ABSTRACT
This chapter challenges some of the accepted assumptions that are often promulgated about 'very remote' Australia and about the appropriateness of the prevailing discourse of race and disadvantage in this country. In the context of unavoidable pervasive and endemic structural racism, some might argue that this discussion on non-Indigenous involvement in the 'near remote' space will contribute nothing more than an extension or reinforcement of existing hegemonic colonising discourses. The authors' interpretation of the vignettes they presented suggests firstly that the process of decolonisation begins by invitation. It is an invitation from those in the 'near remote' to relate and learn together. Secondly, the process of decolonisation occurs when those from the 'near remote' choose to use non-Indigenous researchers as their instrument of agency. Thirdly, the process of decolonisation occurs as collectively complement each other's strengths and knowledges, especially when under the direction of non-Indigenous partners who have authority in the 'near remote'.
