Identity in Australian Aboriginal communities : Koodoormitj is the essence of life

Cheryl Kickett-Tucker, Jim Ife

Research output: Chapter in Book / Conference PaperChapter

Abstract

This chapter therefore will describe an Australian Aboriginal worldview of “community” by illustrating the differences from Western concepts of “community”. In particular, Aboriginal understandings of “community” through the lens of Aboriginal identity will be used to describe the connections with family, kinship, country and culture as these become synonymous with the notion of “community”. A sense of place and a sense of belonging will be explored as these are two important concepts of Australian Aboriginal identity and which are at the heart of “development” for the Aboriginal community. Finally, this chapter will describe the strengths of identity and belonging that help strengthen Aboriginal community development across the lifespan. More specifically, we will show how these concepts work together to achieve community development so that practitioners and professionals working with Aboriginal people can journey towards a sustainable, strong and culturally grounded “community”.
Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationRoutledge Handbook of Community Development: Perspectives from Around the Globe
EditorsSue Kenny, Brian McGrath, Rhonda Phillips
Place of PublicationU.S.
PublisherRoutledge
Pages310-322
Number of pages13
ISBN (Electronic)9781315674100
ISBN (Print)9781138940765
Publication statusPublished - 2018

Keywords

  • Aboriginal Australians
  • identity
  • culture
  • kinship

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