PRESERVE, STRENGTHEN AND RENEW IN COMMUNITY WORKSHOP REPORT July 2018 First published in 2018 by Indigenous Culture and Heritage, AIATSIS
© Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), 2018.
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Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) GPO Box 553, Canberra ACT 2601 Phone: (02) 6246 1111 Fax: (02) 6261 4285 Email: [email protected] Web: www.aiatsis.gov.au
Front cover images Top: Karajarri project partners at Frazier Downs near Bidyadanga, Western Australia. Credit: Tran Tran
Centre: Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre staff and representatives with AIASIS staff in Canberra for the ‘Singing the Train’ launch. Credit: Andrew Turner
Bottom: Project partners from Kiwirrkurra with AIATSIS staff at Ngami, near the Kiwirrkurra community, Western Australia. Credit: Kate Crossing CONTENTS Executive Summary iv Project background 1 Karajarri, ‘Karajarri Wankayi Muwarr’ 3 Kiwirrkurra, ‘Keeping the Desert Stories Alive’ 4 Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre, 'Looking after community rights in legacy collections' 6 Cultural practice and priorities 8 Key issues 8 Valuing Indigenous archives and knowledge 9 Institutional practice 11 Control, copyright and ownership 12 Unrecognised and unforeseen rights 14 The ‘right’ language 16 Relationships within the Sector 18 Funding and resourcing 18 Funding options 19 How do you connect community and collecting institutions? 22 Gaps and opportunities 22 Capitalising on community capacity 24 What practical information and tools would be useful for communities? 24 What could collecting institutions do? 25 How could training and employment be improved? 25 Appendix 1: Workshop agenda 26 Appendix 2: Group scenarios 29 Appendix 3: Attendees 32 Appendix 4: Talking paper 32 Presentations 32 Scenario Discussion 34 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
AIATSIS has been running an 18 month On the first day, project partners gave pilot with the aim of exploring ways in presentations which outlined their existing which Indigenous communities can gain issues as well as achievements made through greater control and authority over their the project. On the second day workshop information and archives as a part of participants reflected on the issues raised the ‘Preserve, Strengthen and Renew in in a number of scenarios through ‘talking Community’ project. The project involved paper’ and breakout sessions. Different three project partners, the Karajarri and groups explored questions of access to Kiwirrkurra people with their representative recorded cultural information, the role organisations and partners (the Karajarri of cultural norms, ethics and the roles of Traditional Lands Association (KTLA), the different organisations and groups in dealing Kimberley Land Council (KLC), Tjamu Tjamu with each challenge (see Appendix 1). Aboriginal Corporation, Desert Support Some of the main issues that arose Services (DSS)), and Wangka Maya Pilbara throughout the two day workshop included: Aboriginal Language Centre (WMPALC/ Wangka Maya) with contributions from • the gap between community priorities IBN Corporation (IBN) which supports the and state and national collecting Yinhawangka, Banyjima and Nyiyaparli institutions at a practical level groups. Project activities involved the return of AIATSIS held archival material to • the significance of Indigenous community the communities, recording new material archives and knowledge structures and as decided by project partners and the how they can be taken into account in development of protocols for the ongoing collection management at regional or management of both existing AIATSIS national collecting bodies (including material and newly recorded materials. access to and repatriation of materials)
As a part of the project, AIATSIS committed • the entrenched nature of to bringing project partners together along institutionalised practices with other practitioners also interested • the challenges created by conceptions of in the management of cultural material to control, copyright and ownership share their experiences and explore future directions for both the project and partners. • the protection of existing, but as yet, A workshop was held in Canberra from 14-15 unrecognised rights and ensure that March 2018 that aimed to: processes and protocols for asking permission are maintained and • explore the issues identified in the case studies • the confusion created by different disciplines, languages and understanding • identify what’s working and what’s of key concepts (including the challenges not working from community and of translating archiving concepts institutional perspectives in practical and relevant ways for • build relationships among relevant communities). stakeholders and explore potential contributions, and
• explore the tensions created by moving to a community access model.
iv PROJECT BACKGROUND
The Preserve, Strengthen and Renew project The Kiwirrkurra community are in the process arose from the AIATSIS Council initiative to of creating a local community archive and are better engage AIATSIS collection material exploring options for how this could work within with communities via a research process. It their community. They accessed photographic was decided by the research team that given and moving image collections in which they the complexities of returning materials and found material of themselves as younger the challenges created by copyright and women and men recorded by Fred Myers, permissions associated with legacy items, a Richard Kimber and others, as well as in photos pilot would be a sensible approach to limit from the AIATSIS ‘After 200 years’ project. issues to case study areas. WMPALC, on the other hand had a long history As a pilot, project partners were chosen based of recording and archiving language and on their willingness and capacity to engage historical materials themselves as well as with as co-investigators via in-kind contributions, AIATSIS and are in the process of considering project co-design, fieldwork and research; how this can be managed into the future existing relevant AIATSIS materials and –including negotiating potential conflicts support from their communities to carry out created by conceptions of ownership and the the project (via their respective boards of lack of recognition of Indigenous forms of governance). Project aims were negotiated knowledge generation and management. with research partners in order to ensure This two day workshop was intended to create that research activities would be relevant and a space for the generation of ideas and useful to each partner.1 discussion with other interested individuals The Karajarri group focused on utilising and organisations who were dealing with existing older material held at AIATSIS to similar issues in their regions or bodies. One build their own cultural archive and revive of the ongoing aims of the AIATSIS project was cultural practices. They accessed closed to establish good processes to ensure that the men’s ceremonial material held at AIATSIS repatriation and recording of new materials that was recorded by Father McKelson are driven by community protocols and and lawyer and researcher, John Howard priorities. Accordingly, the workshop aims and in Bidyadanga (then La Grange Mission) agenda were largely influenced by the needs throughout the 1960s and 1970s. The Karajarri and priorities of project partners. men also contributed to revising protocols for the management of this information that had been previously restricted.
1 The project has received ethical approval from the independent AIATSIS Research and Ethics Committee (E039/21092016). A research agreement was signed with each partner organisation or representative to share copyright over research outcomes and individual agreements were signed with knowledge holders where copyright is retained by story tellers.
