Abstract: Porr, Martin Review(s) of: Review(s) of: German ethnography in Australia, by Nicholas Peterson and Anna Kenny (eds), 2017, Australian National University Press, Canberra, Monographs in Anthropology Series, 495pp, ISBN 9781760461317 (paperback), ISBN 9781760461324 (ebook).
Abstract: Lothian, Kathy Review(s) of: The good country: The Djadja Wurrung, the settlers and the protectors, by Bain Attwood, 2017, Monash University Publishing, Clayton, Vic., 272pp, ISBN 9781925523065 (paperback), ISBN 9781925523089 (ebook).
Abstract: Minutjukur, Makinti; Tjitayi, Katrina; Tjitayi, Umatji; Defina, Rebecca Pitjantjatjara is often regarded as a robust language with more than 3000 speakers, including children, across a range of communities. Nevertheless, the language has been affected by colonialism and many community members are concerned about language change. In this paper, A''angu educators from Pukatja/ Ernabella work together with a non-Indigenous linguist to survey changes we have noticed in the language and to make recommendations for the future. We report changes in pronunciation, grammar and the ways the language is used. In some cases, these changes result directly from contact between languages or other changes in the cultural setting of people speaking Pitjantjatjara today. We see these as winds of change that are sweeping across the language and call for the construction of a windbreak to protect Pitjantjatjara language and culture to keep it strong for future generations.
Abstract: O'Faircheallaigh, Ciaran; Lawrence, Rebecca Numerous large mines located on Australia's Aboriginal estate1 are in the process of ceasing production or will do so in the coming decade. Mine closure raises issues of enormous environmental, cultural, social and environmental significance for Aboriginal traditional owners, but these issues have to date received little systematic attention, unlike the question of whether mines should be established in the first place, or the impact on Aboriginal peoples and on country of operating mines. The commonly used term 'mine closure' belies the fact that mining projects continue to have impacts for decades, and in some cases for generations, after mineral extraction ceases. We highlight this reality, drawing on theoretical insights that stress the persistence of mine legacies and placing them in the context of wider debates about environmental and social justice. We illustrate continuing 'postclosure' impacts on traditional owners and the Aboriginal estate. These impacts are unlikely to be addressed through Australia's entirely inadequate regulatory system for mine rehabilitation, or through negotiated Aboriginal-industry agreements, many of which fail to deal with closure issues. Against this background we highlight the need for systematic research on the effects of mine closure on Aboriginal peoples in Australia; for a radical overhaul of Australia's regulatory system, in part to afford a central role to Aboriginal traditional owners; and for mine closure to be afforded a substantial focus in future agreements governing the development of new mines on the Aboriginal estate.
Abstract: Kruk-Buchowska, Zuzanna; Wood, Asmi This paper analyses the role that the Tjabal Indigenous Higher Education Centre at the Australian National University (ANU) plays in the university experience of Indigenous students and the sense of Indigenous community that it creates. It highlights the importance of Indigenous students' perspectives on Indigenous education and achieving population parity of Indigenous students and the faculty at ANU. The paper considers what Tjabal does to make ANU less of a white man's institution and to enhance its students' value as Indigenous people. The paper finds that Tjabal plays a vital role in the students' educational experience at ANU, helps them deal with the difficulties of transition to university, and helps increase Indigenous students' retention and graduation rates. Relationality, which is important to Indigenous communities in Australia, is translated into the students' university experiences, thereby alleviating cultural effacement. However, the paper also finds that more could be done to encourage students to pursue higher degrees.
Abstract: Heaton, Adam The need for anti-racism education in Australia is evident in the regular incidents of racism experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians. By not providing an alternative discourse to the racism in society, students leave school carrying into their employment and other spheres of adult life the prejudices they have developed. Although teaching against racism is not directly addressed in the new Australian curriculum, the teaching of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures has been made a cross-curriculum priority. This paper examines the potential for the national cross-curriculum priority - and particularly the facilitation of a positive discourse about Aboriginal cultures, histories and achievements - to achieve anti-racism learning outcomes. It explores how a program of learning, co-designed with an Aboriginal Elder and educator, moved students to imagine the experiences of Aboriginal peoples, and, as a result, drop prejudices and adopt more positive thoughts and feelings towards them.
Abstract: Guthadjaka, Kathy; van Gelderen, Ben Technologies play an important role in the intergenerational transmission of Yolnu languages and culture, but can digital development incorporate Yolnu cosmological and epistemological frameworks' Despite the pressures of an increasingly standardised Australian Curriculum, the Yolnu Indigenous Warramiri community at Gawa in remote Northern Territory continues to pursue an 'on country' homeland and intercultural 'bothways' philosophy of education. In this paper, we outline some of the bala-rali (backwards and forwards) discussions and negotiations from 2009-15, as a form of duoethnography that culminated in the design of the Warramiri website to support such a bothways philosophy.
