A tree of spirituality: exploring insider knoweldges of balancing Catholic and First Nations identities using narrative practices

Abstract

The Catholic church has been implicated in histories of colonisation and loss of identity for First Nations peoples. For many Aboriginal people, it is also a source of community, pastoral care and identity, and is held in complex balance with Aboriginal spirituality. This paper describes a process of seeking insider knowledges from Catholic First Nations school students about how they hold their Aboriginal spirituality with care alongside their Catholic faith identity, and how they navigate the Catholic education system. It shows how the Tree of Life process was adapted to include invitations to reflect about spirituality and religious identity. This provided space for identification of unique outcomes about what the students valued and how they hold on to what is important to them.