1 Back in our home, a lot of our old people are very old and a lot of our younger generations are losing that knowledge. We knew there was a lot of, a lot of recordings from anthropologists and archaeologists, and people who work on the mission. At the time we thought they didn't respect our elders, and were asking them stupid questions. But, and then by collecting this information today is very valuable, and putting it in AIATSIS is very valuable. Mervyn Mulardy
2 Mervyn Mulardy, Petha Farrer-Shoveller, Wynston Shoveller, Sam Bayley and Anna Dwyer at AIATSIS before the forum
KARAJARRI, ‘KARAJARRI to record new stories and songs for future WANKAYI MUWARR’ generations and to teach the old songs and stories to young people today. Mervyn, Anna Karajarri country is located along the south- and their extended family have used their own west Kimberley coast and extends inland to knowledge and the recordings from AIATSIS the Great Sandy Desert. In 2002 and 2004 to teach lore2 to Karajarri men and women the Karajarri people were recognised as respectively. They worked for over a year native title holders of their traditional lands with young people in their 20s to close a 40 in two separate determinations. In 2008, year gap in the practice of lore with flow on they were granted funding to establish an benefits for neighbouring groups. Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) to implement their ranger program. Based in Bidyadanga, For example, Anna and Petha said that since approximately 180km south of Broome, the starting on their cultural revitalisation project, rangers have developed the Karajarri Healthy Karajarri have worked with the Yawuru people Country Plan that directs the work of rangers to support their cultural revitalisation. Karajarri on the IPA in line with the cultural protocols people have some knowledge of Yawuru kinship of the traditional owners. The Plan is now system, food, dance, culture, boundaries and tied to a cultural database which sets out gendered business through a long history Karajarri knowledge management and practice of social and commercial engagement. They aspirations. The database stores songs and were able to establish close relationships stories, tracks ranger projects and ensures with Yawuru people to support their cultural they continue to follow the decisions and revitalisation through supporting the practice advice of the cultural advisory committee. In of lore that had not occurred for over 60 years the PSR project, AIATSIS worked with project despite challenges created by colonisation. partners to add to this database, to transfer recording and archiving skills and most 2 The authors note the use of both lore and law in importantly, to identify and renew songs and this paper. Lore has been specifically used in the other cultural material via repatriation. Karajarri context to reflect their use of the word. Elsewhere reference is made to Indigenous or For project partners Mervyn Mulardy and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander law. The authors Anna Dwyer, senior cultural advisors, and recognise that ‘the conceptualization of Indigenous law has a direct impact on how people receive Wynston Shovellor and Petha Farrer-Shoveller, and apply it… No matter the legal tradition, law is who work as rangers, storing and protecting a product of human agency; it is not an objective cultural knowledge is useful, but keeping or neutral field.’: John Borrows, Heroes, Tricksters, it alive by practicing it and teaching it to Monsters, and Caretakers: Indigenous Law and Legal the next generation is critical. Their aim is Education, McGill Law Journal, 2016, vol 61, no 4, 799. 3 KIWIRRKURRA, ‘KEEPING THE DESERT STORIES ALIVE’ Kiwirrkurra is located in the Western Desert, In the PSR project, some AIATSIS staff within 42 228 square kilometres of land over travelled to key sites on country with people which the Kiwirrkurra people have native title from Kiwirrkurra to record songs and stories rights and interests. In 2015, all of this land in Pintupi and Luritja. In their presentation, was declared an Indigenous Protected Area senior Kiwirrkurra woman Mantua James, (IPA) and the Kiwirrkurra Plan for Country along with Joanne West, Vivianne West and was established. As part of caring for their Kate Crossing from DSS, discussed how they country, the people of Kiwirrkurra began signed communal research agreements recording stories, songs and other cultural and were assigned copyright over all the and ecological knowledge. Mantua James recordings. After learning about AIATSIS and explained that having this knowledge is an designing rules of access, these partners important part of belonging to the land and agreed to store copies of their material in having the capacity to care for it. She spoke the AIATSIS archive for safekeeping. about the recordings she had made of her The Kiwirrkurra women also contributed hunting and tracking stories. Passing along her to the archives by adding metadata to old knowledge of these practices has meant that AIATSIS records. During the project, Joanne many generations can share her expertise and and Vivianne found pictures of themselves remain connected to country.
Vivianne West, Joanne West and Mantua James from Kiwirrkurra at AIATSIS before the forum
4 as children in the AIATSIS pictorial database. In returning material, it became evident that The records were incomplete because the there is a need for a local keeping place. In photographer hadn’t identified many people Kiwirrkurra, material is often held on USBs by name; Joanne and Vivianne were able to and there is concern regarding the safety of identify many people in the photographs and sensitive material held in this way. Mantua, add this information to the collection. Joanne, Vivianne and Kate also participated in a women’s ranger program where they learnt AIATSIS returned several collections relevant more about databases which could ensure to Kiwirrkurra and these were shared with the longevity of their recording projects. the appropriate community members, Their presentation demonstrated the value including holding a men’s film night to of two way partnerships and the potential show films from the AIATSIS archive that for communities to contribute significantly to feature restricted men’s material. The greater understanding of collection material. representatives from Kiwirrkurra also spoke about material being returned; they had not previously known the extent of material that was held at AIATSIS in Canberra.
Kate Crossing from Desert Support Services presents. Lizzie Ellis from the ANU translates Pintupi and Luritja to English 5 We were managing all our archives... people kept that material in their heads, walked around with it; they were living human archives... But that was all taken off us during this colonisation process. So there needs to be a proper partnership. Where we get our policies from, some of it comes from traditional ways of doing things that we've been practising for 40,000 years. Julie Walker
WANGKA MAYA PILBARA ABORIGINAL LANGUAGE CENTRE, 'LOOKING AFTER COMMUNITY RIGHTS IN LEGACY COLLECTIONS' Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language WMPALC chose to store copies of some of Centre is a keeping place for language and their material at AIATSIS to safeguard them other cultural materials collected from across from weather damage. A fire in a section the Pilbara region. For 30 years, staff and of their new buildings and the subsequent many volunteers have worked to record and loss of some archived materials reinforced repatriate material and promote the use of the need to have archives backed up off site. language by establishing language projects, In this context, storing collections at AIATSIS dictionaries and language resources for 31 has provided Pilbara groups with a sense of languages. WMPALC currently manages their security. The pilot research has also facilitated cultural and language material at their local talks about how to manage access rights archive and have a significant portion of their and roles and responsibilities concerning holdings at AIATSIS. Locally, they store physical governance and relationships between and digitised materials, as well as their born community and national archives. digital material which they manage on two databases, with the main working database WMPALC are currently working with AIATSIS being ‘Nyirti’ meaning young one or little one. to develop protocols for their collections.
6 Aboriginal Law dictates which individuals of how Wangka Maya was slowly built over and groups have rights to view and own time through a process of recording stories cultural material. Wangka Maya respects and languages, and by retrieving language this by conducting clearance processes with recordings from the Pilbara that were recorded all relevant parties before their material is years ago and held at AIATSIS. Around 10 of listened to, copied or provided for publication. the Pilbara languages are no longer spoken, WMPALC is currently working to establish while there are many others that have fewer a formal partnership with IBN. Initially IBN than 100 speakers. There are many discussions started their language revitalisation work with currently within families and organisations a linguist employed by and based at WMPALC. about how to manage written, audio, and The main aim was to record languages and visual material and objects in the future. to publish the Banyjima dictionary. The IBN linguist and cultural development staff now Tootsie Daniels showed a video of the sugar also work to develop ownership and cultural song which she wrote, sang and recorded to protocols to address access and copyright send a strong message about the negative when they record new language material. They effects of too much sugar. Tootsie was are working on a database and an archiving showing others at the workshop that this policy and publication policy that follows was an example of owning copyright in the family and community rules. video. In doing so, Tootsie demonstrated that Indigenous people are the producers Lorraine Injie who worked as a language of their own knowledge and are agents in researcher when Wangka Maya was founded the production of knowledge yet this is not and is currently Chair of IBN as well as reflected in copyright regimes. being on the Wangka Maya Board, spoke
Lorraine Injie presents on the history of Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre 7 We just thought about recording information, and collecting this information, but for Karajarri we also grabbing that information and taking it out on country and physically practicing with all this information. We're putting it in the computer but also taking it out of the computer and getting the younger ones to learn the songs and learn the language, and learn the dance. Mervyn Mulardy
• Cultural practice and priorities KEY ISSUES • Valuing Indigenous archives and knowledge • Institutional practice A number of key issues emerged from the workshop presentations that were • Control, copyright and ownership explored by the workshop participants. • Unrecognised and unforeseen rights and Discussions were focused on: • Challenges created by different tribes and cultures within institutions.
CULTURAL PRACTICE AND PRIORITIES Among all the discussions about archiving, collection management. She spoke about permission, and funding, emphasis remained existing knowledge systems and processes with the need to support culture and existing for maintaining, protecting and storing knowledge structures, and to ensure the information. For her, institutional archives maintenance of cultural practices as the are secondary to Indigenous ways of primary objective. The need to support governing knowledge. knowledge exchange, support culture and law, and support Elders was considered to be Anna Dwyer described their cultural revival paramount, in order to maintain the strength of work as a ‘cultural wake-up’ where ‘they existing practices – especially oral traditions. were one of the first people to revitalise another mob’s culture’, and potentially the Intergenerational transfer of knowledge first occasion throughout Australia where continues to occur as people are supported cultural revitalisation has been supported by to practice culture. For Karajarri, databases a neighbouring Indigenous group. Karajarri’s and archives are just one way to ensure project activities demonstrated the powerful that knowledge is preserved. WMPALC spoke impact of utilising existing archives to support about supporting their archives as a way to cultural practice with not only community strengthen oral traditions through which benefit but also significant regional gain. knowledge is passed down. Julie Walker compared formal institutions to community Much of Karajarri’s cultural revival work based knowledge structures stating that has occurred without any funding support there is a clear need to respect existing and for Karajarri to continue their cultural Indigenous archives as a starting point for revitalisation projects they will need to 8 overcome a major funding hurdle. Cultural and then further by media. While this may revitalisation cannot occur without practical make sense from a collection management support. For example, for their work to be position, these layers of categorisation add effective, Karajarri need to pay to transport complexity (while disaggregating contextual people to country, to run ceremonies, to information) and may not be relevant for attend conferences and to maintain their community archives. For Aboriginal and Torres databases. These current challenges Strait Islander individuals and communities, demonstrate how access to archives can language or place may be more relevant only be meaningful where it can be used to categories, for instance. In the interest of practice law and culture. engaging with an accessible and possibly national collection, it was suggested that Similarly, Pat Williamson, from the National large institutions rethink metadata in a Museum of Australia, emphasised that people holistic manner. working in collecting institutions need to be aware that they have unconscious biases ‘towards the area or the discipline that they’re VALUING INDIGENOUS ARCHIVES working in, in terms of what they’re interested AND KNOWLEDGE in and what they’re really listening to’. Pat also noted that people were not ‘really listening There is a growing need for and trend toward to what it is that mob are saying from the establishing archives and databases at community in terms of what they need. I don’t language, community, and regional levels. think we’re really getting to what people are There are challenges created by the small really talking about.’ scale of community archives including a lack of physical storage space, the insecurity of Researchers and archivists working with physical storage, and a lack of knowledge to Indigenous communities and large collections organise information. Where groups don’t feel have different priorities and different ideas comfortable storing their material in physically about how to represent and store material. secure places like large institutions, there is One issue raised was the multiple way in a risk of losing that information. For example, which records are stored and categorised Wangka Maya provided an example of how they across varying institutions, which can make had lost a lot of important men’s material in it difficult for community archives to collate a building fire. Other participants also raised the information they need. Many institutions the example of the Katherine Language Centre arrange material by researcher or depositor, where material was destroyed by floods.
Ash Pollock-Harris from AIATSIS, Petha Farrer-Shoveller and Annie Edwards Cameron participate in group discussions about issues that arise when working9 with collecting institutions The Kiwirrkurra participants discussed their resources and processes for those groups need to establish a safe keeping place for who are getting started. Useful tools could be their recorded material. Currently, they hold for example, advice on a minimum standard their material at their IPA office because for metadata as well as physical and digital there is no PBC space and there is not a lot storage options. of community infrastructure to support long term data storage. The IPA office is quite small To assist with these emerging needs there and it doesn’t house an appropriate database was a strong desire for increased sharing of to store digital material. Their recordings and information, processes, guides, and forms photos are being stored on USBs which are that organisations currently have, and being physically shared within the community. guidance on how to form partnerships with While meeting short term needs this isn’t a other organisations. It was also suggested reliable way to protect information especially that AIATSIS could become the hub of a where they can be misplaced, viewed by the distributed collection. wrong people or erased. The role of Indigenous researchers in collection Anthropologist Jodi Neale commented that management should also be recognised. Many ‘there’s a lot of communities and language of the photos from Kiwirrkurra held in the groups that are in or will be in this situation AIATSIS photographic database, were taken and they’re all going to need their own while Joanne, Vivianne and Mantua were archives at some point but recreating the children. As is particularly common with older wheel however many hundreds of times material relating to Aboriginal and Torres around the country is an awful lot of minimal Strait Islander people in archives, libraries, resources going down the same kind of chute’. galleries and museums, the records are often Jodi also mentioned that ‘although there are incomplete and Joanne and Vivianne were not particularities with every community and with identified by name. There are many efficiencies every bit of information, there are so many and benefits that can be gained from enabling similarities.’ She called for AIATSIS and other community knowledge holders to add critical state and national institutions to develop descriptive data to existing collections.
Nell Reidy and Ash Pollock-Harris from AIATSIS work with Mantua, Vivianne, Joanne and Kate to search the AIATSIS catalogue10 INSTITUTIONAL PRACTICE The process of archiving and adding metadata There was significant discussion about to collections in state and national institutions how processes and systems within existing is undertaken largely by non-indigenous staff. institutions need to evolve so that community Damien Webb, from the State Library of West- groups can better engage with them and so ern Australia suggested that these jobs could staff within these institutions can work in a be performed by Indigenous people who might culturally safe way. Julie Walker spoke about have more knowledge of the material and the ways in which collecting institutions can cultural safety standards. This approach can be traumatic places for Aboriginal people to become a learning process where Indigenous interact with: researchers gain more skills in copyright, meta- People’s lives are locked in institutions. data and archiving. Additionally, the institution There’s a lot of things written about can benefit from cross-cultural training and the Aboriginal people, probably more than knowledge and experience of Indigenous staff. anybody else and I think in some ways Such knowledge exchanges can also upskill that’s a sad environment because it’s people in communities and provide increased written about us, not with us or for our employment in language centres. Training benefits. Some of the texts and the for community members in areas such as information is deposited without the archiving, and language work is desirable as it community knowing and without proper creates employment pathways and saves the consultation. And some of the texts in community from spending valuable resources there are quite offensive... Sometimes continually hiring external contractors. collecting archives can be traumatic and might be traumatic for people like myself and its affecting my children. There’s this issue about historical trauma… These institutions need to evaluate themselves: their own values and their own ethics.
