This exegesis frames my studio thesis, which explores whether visual art can be a site for reconciliation, a tool for healing, an educational experience and a political act. It details how my art work evolved as a series of cycles and stages, as a systematic engagement with people, involving them in a process of investigating 'their' own realities - both the stories of their inner worlds and the community story framework of their outer conditions. It reveals how for my ongoing work as an indigenous artist, I became the learner and the teacher, the subject and the object. Of central importance for my exploration was the concept and methodology of bothways. As a social process, bothways action-learning methodology was found to incorporate the needs, motivations and cultural values of the learner through negotiated learning. Discussion of bothways methodology and disciplinary context demonstrated the relationships, connections and disjunctions shared by both Aboriginal and Western domains and informed the processes and techniques to position visual art as an educational experience and a tool for healing. From this emerged a range of ARTsongs - installations which reveal possible new alternatives sites for reconciliation, spaces and frames of reference to 'open our minds, heart and spirit so we can know beyond the boundaries of what is acceptable, so that we can think and rethink, so that we can create new visions, transgressions - a movement against and beyond boundaries' (hooks, 1994 p.12). Central to studio production was bricolage as an artistic strategy and my commitment to praxis - to weaving together my art practice with hands-on political action and direct involvement with my communities. I refer to this as the trial and feedback process or SIDEtracks. These were documented acts of personal empowerment, which led to a more activist role in the political struggle of reconciliation. I conclude that, as aboriginal people, we can provide a leadership role, and in so doing, we can demonstrate to the wider community how to move beyond a state of apathy.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Society, Culture, Media & Philosophy, Department of Anthropology, 2006. / Bibliography: p. 257-276.

Otitis media and consequent hearing loss are known to be high in Koori communities. Previous research on otitis media in Koori communities has focused on its identification, treatment and management. Little research has focused on the prevention of otitis media. Victorian Aboriginal communities often have small populations which result in small sample sizes for research projects. Consequently use of traditional quantitative methods to measure of change arising from health interventions can be problematic. The aim of the research was to describe Koori children’s otitis media risk factors using a Koori research method in order to develop, implement and evaluate preventative interventions.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Sydney, 2001. / "A thesis presented to the University of Western Sydney in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy". Bibliography : p. 224-240.

Thesis (M.A. (Hons)) -- University of Western Sydney, 2002. / "Doctor of Philosophy (Literature), 2002, University of Western Sydney" Bibliography: leaves 339 - 370.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Western Sydney, 2006. / A thesis presented to the University of Western Sydney, College of Arts, School of Education, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Includes bibliographies.

Thesis (PhD)--Macquarie University, Division of Society, Culture, Media & Philosophy, Dept. of Anthropology, 2007. / "22nd November, 2006". Bibliography: leaves 301-330.

Thesis (Ph.D.) (Economics and Finance)-- University of Western Sydney, 2002. / A thesis submitted for the award of Ph.D. (Economics and Finance), September 2002, University of Western Sydney. Bibliography : leaves 325-342.

Thesis (M.A.)--Flinders University, School of Education. / Typescript bound. Includes bibliographical references: (leaves 149-168) Also available online.

Esta dissertação consiste em uma leitura da Trilogia Wildcat, de Mudrooroo. O foco da leitura recai sobre as Relações de Poder e seu impacto sobre os jovens aborígines urbanos australianos. O corpus de pesquisa é formado pelos romances Wild Cat Falling (1965), Wildcat Screaming (1992) e Doin Wildcat (1988). O objetivo é analisar os efeitos das estratégias de poder em indivíduos pós-coloniais que são sujeitos a e fazem uso de mecanismos de poder ao estabelecerem relacionamentos tanto com seus pares quanto com pessoas que representam autoridade. A discussão das relações de poder, de seus mecanismos e efeitos se dá no terreno do discurso literário, através da análise das escolhas e estratégias do autor quanto à formatação dos três romances que operam, simultaneamente, como obras de arte, como estratégias políticas de sobrevivência e como estudos reflexivos sobre o processo da escrita literária. Wildcat é o protagonista, bem como autor e narrador nos textos da Trilogia. Ele é também um representante do povo aborígine australiano urbano e jovem na luta pela sobrevivência em uma sociedade na qual eles foram assimilados, mas não realmente aceitos. O texto de Mudrooroo versa sobre história, cultura, luta pela sobrevivência, mas trata principalmente sobre a escrita do texto literário e o papel da literatura aborígine. Para contemplar um construto tão complexo, minha leitura busca a combinação de literatura, cultura e pensamento pós-colonial. O suporte teórico do trabalho está apoiado nas idéias de Michel Foucault sobre poder e discurso, bem como na visão de Mudrooroo sobre a escrita literária aborígine, e também sobre a noção do exótico pós-colonial de Graham Huggan. Minha análise pretende alcançar a compreensão dos mecanismos de poder que povos e indivíduos assujeitados podem colocar em uso quando têm como objetivo serem ouvidos e respeitados pelas pessoas que os vêem como “outros” e que são maioria nas sociedades nas quais vivem. A conclusão indica que relações de poder firmemente estabelecidas são de crucial importância para a sobrevivência dos povos aborígines, e que a literatura é um dos melhores meios para alcançar esta finalidade, não só para garantir sobrevivência, mas também para representá-la. / This thesis consists of a reading of Mudrooroo’s Wildcat Trilogy, focusing on the issue of Power Relations and their impact on Young Urban Australian Aborigines. The corpus of the research comprises the novels Wild Cat Falling (1965), Wildcat Screaming (1992) and Doin Wildcat (1988). The purpose is to examine the effects of power strategies on postcolonial individuals who are subjected to and make use of mechanisms of power when establishing relationships with both their peers and other people representing authority. This discussion is carried out from within the realm of literary discourse, through the analysis of Mudrooroo’s choices and strategies in the shaping of these three novels that operate, simultaneously, as pieces of art, as political strategies of survival, and as self-reflexive studies about the process of writing. Wildcat is protagonist, author and narrator in the Trilogy. He is also a representative of the young urban Australian Aboriginal people’s struggle to survive within a society into which they have been assimilated, but not actually accepted. Mudrooroo’s text is about history, culture, struggle for survival, but it is mainly about writing and the role of Aboriginal Literature. In order to contemplate such a complex construct, my reading aims at combining postcolonial, cultural and literary concerns. The theoretical support of the work rests upon Michel Foucault’s ideas about Power and Discourse, as well as upon Mudrooroo’s views on Aboriginal Writing, and Graham Huggan’s notion of the Post-Colonial Exotic. My analysis intends to reach the understanding of the mechanisms of power that subjected peoples and individuals may put to use in order to be heard and respected by the people who see them as “Others” and are now majority in the societies they live within. Therefore, the conclusion indicates that firmly established Power Relations are central to Aboriginal people’s survival, and that Literature is one of the best means to achieve – as well as represent – it.