JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Background The colonization of Australia is responsible for complex layers of trauma for the First Nations peoples of the continent. First Nations Australians’ wellbeing is irrevocably tied to the wellbeing of the land. The application of a landscape-based approach to collaborative research shows promise in enabling genuine relationships that yield rich and informative data. However, there is a lack of practical evidence in the field of landscape research–research tied to First Nations Australians’ world views of landscape.

Objective:

The aim of this study is to deepen shared knowledges of wellbeing and healing on Australian soils. The objective is to examine ritual codesign as a novel method for deepening these shared knowledges.

Methods:

Methods This research comprises a qualitative and participatory research design operationalized through an Indigenist approach. It is a two-phase project that is codesigned with First Nations Australians. Phase 1 of this project is a relational study that endeavours to deepen the theory underpinning the project, alongside the development of meaningful and reciprocal community connections. Phase 2 is a series of three participatory action research (PAR) cycles to codesign a new communal ritual. This process seeks to privilege First Nations Australians’ voices and ways of knowing [1] which are themselves communal, ritual and symbolic. The framework developed by Psychiatrist Carl Jung informs the psychological nature of the enquiry. An Indigenist approach to landscape research re-casts the Jungian frame to enable a culturally safe, context-specific and landscape-based method of qualitative research.

Results:

Results Ethical approval for phase 1: a relational study, has been received by the University of New England Human Research Ethics Committee (UNE-HREC) in Armidale, Australia. The research is in the preliminary stages of participant recruitment. It is expected that data collection will commence in late 2022 after a separate Human Research Ethics Application [2] for phase 2 is submitted to the Aboriginal Health and Medical Research Council (AHMRC) of New South Wales (NSW) and the UNE-HREC.

Conclusions:

Conclusion The field of landscape research is an embryonic phase. This field is embedded in the understanding that First Nations Australians’ wellbeing is irrevocably tied to the wellbeing of the land. This study proposes the codesign of a new communal ritual as a empowering method for collaborative research. This process is guided by the framework of Jungian Psychology and re-cast through an Indigenist approach to research and knowledge creation. A strength of this research is the relational methodology, in which First Nations community needs and desires will inform future research directions.