriginal researchers and research. Let your candidate know through your actions that they can be proud of their Aboriginality, who they are. Stand with them against injustice, if needed. Do not allow your candidate to be undermined. In many ways an Aboriginal candidate may be living in two worlds – a cultural community-based world and an academic world. The candidate may need your advocacy within the University as you mediate the interface between these two worlds.
- Empower your Aboriginal HDR candidate to be a well-respected and endorsed researcher of the future, with a strong and confident voice. Despite attempts to Indigenise research over the past 20 years, patronising attitudes still exist such as ‘we need to help the Aboriginal Peoples, to change things around’. Still too few research projects are being led by Aboriginal researchers. Thus, mentor your candidate to become an Aboriginal researcher, who knows research systems and is nurtured through these systems. Become a research collaborator with your candidate and support them to take the leadership. Maybe this candidate is ideal for your own succession planning.
- Sign up to UniSA seminar/webinar opportunities to discuss Aboriginality, for example, through The Bob Hawke Prime Ministerial Centre, Elders Speak: What is the Future of Aboriginal Education? 18 March 2021.
- Respect, in an Aboriginal sense, has been defined
by Sherwood (2010), an Aboriginal scholar, as follows: