In response to significant changes in the Indigenous information landscape, the State Library of New South Wales and Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at the University of Technology, Sydney, hosted a colloquium, Libraries and Indigenous Knowledge, in December 2004. The two-day colloquium brought together professionals, practitioners and academics to discuss future directions in relation to Indigenous knowledge and library services. An expert and inspiring group of speakers and more than 90 active participants ensured that lively discussions did, indeed, take place.
"Present[s] an insight into the breadth and depth of Indigenous knowledge issues which impact on libraries and archives. Presentations adressed a range of issues to do with understanding the importance of retaining and valuing Indigenous Knowledge in Australia and internationally..."--Foreword, p. [1].
Tangible and intangible forms of indigenous knowledges and cultural expressions are often found in libraries, archives or museums. Often the "legal" copyright is not held by the indigenous people’s group from which the knowledge or cultural expression originates. Indigenous peoples regard unauthorized use of their cultural expressions as theft and believe that the true expression of that knowledge can only be sustained, transformed, and remain dynamic in its proper cultural context. Readers will begin to understand how to respect and preserve these ways of knowing while appreciating the cultural memory institutions’ attempts to transfer the knowledges to the next generation.
Joint winner of the 2020 Prime Minister's Award for Non-Fiction. Shortlisted for the 2020 Victorian Premier's Award for Non-Fiction. 'We want you to come with us on our journey, our journey of songspirals. Songspirals are the essence of people in this land, the essence of every clan. We belong to the land and it belongs to us. We sing to the land, sing about the land. We are that land. It sings to us.' Aboriginal Australian cultures are the oldest living cultures on earth and at the heart of Aboriginal cultures is song. These ancient narratives of landscape have often been described as a means of navigating across vast distances without a map, but they are much, much more than this. Songspirals are sung by Aboriginal people to awaken Country, to make and remake the life-giving connections between people and place. Songspirals are radically different ways of understanding the relationship people can have with the landscape. For Yolngu people from North East Arnhem Land, women and men play different roles in bringing songlines to life, yet the vast majority of what has been published is about men's place in songlines. Songspirals is a rare opportunity for outsiders to experience Aboriginal women's role in crying the songlines in a very authentic and direct form. 'Songspirals are Life. These are cultural words from wise women. As an Aboriginal woman this is profound to learn. As a human being Songspirals is an absolute privilege to read.' - Ali Cobby Eckermann, Yankunytjatjara poet 'To read Songspirals is to change the way you see, think and feel this country.' - Clare Wright, award-winning historian and author 'A rare and intimate window into traditional women's cultural life and their visceral connection to Country. A generous invitation for the rest of us.' - Kerry O'Brien, Walkley Award-winning journalist
Teaching Aboriginal Studies has been a practical guide for classroom teachers in primary and secondary schools, as well as student teachers, across Australia. Chapters on Aboriginal history and culture, stereotypes and racism, government policies and reconciliation provide essential knowledge for integrating Aboriginal history and culture, issues and perspectives across the curriculum. This second edition of Teaching Aboriginal Studies encompasses developments over the past decade in Aboriginal affairs, Aboriginal education and research. It features a wide range of valuable teaching sources including poetry, images, oral histories, media, and government reports. There are also strategies for teaching Aboriginal Studies in different contexts and the latest research findings. The text is lavishly illustrated with photographs, posters, paintings, prints, ads and cartoons. Teaching Aboriginal Studies is the product of consultation and collaboration across Australia. Remarkable educators and achievers, both Aboriginal and other Australians, tell what teachers need to know and do to help Aboriginal students reach their potential, educate all students about Aboriginal Australia and make this country all that we can be. 'The importance of this book cannot be overestimated. We have been insisting for years that pre-service teachers be required to learn about Aboriginal history, culture and identity, and that it be regarded as integral to qualifying for their education degrees.' Lionel Bamblett, General Manager, Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Inc.
"Current multiparty support has created a historic opportunity to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the first peoples of Australia, to affirm their full and equal citizenship, and to remove the last vestiges of racial discrimination from the Constitution. The Expert Panel was tasked to report to the Government on possible options for constitutional change to give effect to Indigenous constitutional recognition, including advice as to the level of support from Indigenous people and the broader community for these options. This executive summary sets out the Panel's conclusions and recommendations" [taken from executive summary]; report contains draft Bill for an Act to alter the Constitution to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their cultures, languages and heritage, to replace racially discriminatory provisions and to include a prohibition of racial discrimination. "The Act may be cited as the Constitution alteration (Recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples) 2013."
In a global context, understanding and engaging with Indigenous Peoples and understanding their contemporary values is becoming increasingly relevant. This book offers a major insight into Australian Indigenous Peoples’ perspectives on the built environment. Enriched with thoughtful Indigenous voices from across Australia, echoed with several pre-eminent non-Indigenous practitioner voices, the book discusses the value of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in the Australian built environment and landscapes. It provides their perspective of wanting to share, of wanting to be heard, and of wishing to journey into our future landscapes and environments sympathetically and sustainably; of wanting to mutually share this journey respectfully to the betterment of humanity and these landscapes. A major resource for all academics, students and practitioners in the built environment sector, internationally, and not just in Australia, the book embodies issues confronting Indigenous Peoples and their communities, and their concerns about the future of their custodial landscapes. The book’s national significance has already been identified by the Australian Institute of Landscape Architects (AILA) through its inclusion in their ‘Connection to Country: Case Studies’.
Whether in Canada, the United States, Australia, India, Peru, or Russia, the approximately 500 million Indigenous Peoples in the world have faced a similar fate at the hands of colonizing powers. Assaults on language and culture, commercialization of art, and use of plant knowledge in the development of medicine have taken place all without consent, acknowledgement, or benefit to these Indigenous groups worldwide. Battiste and Henderson passionately detail the devastation these assaults have wrought on Indigenous peoples, why current legal regimes are inadequate to protect Indigenous knowledge, and put forward ideas for reform. Looking at the issues from an international perspective, this book explores developments in various countries including Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and also the work of the United Nations and relevant international agreements.