Julie Walker from Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre and Maxine Briggs from the State Library of Victoria present their group’s discussion
11 CONTROL, COPYRIGHT AND OWNERSHIP The need for institutions to be self-reflective The topic of copyright – as a general concept emerged throughout the workshop. Kirsten and legal framework – came up numerous Thorpe, from the University of Technology, times during the workshop and was Sydney raised the idea of contesting archives understood on three different levels: and challenging the assumption that collecting institutions hold the truth. Often, collections • The first was that copyright is incongruous hold historical, inaccurate records which do with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander not tell the story of peoples’ lived experience ways of doing things or even recognise them as people. Institutions • Secondly, there is a lack of understanding need to be self-reflective and recognise that or misconceptions about the scope of they are not neutral. Internal biases can copyright and potentially distort collecting practices especially where Indigenous communities are not able • Lastly that there are necessary interactions to correct information contained in collections with copyright law which are difficult to and to claim that information as their own. negotiate.
Despite the strong recognition of the need to None of these questions are easy to address. change institutional practices, several people Mervyn Mulardy articulated the incongruity of expressed a sense that they were alone copyright with conceptions of authority over in pushing for change even from within in the songs he sings. Mervyn noted that ‘when their respective institutions. Others like Pat you do traditional songs there’s no copyright. Williamson noted that they need assistance We don’t know how to go about protecting from outside their institution to establish the songs. I do performances and singing and protocols for working in culturally safe ways. every-time I wonder whether my traditional Arguably, one of the powerful outcomes of the songs are being protected.’ Yinjibarndi workshop was the group gaining a sense that woman Tootsie Daniel affirmed that there they are not working in isolated conditions. was a tangible form of authority asserted by This lead to an impetus to discuss how to traditional owners: ‘Say we all go out on bush, effect change within these systems, and to on country. Whose copyright? It’s our copyright. start thinking in terms of networks and sharing Aboriginal copyright, okay? Cause we are the resources nationally.
Wynston Shoveller and Mervyn Mulardy from Karajarri 12 Traditional Lands Association during group discussions custodians of the land, we got to show you placed on making sure that people actually guys where to go. You wouldn’t know where to have the capacity for meaningful engagement go, where to find waterhole. You wouldn’t know in copyright matters rather than just filling in a what to do. So it’s our copyright. That makes form to ensure they hold copyright. it a clear picture.’ Workshop participants noted the clear incongruencies between their In negotiating the tension between copyright cultural authority and the privileging of legal and community ownership, the question was rights of people who unethically recorded repeatedly asked, ‘how can we make copyright material. Project partners questioned why work for community?’ or ‘how can community legal (but unethically obtained) copyright rights take precedence over copyright?’ To should be valued over Aboriginal and Torres try and deal with these issues, Wangka Maya Strait Islander cultural rights. spoke about how they commissioned Terri Janke to develop a copyright agreement Project partners also discussed instances where the person recording material gives where copyright had resulted in communities the knowledge holder the copyright and the being unable to access their materials. For person recording is granted a licence to use example, Anna Dwyer asked ‘So how do we the product to achieve certain objectives get over that hurdle to get out our mother’s (such as research or to produce promotional stories, our fathers stories... We’re struggling material). Kate Crossing also provided to start small, to get on our feet step by step, another example of how they had negotiated to break away from PBCs, to have our archives copyright. It was written into a contract that and talk about copyright slowly because, I’m copyright sat with a film making company. This an educated woman but I’m still trying to approach allowed them to make a film while soak in the copyright.’ Anna conveyed that the intellectual property (of tracking skills copyright is new to many community people for example) still belonged to the Kiwirrkurra who are forced to engage with it especially people. Examples were also given in which where there’s family material trapped in copyright was retrospectively assigned to the organisations such as the Kimberley Land community that owned a certain story. Council. Kiwirrkurra also had issues with copyright; they knew AIATSIS had some of their WMPALC and IBN Corp have also partnered material but it couldn’t be shown to them to establish a language revitalisation project because the depositor, who owned copyright, to publish the Banyijima dictionary and to had placed restrictions on the items. Kate develop ownership and cultural protocols Crossing explained how confusing this was for to address access and copyright when they community people especially where people record new language material. Julie Walker did not understand why they couldn’t access and Lorraine Injie spoke about the way these the knowledge from their families. projects were shaping peoples understanding of copyright in their cultural knowledge. They During group discussions, one of the popular explained how they might talk about art, body points relating to copyright and communities painting, law and culture in terms of copyright. was that institutions that consult with To say, “I’m going to sing my father’s song,” communities have a responsibility to explain is to recognise the unwritten copyright the copyright and give people time to understand it. original singer has to the piece. Anna and Mervyn also spoke about the value of setting up a research arm in the community to Project partners expressed a desire to take teach legal, policy and practical considerations back control of materials, both in terms of when building an archive. Emphasis was also taking possession of those items as well as
13 controlling the rights related to the materials. • Ensuring processes empower Aboriginal Mervyn stated that ‘in the early days with and Torres Strait Islander decision making missions, Father McKelson recorded all these • Paying a local person to undertake old people. He was very rude. He just went in consultation there and thought he was the boss. He put all these old people under the tree and was • Using boards that are already set up to asking them all this sacred business, songs make decisions for their members and in sort of a demanding way... the way • Recognising that one community or family he questioned them was very disrespectful... cannot speak for another That’s why me and my sister want to build a library that has a research team, outside of • Explaining requests for access properly PBCs – to find out about copyright, find out to the appropriate community or family about all this so we can concentrate... on one decision makers thing.’ The importance of asserting authority • Understanding and respecting the pressure over cultural knowledge was well recognised of community and family obligations. by project partners and workshop participants. As the project partners made clear, permissions around access, ownership and UNRECOGNISED AND governing material can be very complex. UNFORESEEN RIGHTS These processes take time, and institutions Beyond the question of copyright is a broader need to understand why communities may question around the control of material. need a longer time period to follow proper Copyright extends to informal conceptions of processes to get consent and that time frames ownership and cultural protocols that need to may change at short notice if certain things be followed. Throughout workshop discussions, happen. Sometimes entire language groups it was raised that in dealing with recorded are listed as owners of recorded knowledge, material, particularly older materials, people other times a family group or an individual are may be harmed and might need to be taught listed but their descendants disagree about lore and culture or seek advice from family the proper way to manage it. It’s important members before they deal with the material. that institutions use the time and resources Julie Walker commented that ‘everyone would necessary to properly engage with all the feel stronger with law and culture to guide relevant people and support the systems of their practices.’ Mantua James also stated knowledge management that already exist. that without feeling culturally confident, people would be afraid to assert their When a digital copy of material is returned cultural authority over materials or knowledge to the community, this can often mean that contained within them. Many participants the original is retained by the collecting reiterated that culture is strengthened through institute. Questions then arise around who has practice, and that the benefits of using and responsibility over the original item. Who owns making recordings lies in what could be learnt and controls the original copy and the returned from them to build cultural confidence. copy? Who can then say that the item should have closed access conditions or that an item Institutions like AIATSIS have sought to should be destroyed? None of these processes remain respectful of cultural rights through occur without risk. Recordings could be a part practice. When institutions receive a request of larger collections which contain sensitive to provide access to or use of material and are materials. Both storage and handling of seeking permissions from community, or if an material need to be done properly with cultural institution is working out access conditions, safety in mind. community consultation is a critical step. In engaging in community consultation, many Beyond these considerations, there is also a points were brought up including: risk that somebody without authority could 14 Jason Lee from Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre asserts the importance of supporting language centres and their efforts to produce language resources
be providing or denying access. Conflict in cases, the people who deposited the material communities is a reality; institutions should have restricted access to the recordings so understand that complexities exist in all that they couldn’t be returned. Kate Crossing communities and need to identify methods spoke to this issue, explaining that Kiwirrkurra for engagement. Shannon Faulkhead from people knew of recordings they were in that the Monash Countrylines Archive noted that weren’t returned. AIATSIS also spoke about cultural practice should be the foremost how the PSR project sought to reverse this by concern at national institutions especially when supporting project partners to govern the work talking about what real ownership and control they were creating as part of the project. They looks like. If institutions are only passing along worked with project partners to create access a copy of material, they aren’t relinquishing protocols in line with Kiwirrkurra’s systems of control of the physical item and the knowledge knowledge protection and management. associated with it. In communities however, WMPALC noted how traditionally, Aboriginal managing Indigenous knowledge may require Law has dictated which individuals and groups someone to be taught law and culture. have rights to view and own cultural material. During group discussions this point was raised Wangka Maya respect this by conducting in relation to the recipients of repatriated clearance processes with all relevant parties material. There was a fear for people’s cultural before their material is listened to, copied or safety and wellbeing as well as questions provided for publication. However, this process about their obligations to the material and is not always straight forward due to the high the knowledge contained within it. A further rate of poorly documented collections and question was raised about whether there is recording of deceased people. Some materials enough understanding about where returned belong to a number of language groups or to materials end up and what needs to be done families and neither Aboriginal nor Western with them to take care of them. copyright law can offer suitable access protocols in every case. While Wangka Maya The challenges are often exacerbated where have been resolving issues case by case, they there is a lack of documentation about commented on the need for a more systematic materials. In a few cases, collections aren’t solution to secure longevity. able to be returned or accessed due to poor documentation about the item or collection, While Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property or complex conditions of ownership. In some (ICIP) may not be legally recognised, it was 15 Tom Allen from AIATSIS talks about some of the issues communities face with copyright
discussed that as a collective, collecting operate. We’re people coming from an institutions can agree to recognise ICIP to oral society who are expected to act improve the control that communities have in a literate society now and there’s a over material that has been returned. There transition process and it’s going to take was a suggestion that this kind of issue might us longer to get there because it's a be easier to attend to going forward with totally different world that we live in... new material but that there are still issues and different to the world we’re expected with managing legacy collections. Despite the to be in when we discuss cultural complexity of these processes, one of the key protocols and copyright. [It’s] difficult messages was that it is important not to forget when you talk about copyright because that the outcome of returning materials could our people – not only do they not be very significant, for example as part of understand it as well as non-Aboriginal language revitalisation. people do, but they’re being exploited; their lack of understanding is being exploited to the greatest extent... it’s not THE ‘RIGHT’ LANGUAGE until we set ourselves up as industry Within and between collecting institutions, groups that we’re going to be able to feel there are different disciplines and approach- like we have some sort of equal say in es which present their own challenges. It was what we’re trying to do. evident at the workshop that there are several Differences in language also created inequity barriers to having a shared understanding in communication and understanding. between collecting institutions and communi- Particular issues were raised in relation ties as well as within and between collecting to the use of language and jargon without institutions. For communities, these primarily appropriate translation. Anna Dwyer relate to different priorities and expectations commented that ‘English takes over people in rules and norms. who speak language and we are influenced by Lorraine Injie from the IBN Corp noted the English to do it the Kartiya (non-Indigenous) issues created by language: way. That’s how some languages are lost, it’s how they go extinct, because we’re told to [there was] questions about the cross- write everything the Kartiya way’. Julie Walker cultural differences that exist in the commented that Aboriginal languages may way our communities and institutions not have words for certain things, for example
16 glass or computer highlighting the potential but we were really careful with the categories gaps in translating legal language into in our archives to choose words that we knew community concepts. People will also adopt we had language words for. We had to keep it words and make them into creole which adds in English so the IT people could build it – but complexity to translation and communication. eventually we’re looking at changing that into their own languages and that means that your Tootsie Daniel illustrated the cross-cultural archive automatically becomes part of your differences she has witnessed in her language program.’ community by acting out a scenario in which a mining company reads an agreement to the It’s also important that people within these Yindjibarndi people using ‘high legal language’, communities are aware of the systems and complex legal or scientific jargon. Tootsie processes of collection institutions. For said that her people don’t understand what example, the women from Kiwirrkurra did mining companies are requesting which is not understand why information cannot be unfair when their rights and land are at stake. returned to them and this can be distressing She demonstrated her point by tearing the if left unaddressed. Bronwyn Coupe from agreement in half. She said that communities AIATSIS noted that despite the attempts are missing out on the benefits of interpreters of AIATSIS to work with communities in an to ensure real understanding. ethical way, access services were continually challenged by the fact that people from There was a suggestion that part of overcoming communities might not understand what a some of these challenges could involve collecting institution does, what an archive is ensuring more resources and services are or why they’re interested in recordings from available in language. There was a suggestion their country. It is concerning that community that consent forms should be written in groups might work in partnerships without Indigenous languages. Annie Edwards-Cameron, full information – especially when it is this commented that ‘archives should be available that stops them from saying “no” or staking in language as well...part of setting up the IBN their claim to their material. archives – at the moment they’re in language
