Boorai Dreaming Project

The Boorai Dreaming Project (BDP) will fund Elder women in Mildura and Robinvale who will deliver rhythmic experiences of cultural immersion to address, stabilise, and create restorative understandings of inter-generational trauma. The research will measure this action of empowering women (that is, how this empowerment enables family strengthening and ultimately empowers communities to disrupt (terra nullius) child protection’s stronghold in the ongoing forced removal of our children).

The findings can then be drawn on to support funding submissions to continue grassroots-owned and controlled healing. Co-authored digital songspirals will be created as a record of the research findings and will be housed on the Boorai Dreaming Website. The website records the roadmap of empowerment detailing the steps of the research and how other communities can follow these steps to bring funding into grassroots control.

‘The Boorai Dreaming Project is supported by the Lowitja Institute to fund women Elders in Mildura and Robinvale to deliver rhythmic, and healing experiences of cultural immersion to address, stabilize, and create restorative understandings of inter-generational trauma. The project aims to benefit Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people by strengthening family and community systems and cultural connections to impact on reducing the rate of child removals, incarcerations, and suicide and improve health and wellbeing outcomes.’
– Janey McNally, Project Lead