Indigenous representation and alternative schooling: prioritising an epistemology of relationality

This paper draws on a case study of a small alternative Indigenous school in Queensland, Australia. From the perspective of several of the school's Indigenous Elders, the paper foregrounds the significance of group differentiation at the school on the basis of Indigenous representation. However, it also considers how such differentiation/representation can be problematic in perpetuating cultural reductionism. Beyond such reductionism, the paper examines the possibilities of the Indigenous epistemology of relationality. The school's vision and governance around this epistemology – where community, kinship and family networks are at the centre of all relations – enabled both the articulation of a stable identity but also recognition of the complexity and diversity of Indigenous disadvantage. This paper argues that a prioritising of relationality within alternative Indigenous-led schooling contexts offers significant potential for addressing the complex educational needs of Indigenous students.