Annie Edwards-Cameron from IBN talks about the benefits of setting up archives and consent forms in Australian languages17 Damien Webb from the State Library of Western Australia presents his group’s discussion FUNDING AND RESOURCING RELATIONSHIPS WITHIN THE SECTOR Throughout the workshop discussions were as well as ensuring that there is clear focused on relationships and networks community benefit. which exist or which could be formed in the When partnerships with communities are sector, highlighting significant gaps in how formed, it was suggested that budgets should institutions and communities interact amongst include amounts for consultation with themselves and with each other. traditional owner groups, and invitations to Julie Walker commented that it is difficult conferences and workshops for the group for communities to get funding on their own to present. Parties should also consider the because the eligibility criteria are quite fixed. longevity of relationships including secondary Further, the people who assess applications uses of research data, publication of data, and all hold a number of qualifications and there co-authorship in reports. is very little Indigenous representation on selection panels. This situation was heavily There was also discussion about relationships contrasted with the fact that communities do at the national and state level. There was research, and communities’ information goes discussion on the role of national peak into research. bodies such as Australian Society of Archivists, NSLA, ASA, MGA and GLAM Peak. There were Distinctions were also drawn between suggestions that more coordination is needed institutional and personal relationships. Kate to formulate a national agenda, and to tease Crossing commented that ‘we want you to out how the work of these organisations draws come and tell us about your project and form on and impacts communities. A key part of this that direct relationship.’ It is also important could be the release of the Indigenous Road that relationships go both ways with both Map and the refresh of the ATSILRN protocols. parties supporting one another in direct and personal relationships. Damien Webb commented that the relationship between state and national When forming relationships with universities, collecting institutions needs to be better communities can use legally binding research coordinated. He also expressed concerns that agreements to specify research protocols, there are very few Indigenous people working ethics, informed consent processes, archiving in these institutions particularly in higher institutions, and future access conditions positions. Concern was expressed about the 18 FUNDING OPTIONS rate of ‘burn out’ for those engaged in this Representatives from both Department of field. There was also a sense that individuals Communication and the Arts (DOCA) and are driving change but that institutions and Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet the sector as a whole are not keeping up. Julie (PMC) spoke at the workshop about what Walker echoed this in saying ‘many things are funding opportunities are available to only as good as the person in the position; Indigenous communities. there’s no policy, there’s no program.’ Julie DOCA currently has a pool of $10 million asked what is the role of a national body like available for activities such as revitalising AIATSIS? What’s the role of state libraries? languages that are not strong, digitising What is the vision? What is the aim? archives, or teaching community members to Rebecca Bateman emphasised that between become language teachers and community the national policy level and the community linguists. To apply for this funding, groups level was a need to move forward and get or organisations need to meet specific things happening with protocols that specify requirements (including being incorporated how things will be returned and how to deal and having tax status). When questioned about with ownership. Reflecting on the forum, how money was divided between language Annie Edwards-Cameron commented that ‘in centres which may be responsible for one this forum, probably the biggest thing that language or 30, Feoina Kelly said there is a we’ll be taking back is the connections that formula used and calculations can depend on we’ve made with people in our own state the strength of the language. Further, DOCA – the library, Karajarri, Kiwirrkurra, Wangka has a Register of Ideas collecting suggestions Maya. Taking those relationships back and on how the pool of funding could be spent. working on a stage so that we can support At the workshop, Sam Bayley suggested a each other and bounce ideas off each other.’ small grants program would be very useful These discussions clearly highlight the need to explore pilots or small scale community for better coordination, agenda setting and a projects without the need for a large auspicing shared vision for collection institutions. This project or organisation. DOCA were receptive vision should reflect community priorities and to suggestions and directed people to their practice rather than creating an additional website to access the ideas register and burden on organisations and individuals. current open grant round.
19 Representatives from DOCA, Feoina Kelly and Liam Tucker, and representative from PM&C, Madeleine Baldwin, present funding options for language19 centres PMC also spoke about their Culture program it’s like a healing from the inside-out that which has funding available through the helps with all the other things’. Julie Walker Indigenous Advancement Strategy (IAS). The commented that, ‘when you’re dealing with funding is broken into four main streams – Aboriginal people, you need to have a holistic jobs, economic development, schooling, and framework. You can’t categorize people and community safety and well-being. Community put them into little boxes. You know, you’ve led applications are accepted for this got arts and culture over here, languages over funding,, and the representative encouraged here, PBCs, Native title over here. You need to communities to contact their regional network have a holistic framework.’ In addition to this office to coordinate with other government conceptual separation, practical issues were departments such as DOCA and receive also identified with respect to the burden of informal feedback on their applications. multiple reporting regimes.
In the conversation with DOCA and PMC it To overcome these separations Mervyn became evident that the criteria that each Mulardy said the departments and funding department has for funding is too specific bodies need to ‘sit down and talk to us and falsely separates related aspects of about how to develop funding agreements.’ culture. DOCA deals only with languages and Mervyn also reiterated the potential cultural arts while PMC deal with culture even though losses caused by a lack of coordination: these things are all connected. There is also ‘a lot of Aboriginal groups are frustrated, no funding available for lore ceremonies worried about...holding on to culture. We despite it being central to all these other have no funding. We achieved the greatest by aspects. It was raised by Lesley Woods that revitalising our next door neighbour tribe who there are health and well-being aspects to for 40 years haven’t done their law. Around us, language and culture so she suggested that law and culture’s dying and we gotta find a the sector start thinking about investment way to get resources’. through a broader approach: ‘we’re talking about language and culture being beneficial By way of example, WMPALC spoke about to our psychological and emotional wellbeing, how they have used grants to improve
Julie Walker explains that covering the costs of language centres is very stressful. They need support just to maintain their current operations
20 their physical and digital archives, inviting operations and we live in a remote location... contractors with experience in archiving to the amount of stress that creates is enormous. come to the Pilbara to share their expertise. It has an emotional and psychological effect Julie Walker explained that a program costs on staff. And those things are not taken into $5000 in administration alone, and that consideration.’ upgrading their server for their database Nyiti costs $16 000. These costs can be A further issue of equity was raised because overwhelming and difficult to cover in addition non-indigenous institutions as opposed to to the burden of finding grant money. The Indigenous institutions are receiving the staff time spent pursuing resources has an largest amount of funding. There was also a additional cost on recording or practicing suggestion that it would be good to educate culture. Julie Walker drew on WMPALC’s communities about the availability of all experience in saying to DOCA and PMC that funding sources, and not just sources directed ‘you need to know the full story of what’s specifically to Aboriginal and Torres Strait happening. And our language centres Islander peoples. need support just to maintain our current
21 GAPS AND OPPORTUNITIES A number of suggestions were made priorities and commitments and do not throughout the workshop on potential exist for the purposes of consultation gaps in research and practice that could • Consultation can involve all community be addressed. members and can take time so clients should be prepared to be patient and HOW DO YOU CONNECT COMMUNITY • The people whose image or voice appears AND COLLECTING INSTITUTIONS? in material need to be identified so that all In managing community Aboriginal and Torres the right people can be consulted or the Strait Islander organisations, there are two sets right process can be followed. of expectations to be managed: Australian law There are however, some real challenges and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander lore. to following these rules. As Tootsie Daniel Government and collecting institutions do not explained, Aboriginal organisations commonly always recognise the tensions between these and speak for communities now. Their boards the difficulties of managing these expectations. make decisions on behalf of the community These tensions arose in the context of: potentially diluting their power and cultural authority. It is also very difficult to accurately • Developing relationships between represent community interests unless all institutions and communities relevant parties are involved consistently in a • Ensuring community access to collections consultation process, and even then, it can be and difficult for them to make decisions. Tootsie • Design of technical systems to store and further added that there are cultural laws manage collections. like avoidance that affect who you can and can’t consult with and certain people have In discussing scenarios about accessing and responsibility