Australia’s local, state, territory and federal governments have agreed that the 10-year life expectancy gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians will be closed by 2031. However, annual Closing the Gap reports tabled by the various prime ministers in the Australian Parliament (for the past 12 years) have consistently indicated that the life expectancy gap continues to widen. Australia has seen more than three decades of government policies since the landmark 1989 National Aboriginal health strategy. What has been missing from these policy commitments is the genuine enactment of the knowledges that are held by Indigenous Australians relating to their cultural ways of being, knowing and doing. Privileging Indigenous knowledges, cultures and voices must be front and centre in developing, designing and implementing policies and programs. The sharing of power, provision of resources, culturally informed reflective policy making, and program design are critical elements. In this paper, we provide a conceptual model of practice, working at the cultural interface where knowledges are valued and innovations can occur. This model of practice is where knowledges and cultures can co-exist, and it could be the answer to Closing the Gap in life expectancy by 2031. Despite a growing willingness and need to consider these models, there remains a deep-seated resistance to identifying and addressing institutional and systemic racism and racist attitudes, including unconscious biases held by individuals. Further, western non-Indigenous worldviews of ways of being, knowing and doing continue to dominate the decisions and actions of governments – and consequentially dominate public health policies and practices. There is an unacceptable standard approach, for and about Indigenous health instead of with Indigenous peoples, resulting in the neglectful dismissal of Indigenous knowledges and Indigenous cultures of ways of being, knowing and doing.

This article uses an Indigenous Research Methodology known as Storywork. Following Indigenous protocols and pedagogy through the telling of stories, the reader and listener is introduced to an Indigenist paradigm and research standpoint. Through describing my standpoint, the stories demonstrate the centrality of my Indigeneity in my methodology while also confirming an Indigenizing framework of inquiry. The stories highlight decisions and actions of government that have dismantled cultures and knowledge systems but can also be applied to public policy to enable and embed culture. Critical reflections within the stories depict Indigenous ways of being, knowing, and doing in research.

Background: in this protocol we outline a method of working alongside Aboriginal communities to learn about and facilitate improvement in the oral health habits in Aboriginal adolescents. By facilitating positive oral health in Aboriginal adolescents, we hope to achieve lifelong improvement in oral health and general wellbeing. Methods: this paper outlines a co-design methodology through which researchers and Aboriginal communities will work together to create a custom oral healthcare program aimed at Aboriginal adolescents. Researchers, a youth advisory group, Aboriginal community-controlled health services and three regional NSW communities will together devise an oral health strategy focused on five components: application of topical fluoride, increasing water consumption, improving nutrition, daily toothbrushing, and enhancing social and emotional wellbeing. Capacity building is a key outcome of this program. Discussion: as the gap in health status between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people remains wide, it is clear that new approaches and attitudes are needed in Aboriginal public health research. This protocol is representative of this shifting approach; giving power to Aboriginal communities who seek to have sovereignty and self-determination over their healthcare. Trial registration: TRN: ISRCTN15496753 Date of registration: 20 October 2021.

This article addresses a significant gap in our scholarly knowledge concerning the use of Indigenous ways of being, knowing, and doing, in research data analysis, when applying Indigenous philosophies and research methodologies. Often as Indigenous researchers when applying an Indigenous paradigm, standpoint, methodology and methods, we tend to revert to non-Indigenous western science approaches to the data analysis process, which was the case for first author Carmen when she was undertaking her Doctor of Philosophy and applied thematic analysis. To avoid conflicts between the use of the ologies , that is, ways of being, knowing, and doing, that are evident between Indigenous and western sciences we provide an Indigenist data analysis framework. This work adds value to scholarly knowledge by providing a way to maintain our Indigenous ways of being, knowing, and doing, during the data analysis research process, as we continue to restore our Indigeneity when applying an Indigenist paradigm and standpoint.