‘Doing culture’ in contemporary south-eastern Australia: how Indigenous people are creating and maintaining strong cultural identities for improved health and wellbeing

Abstract

Background: Indigenous people in Australia experience far poorer health than non-Indigenous Australians. A growing body of research suggests that Indigenous people who are strong in their cultural identity experience better health than those who are not. Yet little is known about how Indigenous people create and maintain strong cultural identities in the contemporary context. This paper explores how Indigenous people in south-eastern Australia create and maintain strong cultural identities to support their health and wellbeing. Methods: Data were collected from 44 Indigenous people living in the south-eastern Australian state of Victoria via yarning. Yarning is a cultural mode of conversatio..