2017/06/12 by Natasha Blanchet‐Cohen, Mutang Urud · 1 citation
Social Sciences · #Asian Studies and History #Island Studies and Pacific Affairs #Education and Vocational Training
paper · doi:10.1177/1177180117714409
openalex publication_date 2017/06/12 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
This article explores the significance of cultural safety in view of the struggle over ancestral domain and modernity for Kelabit youth and elders in the state of Sarawak in Borneo, Malaysia. Our participatory case study points to the challenges to cultural safety caused by the external pressures of modernization and competing knowledge systems from downriver that are breaking down the leadership and decision-making processes to protect the land. We found that intergenerational community mapping and language revitalization provide a means for supporting cultural safety. Our applied research suggests that cultural safety benefits from being defined locally. Empowering youth and elders to harness, renew, and defend the potential of Kelabit identity and unity is part of recognizing that cultural safety needs to be constantly affirmed by its proponents. It is a process that demands to be actively grappled with and defined by community members at the individual and collective levels.