over particular information. In using material from archives, the consultation these instances, who ‘the community’ is, who process with communities was a key focus. The is paid, who can say no, who is recognised as community representatives at the workshop the ICIP holders and consulted with, is not clearly articulated the processes that need to always clear. be followed in their particular communities for their rights to be acknowledged and Kate Crossing brought up a similar issue respected in these consultation processes. regarding the capacity of AIATSIS to govern They also spoke about how they are often Kiwirrkurra material in the future. Project misrepresented and felt like they have little partners from Kiwirrkurra are represented by or no control over their knowledge. Workshop Tjamu Tjamu Aboriginal Corporation. They participants also raised similar concerns from have identified the appropriate people to an institutional perspective. The following consult with in the instance that someone rules were suggested by the group: would like to access, copy or publish their material today. However, in two generations • Where protocols or processes exist, they time, systems of knowledge protection must be followed and transfer might be different, or the • Not one person or organisation can speak responsibilities of family groups might be for other communities different and the wrong owners may be contacted based on old deposit forms. • Communities need to be paid for consultation and this process needs to be The default solution of many depositors has included in client or project budgets been to identify the entire language group as • Communities have the right to say no having ICIP and this has been damaging or unhelpful 50 years later when that language • Communities have existing pressures, group has diverged. Tasha James also spoke 22 Tasha James from the National Film and Sound Archive presenting for her group, raising issues about the process of consultation with communities and the potential benefits of connecting communities with material in archives
for her discussion group and said that ‘while Gerald Preiss from AIATSIS spoke of the we can talk about these difficult processes, importance of working to accepted standards these are long conversations that can go on wherever possible. He said there are existing forever, and there are other conversations technical standards relating to the digitisation we should be having about more significant of collection materials and the creation of things’. She mentioned the lack of focus ‘digital born’ materials. The use of these on creating beneficial connections between standards wherever possible will ensure institutions and communities: ‘We’re so that collection materials can be preserved focused on the tensions that have arisen for future generations and are of sufficient and the mechanisms to try and avoid them, quality to support most intended future uses. but perhaps a necessary step forward is to There are also standards for the creation of engage differently and to have conversations cataloguing and metadata records. The use of these standards wherever possible will ensure with people about what material of theirs that digital collection materials will be readily exists in archives’. discoverable and accessible in Cataloguing Kirsten Thorpe also spoke about the need to systems and Digital Asset Management systems. rethink training within archives and libraries. The use of these standards may also support She suggested that institutions need to be the discovery and reunification of historically trained in capacity building and that the dispersed collections held in various locations sector as a whole must rework its approach to – through the sharing of linked data. There communities with a focus on independence are also approaches specifically designed to and self-governance, an approach supported incorporate the perspectives of Indigenous by all the workshop participants. communities in the management of their This was demonstrated when representatives intellectual property and cultural heritage. from Kiwirrkurra expressed their surprise at Technical standards will change over time and the material they were not aware of that was there will always be some difficulty in achieving held at AIATSIS. Much of the time, there is coordination of all parties working to the same material in the archives that people could put agreed standards set – both in Australia and on Facebook or add to a local project but they internationally. Despite this, coordinated and don’t have any knowledge of it. It’s likely that agreed approaches will be of benefit and will connecting people with these archives will support efforts to Preserve, Strengthen and bring great benefits. Renew collections for future generations. 23 CAPITALISING ON WHAT PRACTICAL INFORMATION COMMUNITY CAPACITY AND TOOLS WOULD BE USEFUL FOR For Karajarri, they hope to strengthen COMMUNITIES? language, create stronger ties with other There was agreement that one of the most groups, and ensure that they have thorough important emerging considerations was the and effective consent forms for accessing their needs of communities who are in the early cultural knowledge and material. They are also stages of or who will soon begin discussing interested in engaging with regional alliances creating a community archive. An early and exchanging examples of best practice. consideration is the recordings that are of They are also investigating how they could sufficient quality to be archived and how establish a cultural business arm of their PBC communities can begin or continue the to ensure law and cultural partnerships are recording process. When storing electronic prioritised and funded. items, communities need to know which questions to ask when setting up an archive The Kiwirrkurra group thought that a workshop and the differences between available options. to understand copyright would be very In providing information, it needs to be made beneficial. They considered that this would relevant to people on the ground. work best in the form of a project so that real examples and real things that matter to While regional and national standards are people can be used to explain the concepts relevant, information that would be useful and the problems. They are looking to set for communities is whether smart phone up a keeping place, find a suitable system to recordings are sufficient, and practical and archive material, and a way to keep consistent technical points such as whether attaching metadata. They thought that this would be a lapel microphone will improve the quality. good for a young person to run. When saving files or passing them onto other to be archived, what are the best file formats Wangka Maya were interested in developing to use, and which are simply sufficient. regional standards that would enable the pooling of resources to support community In doing this, ‘Community archiving 101’ toolkits or local capacity building and creating a could be produced to provide information consistent approach to asserting Indigenous about how to prepare an archive. For example, decision making. Many agreed that a before you have a database, groups could workshop with the participants from Western use excel spreadsheets to record metadata Australia would be useful to continue the to facilitate straightforward transferring of dialogue about these issues and create a material into a database. A standard list of space where information, protocols, research metadata fields that capture all necessary agreements and learnings can be shared. information would also be of great value. Other things that were suggested would be Toolkits could also suggest what different useful to discuss were the influence of IT on archival systems are available and what the business and governance. In particular, a lot benefits and drawbacks are of each one. of resourcing is focused on infrastructure rather than maintaining and preserving oral traditional systems.
24 WHAT COULD COLLECTING HOW COULD TRAINING AND INSTITUTIONS DO? EMPLOYMENT BE IMPROVED? A number of suggestions were made in There were several suggestions made relation to what state and national collecting specifically in relation to training and institutions could do to adapt their processes employment. In community archives, it is to support community priorities and needs. desirable to employ Aboriginal and Torres Firstly, it would be useful to develop resources Strait Islander staff who are aware of to explain what collecting institutions do – existing family relationships and governance what an archive is, how material is handled, structure. Increased resources and training for why you would want to have recordings of community members to create pathways in stories belonging to country kept elsewhere. To archiving and language work would be greatly ensure that the cultural rights of individuals beneficial. The group also suggested a need and communities are upheld, institutions to have full time employees placed in regional could recognise ICIP and build this into their archives and for state and national collecting processes. A national framework or national bodies to employ more Aboriginal and Torres protocols could be developed to ensure there Strait Islander staff to look after material and is an industry standard. A starting point for to understand health and safety concerns. discussing these challenges could be the protocols which currently exist (for example the ATSILIRN Protocols and Statement of Principles relating to Australian Indigenous Knowledge and the Archives) as well as the research and work that Aboriginal and Torres Strait people have done in collecting institutions.
