Indigenous cultural burning: Exploring the links between cultural revitalisation and wellbeing

Aboriginal Australians have a long history of caring for Country through the practice of cultural burning.

Aboriginal peoples are reengaging in a number of cultural practices, particularly caring for Country. This research aims to understand the lived experiences of Aboriginal peoples engaged in cultural burning in New South Wales, exploring how it leads to cultural revitalisation and how this links with resilience and well-being.

What we’re doing:

• Exploring cultural burning initiatives in NSW, who is involved and how they are supported
• Understanding the lived experiences and motivations of Aboriginal people engaged in cultural burning
• Documenting the opportunities and barriers to expanding cultural burning practices
• Investigating how re-engagement in cultural burning leads to cultural renewal and how this links with well-being and resilience
• Exploring the development of participatory indicators to foster and monitor cultural renewal and well-being

We need to understand what engaging in culture really means for people and how it links to well-being and resilience.

How can we better support wider recognition of cultural fire knowledge and create more equitable power relationships across fire an land management?