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The colonisation of Australia has led to persistent inequity and disadvantage for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (herein referred to as Indigenous Australians) and has had a devastating impact on their health and wellbeing. Multiple barriers to appropriate care continue to contribute to significant disparities in health outcomes for Indigenous Australians compared to other Australians. Suicide among Indigenous Australians was a rare phenomenon until the 1980s, however some communities now record rates among the highest in the world, particularly among young people. Despite the need, there is a dearth of evidence around what is effective in Indigenous youth suicide prevention. This thesis was driven by community need and the courage of Yawuru community members to innovate with haste in a painful, grief-laden and political space. Trusted working relationships between stakeholders were imperative to conduct the work described herein. This thesis includes eight papers over four chapters. Chapter 2 provides context around remote Indigenous suicide and reviews the limited Indigenous suicide prevention evidence. Chapter 3 highlights the promise of technology and describes the protocol for a randomised controlled trial of "IBobbly"; an app featuring acceptance-based therapeutic activities. Chapter 4 employs mixed-methods to present the results of the trial including an analysis of app usage and acceptability. Finally, Chapter 5 systematically reviews the efficacy of acceptance and commitment therapy for suicidal ideation and self-harm. This chapter also focuses on knowledge translation, particularly dissemination of results through online video. The trial indicated that the app reduced depression and psychological distress but neither suicidal ideation nor impulsivity. Community members regarded the app as acceptable, culturally appropriate and of therapeutic value. The three per cent attrition rate was a stand-out aspect of the trial. Finally, the use of accessible mediums such as community reports and online video aided the understanding and promotion of research in Indigenous communities. To conclude, a co-designed app in the challenging space of youth suicide can be adopted and acceptable to Indigenous communities and can improve emotional wellbeing. This thesis demonstrates that studies built on trusted relationships can potentially maintain participant engagement and enhance the likelihood of meaningful future collaborations.

This project records my history as an Aboriginal dancer who trained both in Australia and the USA. The end result of this history is a new Aboriginal Dance Method, which seeks a synthesis with African American dance, and other contemporary dance forms. In describing This new form, is informed by Gamilaraay Language, culture, mammals, birds, reptiles, qualities, elements, moving, parts of the body, material culture, water, doing, places, times, and questions. The dance sequence will include contemporary techno music and theatre to synthesise and to explore this new dance typology via the use of 100 steps drawn from the Gamilaraay language. These 100 steps are the core creation of this Masters. Is it possible to synthesise into another essentially “Aboriginal Dance Method” modern European ballet, physical theatre, African American dance and both ancient and modern Aboriginal dance types? The urban Aborigine is often divorced, like myself, from traditional initiation ceremony and hence cultural rights of passage. Loss of ritual and ceremony coupled with racism and no safe place to exist in society, has generated a mark milestone of institutionalism or goal time as a mark of being a man. Traditional ceremonies are often replaced by jail time for young Aboriginal men. Is it possible to create a major dance form, which celebrates and acknowledges these rights, by reflecting on the politics of disproportional Aboriginal incarceration? Can this new dance form, described in my thesis in 100 steps, or compressed movements, add to the choices for young Aboriginal dancers who are seeking to transcend cultural turmoil and to heal its wounds? This paper addresses the history of Racial Prejudice in Australia of incarceration and its relationship to initiation and the rights of passage for Aboriginal males in incarceration. 92 % of all Aboriginal prisoners are males and Aboriginal people account for 25 % of Australia's prison population 14 times higher than that of non-Aboriginal people.

Abstract: Abstract “For All My Relations” is a narrative representation of an autobiographical narrative inquiry into my experiences as an Aboriginal graduate student negotiating the complexities of learning about, and engaging in, Indigenous research. The research puzzle centers on my wonders about the responsibilities of an Aboriginal graduate student choosing to engage in research with Aboriginal peoples in ethically responsible ways. The field texts for the inquiry are my writings over two years: final papers, response journals, assignments, and life writings. Using a narrative inquiry methodology, I identify tensions and bumping points in coming to understand Indigenous research, and in doing so, I have come to a deeper understanding of the impact of these moments on my identity as researcher in the making and on my sense of belonging. I also attend to the social and institutional narratives about Aboriginal people in which my storied experiences are nested. Issues of ethical obligations, relationship, and responsibility are central in my inquiry, and speak to the complexities of wrestling with the questions of “researcher’s right to tell” and “viewing people through a lens.” The findings of my inquiry add to the emerging literature of Indigenous research and narrative inquiry, and their connections. The findings also present insights into the experiences of an Aboriginal graduate, and the notion of identity and belonging. Most importantly, this narrative inquiry enabled me to work through my lived tensions, discomforts, and unease, and to restory my experiences; this process allowed me to grow more confident in my ability to continue to engage in Indigenous research in ethically and relationally responsible ways. My inquiry begins with my experiences of “not belonging” and “feeling less than,” and concludes, in the midst, with a counterstory to tell. Counterstories are “saving stories” for me and for all my relations, past, present, and future.