Perspectives on a Decolonizing Approach to Research About Indigenous Women's Health: The Indigenous Women's Wellness Study

Abstract

This paper explores a decolonizing approach to research about Indigenous women's health in Australia. The paper identifies the strengths of decolonizing methodologies as a way to prioritize Indigenous values and worldviews, develop partnerships between researchers and the researched, and contribute to positive change. The authors draw on Laenui's (2000) five-step model of decolonization to describe their work in the Indigenous Women's Wellness Project in Brisbane, Queensland. They argue that Laenui's model presents a valuable framework for conducting decolonizing research projects about women's health with Australian Indigenous women. The authors demonstrate that working within a decolonizing framework offers autonomy and sustainability for women's wellness activities, while continuing to improve a community's health and wellbeing outcomes.