Decolonising Research and Research as Ceremony & Healing
Our Lowitja Learning Summit continues in late October with two days of in-person workshops for Lowitja Institute and OCHRe Network Members and Friends, taking place in Ballina, on Nyangbul Country.
This unique two-day workshop is supported by the OCHRe Network and brings together Indigenous scholars, researchers, and practitioners from Australia and North America to explore decolonisation, neurodecolonisation, Indigenous research, traditional healing, Country and Land, ceremony, community, and Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing.
Designed for researchers, higher degree research (HDR) candidates, supervisors, Indigenous and non-Indigenous community members, health professionals, educators, practitioners, and students, the workshop creates a space to move beyond simply talking about decolonisation and explore what it means within research, healing, knowledge creation, and practice.
Facilitators: Professor Michael Yellow Bird, Lukas Williams, Joe Williams and Kelli Karrikarringka Owen
When: Wednesday 28 October and Thursday 29 October 2026, 8:30–3pm AEDT
Location: Ballina, NSW (venue details will be provided after registration)
Workshop program
Day 1: Decolonising the Mind: Indigenous Research, Knowledge and Neurodecolonisation
Wednesday 28 October, 8:30am–3pm (AEDT)
Led by internationally recognised Indigenous scholar Michael Yellow Bird, this workshop invites participants to explore how colonisation has shaped not only institutions and research systems, but also the ways we think, understand knowledge and relate to ourselves, community, and the world around us.Through ceremony-informed reflection, Indigenous mindfulness, embodied learning, and critical discussion, Professor Yellow Bird will explore pathways toward cognitive liberation, Indigenous sovereignty, and the reclamation of Indigenous ways of knowing.Professor Michael Yellow Bird, Lukas Williams, Joe Williams, and Kelli Karrikarringka Owen will join together for an in-depth panel exploring healing, decolonisation, Indigenous knowledge systems, traditional healing, ceremony, Country and Land, neuroscience, research, and knowledge creation.The panel creates an important bridge between the two days, connecting Professor Yellow Bird’s work in neurodecolonisation with emerging Australian Indigenous research, traditional healing, and Indigenous methodologies.
Day 2: From Decolonisation to Practice: Traditional Earth Circles, Indigenous Knowledge and Community Healing
Thursday 29 October, 8:30am–3pm (AEDT)
Building on Professor Michael Yellow Bird’s teachings from Day 1, Day 2 moves deeper into Australian Indigenous research, traditional knowledge, healing and practice.Lukas, Joe and Kelli will bring their emerging research, cultural knowledge, and community practice into the learning space, exploring traditional Indigenous approaches to healing, gathering, Country, Land, ceremony, relationality, community, and knowledge creation.Lukas Williams will share emerging insights from his doctoral research into traditional healing circles in Australia, including Earth Circles and the roles of Country, ceremony, community, relationality and collective participation within Indigenous healing and knowledge creation.Joe Williams and Kelli Karrikarringka Owen will bring their own research, knowledge, and practice to broaden the conversation and demonstrate the diversity of Indigenous-led approaches to healing, research, and community wellbeing.These Australian perspectives will be brought into conversation with Professor Yellow Bird’s teachings from North America, allowing participants to explore connections across Indigenous knowledge systems while carefully respecting the cultural authority, protocols, and distinct knowledge of each Nation.
