Indigenous Studies | Research Areas

Our strengths

Education
Education

At the School of Education, Professor Cheryl Kickett-Tucker is investigating how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content is taught in Australian schools and the impact it can have on the identity and self-esteem of young children. Professor Rhonda Oliver is exploring the benefits of using translanguaging in the classroom and developing more culturally appropriate assessments to improve, celebrate and nurture the literacy and communication skills of Aboriginal children in remote and regional areas.

Together with the Telethon Kids Institute, we’re also working on the Ngulluk Koolunga Ngulluk Koort project to connect Perth’s Aboriginal community to policymakers and service providers to create better education and care outcomes for young Aboriginal children and their families.

Learn more:
- Ngulluk Koolunga Ngulluk Koort project
Healing country
Healing country

Protection, conservation and restoration of country is inherent to the long-term wellbeing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. At the ARC Training Centre for Healing Country, we’re fusing Indigenous knowledge and traditional approaches with western science to restore country and drive an Indigenous-led land management economy.

Through the Healing Land, Healing People project, Curtin researchers are blending Aboriginal cultural knowledge, history and scientific expertise to generate new strategies to slow the decline of biodiversity.

The team on the Reconnecting to Rivers project is exploring the link between rivers and community wellbeing, and applying the knowledge of Whadjuk Nyungar Elders to improve the long-term prospects of Western Australia’s river systems.

Learn more:
- Healing Land, Healing People project
- ARC Training Centre for Healing Country
Protecting culture and heritage
Protecting culture and heritage

We’re finding ways to preserve, nourish and communicate Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural practices and languages. Our researchers are using virtual reality technology to turn mission sites into healing spaces for survivors and families of the Stolen Generations.

At the Centre for Culture and Technology, Professor Kim Scott is leading the Indigenous Culture and Digital Technologies program to explore how digital technology can consolidate and communicate Indigenous cultural knowledge. The program includes the Wirlomin Language and Stories project to revitalise and share the language, memories, songs and stories of the Nyungar people with the wider world.

Learn more:
Social justice
Social justice

We’re using collaborative and indigenous-led research to address racial and social inequality in Australia. Our researchers are examining the forms and impact of covert racism on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander youth and exploring ways to challenge and ameliorate these behaviors.

At Curtin’s National Drug Research Institute (NDRI), Dr Jocelyn Jones is leading the Aboriginal Research Program to reform policy and improve outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This includes trialling an evidence-based behavioural program to help incarcerated Aboriginal women break the cycle of violence and offending.

Learn more:
Supporting and empowering communities
Supporting and empowering communities

At the Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre, we’re investigating how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s cultural identity, engagement and wellbeing links to socio-economic status. Together with industry partners, we’re addressing the inequities of the superannuation system and exploring how housing conditions can shape and support young Aboriginal people’s health and educational outcomes.

Learn more:
- Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre
Supporting health and wellbeing
Supporting health and wellbeing

Curtin is exploring a range of culturally secure ways to improve and support the long-term mental and physical health of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. We’re partnering with Telethon Kids Institute and Aboriginal Elders to promote bush tucker consumption and safe sun exposure to reduce vitamin D deficiency among Aboriginal people.

Curtin’s Associate Professor Michael Wright and his team are collaborating with Aboriginal Elders on the Australian Government-funded Our Journey, Our Story project to co-design more culturally appropriate and responsive mental health services for Aboriginal young people and their families.

Learn more:
- Telethon Kids Institute
- Our Journey, Our Story project

Education

At the School of Education, Professor Cheryl Kickett-Tucker is investigating how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content is taught in Australian schools and the impact it can have on the identity and self-esteem of young children. Professor Rhonda Oliver is exploring the benefits of using translanguaging in the classroom and developing more culturally appropriate assessments to improve, celebrate and nurture the literacy and communication skills of Aboriginal children in remote and regional areas.

Together with the Telethon Kids Institute, we’re also working on the Ngulluk Koolunga Ngulluk Koort project to connect Perth’s Aboriginal community to policymakers and service providers to create better education and care outcomes for young Aboriginal children and their families.

Learn more:

Ngulluk Koolunga Ngulluk Koort project

Where we work

Centre for Aboriginal Studies
Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre
Lowitja Institute
National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education

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Get in touch

Key people

INTERIM DIRECTOR, CENTRE FOR ABORIGINAL STUDIES

Mr Frederick Yasso

Frederick.Yasso@curtin.edu.au

DISCIPLINES

Aboriginal cultural studies, Aboriginal health, Aboriginal studies, Aboriginal mental health, Public health.

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ARC Future Fellow

Professor Kim Scott

K.Scott@curtin.edu.au

DISCIPLINES

Aboriginal studies, Creative writing, Cultural studies, Literature.

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BHP/CURTIN INDIGENOUS PROFESSOR IN BIODIVERSITY & ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE

Professor Stephen van Leeuwen

Stephen.Vanleeuwen@curtin.edu.au

DISCIPLINES

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander environmental knowledge, Biogeography and phylogeography, Biological sciences, Ecology, Environmental impact assessment, Environmental science and management, Plant biology, Plant systematics and taxonomy.