Language Breathes Life -Barngarla Community Perspectives on the Wellbeing Impacts of Reclaiming a Dormant Australian Aboriginal Language

Traditional languages are a key element of Indigenous peoples\u27 identity, cultural expression, autonomy, spiritual and intellectual sovereignty, and wellbeing. While the links between Indigenous language loss and poor mental health have been demonstrated in several settings, little research has sought to identify the potential psychological benefits that may derive from language reclamation. The revival of the Barngarla language on the Eyre Peninsula, South Australia, offers a unique opportunity to examine whether improvements in mental health and social and emotional wellbeing can occur during and following the language reclamation process. This paper presents findings from 16 semi-structured interviews conducted with Barngarla community members describing their own experienced or observed mental health and wellbeing impacts of language reclamation activities. Aligning with a social and emotional wellbeing framework from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspective, key themes included connection to spirituality and ancestors; connection to Country; connection to culture; connection to community; connection to family and kinship; connection to mind and emotions; and impacts upon identity and cultural pride at an individual level. These themes will form the foundation of assessment of the impacts of language reclamation in future stages of the project

Les perceptions des populations locales de la forêt du Karthala aux Comores et du projet de sa mise en protection : une approche par les cartes cognitives et des représentations sociales

International audienceThe Karthala Forest (Comoros) is currently the subject of a national protection policy, in conjunction with the international community. This policy may be more or less in line with the perceptions and expectations of the residents of the forest. In order to better understand these issues, we have studied the representations of the forest by local populations, upstream of its protection. The following assumptions are made : (i) the degree of knowledge of the components of the forest is different according to the trades, the gender, the age and the ways of frequenting the forest ; (ii) the successful establishment of the protected area of the Karthala forest is based on taking into account the representations and uses of the forest by local residents. Surveys carried out in 2016 and 2017 in eight localities around the Karthala forest and in the capital Moroni have allowed us to capture the representations of the components of the forest and the protected area creation project. The collected data were collected in the form of cognitive maps and freelisting. From these data, we constructed an index of the cognitive complexity of each respondent in relation to the forest, which we compared between socio-professional categories, age categories, gender and place of residence. We also compared the social representations of the forest between the residents and the inhabitants of the capital. Our results show that the cognitive maps approach improves the discussions around environmental public policy for both pragmatic and ethical reasons and allows us to study reconciliation issues between conservation objectives of biodiversity and biodiversity, human development of territories.La forêt du Karthala (Comores) fait actuellement l’objet d’une politique nationale de mise en protection, en lien avec la communauté internationale. Cette politique peut entrer plus ou moins en adéquation avec les perceptions et les attentes des riverains de la forêt. Afin de mieux comprendre les enjeux de cette politique, nous avons étudié les représentations de la forêt par les populations locales, en amont de sa mise en protection. Nous faisons l’hypothèse que ces représentations varient en fonction de la proximité à la forêt. Nous posons les hypothèses suivantes : (i) le degré de connaissances des composantes de la forêt est différent selon les métiers, le genre, l’âge et les modes de fréquentation de la forêt ; (ii) la réussite de la mise en place de l’aire protégée de la forêt du Karthala s’appuie sur la prise en compte des représentations et usages de la forêt par les riverains. Des enquêtes conduites en 2016 et 2017 dans huit localités autour de la forêt du Karthala et dans la capitale Moroni ont permis de saisir les représentations des composantes de la forêt et du projet de création de l’aire protégée. Les données récoltées ont été rassemblées sous forme de cartes cognitives et d’associations libres. À partir de ces données, nous avons construit un indice de complexité cognitive de chaque personne interrogée vis-à-vis de la forêt, que nous avons expliqué au regard des catégories socioprofessionnelles, catégories d’âge, genre et lieu de résidence. Nous avons également comparé les représentations sociales de la forêt entre les riverains et les habitants de la capitale. Nos résultats montrent que l’approche par les cartes cognitives permet d’améliorer les discussions autour d’une politique publique environnementale pour des raisons autant pragmatiques qu’éthiques et permet d’étudier les enjeux de réconciliation entre objectifs de conservation de la biodiversité et de développement humain des territoires

Developing the Indigenous Language and Wellbeing Survey: approaches to integrating qualitative findings into a survey instrument

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages can be seen as an integral aspect of cultural health. While colonisation has had devastating effects upon Indigenous languages, communities are increasingly reclaiming their languages, as a means to cultural preservation, community wellbeing and healing. Currently, there are no tools that specifically measure the potential positive impacts of language revival on the wellbeing of Indigenous peoples. This article brings together two broad constructs, social and emotional wellbeing and language reclamation, and describes an approach to developing a survey instrument to measure the relationship between Indigenous languages and wellbeing. With an emphasis on decolonising approaches to research, it steps out the key activities undertaken to develop the Indigenous Language and Wellbeing Survey. This article highlights the importance of addressing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research priorities. It also shows how qualitative material can guide the development of a quantitative survey in mixed-methods research