Kulini: Ethical Listening Through a Pitjantjatjara Language Lens—An Education Study

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: The Dreams, Possibilities, and Necessity of Indigenous Education: Research and Praxis 2

Abstract

Indigenous scholars argue that research about Indigenous peoples continues to misrepresent Indigenous lives, experiences, epistemologies, and aspirations. As an outsider researcher working in a Pitjantjatjara language context, it is necessary to respond to these concerns. A Pitjantjatjara language frame for ethical listening (kulini) is proposed as a way to respond to these concerns.

The narratives of senior Pitjantjatjara woman, Tjampuwa, are compared with colonial accounts of a 1945 encounter with ‘bush justice’. This study privileges her voice, shifting from historically colonial power-laden approaches to knowledge ‘about’ Anangu, towards research that works from Indigenous standpoints. Her knowledge, largely shared through narratives demonstrates both more accurate historical record-keeping and the importance of an ethical listening research methodology.

Author

• Samuel David Osborne, University of South Australia