Abstract: Rogers, Jessa This paper outlines how an Aboriginal researcher approached international indigenous research based on indigenous research practices and principles, indigenous worldview and Country-based ontologies. It follows on from part one (Rogers 2018), published in the previous issue of this journal, which discusses how relatedness functions as a methodology in collaborative indigenous work and how photostory, a modified version of the method termed 'photoyarn', was developed specifically for Kanaka Maoli young people attending boarding school with noho. This paper is written to AIATSIS style guidelines and, as such, capitalises Indigenous for the Australian context only.
Abstract: Bamblett, Laurie Review(s) of: Serious whitefella stuff: When solutions become the problem in Indigenous affairs, by Mark Moran, 2016, Melbourne University Press, Carlton, Vic., 256pp, ISBN 9780522868296 (pbk).
Abstract: Wiltshire, Kelly Review(s) of: Deep time dreaming: Uncovering ancient Australia, by Billy Griffiths, 2018, Black Inc., Carlton, Vic., 384pp, ISBN 9781760640446 (pbk).
Abstract: Brinckley, Makayla-May Review(s) of: Growing up Aboriginal in Australia, by Anita Heiss (ed.), 2018, Black Inc., Carlton, Vic., 320pp, ISBN 9781863959810 (pbk).
Abstract: Kamp, Alanna; Dunn, Kevin; Paradies, Yin; Blair, Kathleen A perception exists that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are uneasy with cultural diversity. Such unease has been attributed to problematic positioning of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people within multicultural policy, and the requirement that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people declare an overriding and primary commitment to the Australian nation-state. Furthermore, the lack of a formal treaty, absence of constitutional recognition and continuing experiences of racism mean that the encounter with the multicultural nation-state is colonialist. We present nationwide survey data collected between July and August 2015 and in November 2016 revealing that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are largely supportive of diversity, which is one of the central tenets of multiculturalism. In most respects, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents' attitudes towards cultural diversity and views on 'old racism' are similar to those of non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, despite their higher reported experiences of racism. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are more likely to acknowledge racism and Anglo privilege, and have more negative views on inter-racial marriage, especially with white Australians. While there is evidence of some support for cultural diversity among the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander respondents, the data reveal that, as a group, they are not as supportive as non- Indigenous Australians, demonstrating some levels of unease with cultural diversity.
Abstract: Sundbery, Jacqui; Latham, Robyne The need for collaborative approaches has both an ethical and pragmatic imperative in the fields of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health, education and research. It has been argued that both Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous people are not adequately equipped to address inequity in contemporary Australia without an understanding of both Indigenous and Western knowledge systems. Towards developing this capacity, a collaboration between differing knowledge systems can result in a kind of 'gestalt leap' or 'third space'. Examples of this exchange include Anangu concepts such as Malparara and Ngapartji Ngapartji. Mindful of this argument, the authors of this paper have found a limited literature on the process and benefits of collaborations that bring together the disparate knowledge systems of Indigenous and non-Indigenous cultures. This paper contributes to the development of such a literature and focuses upon the processes by which these benefits may be maximised.
Abstract: Rogers, Jessa This paper outlines how an Aboriginal researcher approached international indigenous research based on indigenous research practices and principles, indigenous worldview and Country-based ontologies. In particular, this paper discusses how relatedness functions as a methodology in collaborative indigenous work and how photostory, a modified version of the method termed 'photoyarn', was developed specifically for Kanaka Maoli young people attending boarding school with noho. To 'noho' means to 'commit to the establishment of the relationship and to maintain it with humility and respect' (Lopes 2016:32). Opening with the connections that bind Aboriginal, Maori, Kanaka Maoli and Native peoples of North America, this paper presents photostory as a method and outlines how cross-cultural research can function from an Aboriginal perspective.
Abstract: Hutchings, Kate; Bodle, Kerry; Miller, Adrian Although the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (hereafter Indigenous) people completing undergraduate degrees has improved markedly in recent years, Indigenous people remain under-represented in higher degree research (HDR) programs, which limits progression into academic careers. This paper explores factors affecting Indigenous people's commencement and completion of HDR programs. The research was undertaken at a large, multi-campus, metropolitan Australian university and involved a qualitative, culturally appropriate research design based on yarning circles and interviews with Indigenous HDR candidates and interviews with HDR supervisors. The research was undertaken by Indigenous and non-Indigenous researchers with advice provided by the Indigenous community at the university to ensure cultural safety. Highlighting the central role of supervisors and system-wide university support, the most significant finding of the research is that although additional research and university commitments can be barriers, other research/ work opportunities enable completion. The findings suggest that in addressing under-representation of Indigenous people in HDR and academia in Australia, universities need to provide strategic attention to how they engage, support and recognise achievements of Indigenous people in HDR while also being cognisant of individuals' competing responsibilities.
Abstract: Fitzpatrick, Emily A picture is worth a thousand words, but the paintings I discuss in this paper capture what words could not. The Picture Talk Project commissioned Australian Aboriginal artists to paint research results, to be used as a visual medium to present findings back to the Aboriginal communities. However, the way in which the artists were briefed, the process of creation and the artists' lived experiences all emerged in the paintings. The process reinforces the fact that efforts to ensure greater collaboration take place within a long history of power inequities. The experience is a sober reminder that we must embody appropriate cultural frame works of communication every step of the way.
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