34: Yarning About First Nation Worldviews with Mishel McMahon

Dr Mishel McMahon, a Yorta Yorta First Nations woman from
Australia, draws from 60,000 years of Aboriginal cultural
experience to discuss what she terms ‘Relational Ontology’ -
ontology meaning how we understand reality,
what’s real and what’s not real.   She says “Relational
ontology is a view of reality that all entities; plants, animals,
elements, seasons, skies, waterways, the land, the spirit world
and humans are in relationship, like a web. First Nations peoples
and many other groups around the globe have held relational
worldviews for thousands of years”.  The relational
worldview contrasts with the European/Westernised mindset which
places humans at the centre of knowledge creation.  Mishel
discusses the importance of equality between all things, and how
country, community and Ancestral knowledge are all infused and
animated with spirit.  This rich discussion raises many
questions and hopefully inspires us to see the world, and to live
in it differently.  

BIO 
Mishel McMahon is a proud Yorta Yorta woman, she grew up in a
large family in the Murray river region of Victoria, Australia.
Mishel completed her undergraduate degree of Bachelor of Human
Services and Honours in Social Work in 2012 at La Trobe. Mishel
has worked at various First Nations organisations, including
Indigenous Academic Enrichment Advisor at La Trobe organising
Sorry Day and NAIDOC events. Mishel began her PhD, undertaking
research that revealed principles of First Nations childrearing,
using methodology informed from a relational worldview, and Yorta
Yorta language. Mishel recently won Premier's Research Awards for
Aboriginal Research 2019, Fellowship for Indigenous Leadership
2019 and recently worked as Social Work lecturer at Shepparton La
Trobe, campus. Mishel is in the last stages of developing a First
Nations Health & Wellbeing mobile app, and shorts films from
her Fellowship. Currently Mishel is Victorian Aboriginal Research
Accord Co-ordinator at VACCHO and lives in Elmore, Victoria on
the Campaspe river.