Consent and other forms such as indemnity forms could be made available in language. Having archives or parts of archives in language could also be useful in supporting language. The need to support and recognise Indigenous researchers who contribute to collections was reiterated, specifically the need to provide wages as well as facilitate education and training in areas such as copyright and metadata. For example, a current partnership seeking to achieve this is the Indigenous Remote Archival Fellowship, a cross-institutional fellowship between AIATSIS, IRCA and NFSA.
25 APPENDIX 1: WORKSHOP AGENDA
26 27 28 APPENDIX 2: GROUP SCENARIOS Scenario to be role played and processed • What might happen next? in a plenary session • What might be the problems with Amy Key characters: putting the photo on face book? • Granddaughter (Amy) • What are the main access issues? • AIATSIS access officer (Ashwood) Scenario 1 (Break out group 1 and Break • Collection Access Manager (Tom) out group 6) • Senior anthropologist (Doug) Ross goes on a holiday to his family’s community. At the community office he finds • Community Office (Wynston) an audio recording described on a list as ‘men • Oldest living relatives (Mervyn, Anna, from the Kimberley singing in Ngarinyin’. Tootsie) Edward runs the community office. Edward Amy lives in a big city away from her country. tells Ross he saw other language recordings She wants to learn more about her culture on the office computer but there is no and her people. She finds a list on the internet information about them. that says AIATSIS has an old photo of her great-great grandfather. She calls Ashwood at Ross wants to listen to the recordings. He AIATSIS for a copy of the photo so she can put thinks he knows who to get permission from it on Facebook to share with her family. but he can’t find them.
Ashwood looks at her request. He sees that Focus Questions: permission is needed from an anthropologist, Doug, before he can give Amy a copy of • What do you think Edward would do? the photo. Doug took the photo. Doug’s • What should Edward do? permission and the permission of the person • How does Ross know who to ask? photographed are both needed if Amy wants to make the photo public on Facebook. • What will Ross do when he can’t find the right men? Ashwood finds out that Doug lives overseas. • What will Edward do when he can’t find He tries to contact him many times but them? receives no response. • What are the main access issues? Ashwood refers the issue to the Collection Access Manager (Tom) Scenario 2 (Break out group 2)
The Collections Access Manager declares the Peter worked for a land council 20 years ago photo an ‘orphan work’ and advises Amy what when he took photos of some meetings. He to do. also recorded some dancing on video with the old people. No community people signed any Amy herself then has to contact Wynston at permissions or paperwork back then. the Community Office who talk to the oldest living relatives of the great-great grandfather 10 years ago Peter gave the video and photos to get his permission to put the photo on to both the community office and to AIATSIS to Facebook. look after. The only paperwork is him signing over ownership of the videos and photos but Wynston has to talk to other senior people nothing to do with copyright. in the community and eventually says no to Facebook, but that Amy can still have a copy. The community office flooded 5 years ago and the only copies are at AIATSIS. Sample Focus Questions (facilitated in plenary group) 29 Ross works at a museum and wants to use Scenario 4 (Break out group 4) one of the videos in a museum exhibition he Ingrid is a young Aboriginal teacher from north is working on in Sydney. Queensland who lives in Canberra. She wants John is setting up a cultural archive in the to make a children’s story book in language community and is trying to get hold of about a little girl who gets lost and sees lots materials from AIATSIS. of animals and plants.
Focus Questions: Ingrid goes to the computer to search for stuff to help her find language words. She sees that • Who owns the copyright of photos and there is a recording at AIATSIS about plants videos Peter took? and animals in her old people’s language. She • Who owns the information? goes to AIATSIS and asks the access officer, • Who does Ross need to get permission Matthew, if she can listen to it. from? Matthew says she can’t let her because AIATSIS • What should Ross do to make sure the is only looking after the recording and can’t let cultural information is protected? her do this. The recording was put in AIATSIS • How should John approach AIATSIS? by the community organisation from Ingrid’s family’s community. The family have to give • What are the main access issues? permission. Scenario 3 (Break out group 3) Ingrid calls Edward at the community office Mary looks at the AIATSIS website and sees where the family name is on a file. Edward an exhibition of material from a South Coast knows Linda is the daughter of the old lady community. She wants to use it in a blog she is whose voice was recorded 30 years ago. He writing about Australia. talks to Linda for permission and she says no.
The material includes a film clip of a song and • What will/should Edward do? accompanying transcription and translation in • What will/should Ingrid do? an Indigenous language and in English. • What will/should Matthew do? The song is public but has special meaning for • What are the access issues? the traditional owners and was used in native title court proceedings.
Mary contacts Tasha, an AIATSIS Access officer, to get copies of the materials. Tasha contacts James who looks after the community archive, who talks to Linda and Fred.
Focus Questions:
• What does Tasha do? • What might happen when she contacts the community? • What might senior traditional owners, Linda and Fred say to James? • What are the main access issues?
30 APPENDIX 3: ATTENDEES Name Organisation Anna Dwyer Karajarri Traditional Lands Association Annie Edwards-Cameron IBN Corporation Ash Pollock-Harris AIATSIS Bronwyn Coupe AIATSIS Clare Barcham AIATSIS Damien Webb State Library of Western Australia Diana James Centre for Heritage and Museum Studies, ANU Doug Marmion AIATSIS Feoina Kelly Department of Communications and the Arts Fiona Blackburn AIATSIS Gerald Preiss AIATSIS Haley Young Queensland South Native Title Services Jason Lee Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Centre Joanne West Kiwirrkurra Community Jodie Dennis National Museum of Australia Jodi Neale Nyamal Archive Database Julie Walker Wangka Maya Pilbara Aboriginal Language Corporation Kate Crossing Desert Support Services Kazuko Obata AIATSIS Kirsten Thorpe University of Technology Sydney Lesley Woods ANU Liam Tucker Department of Communications and the Arts Lizzie Ellis ANU Lorraine Injie IBN Corporation Madeleine Baldwin Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet Mantua James Kiwirrkurra Community Mary Anne Jebb AIATSIS Maxine Briggs State Library of Victoria Mervyn Mulardy Karajarri Traditional Lands Association Nell Reidy AIATSIS Pat Williamson National Museum of Australia Petha Farrer-Shoveller Karajarri Traditional Lands Association Rebecca Bateman National Film and Sound Archive Sam Bayley Kimberley Land Council Sanna Nalder Queensland South Native Title Services Shannon Faulkhead Monash Country Lines Archive Stewart Shannon National Film and Sound Archive Tasha James National Film and Sound Archive Tom Allen AIATSIS Toni Bauman Facilitator Tootsie Daniel Community Representative Tran Tran AIATSIS Vivianne West Kiwirrkurra Community Wynston Shoveller Karajarri Traditional Lands Association
31 APPENDIX 4: TALKING PAPER Following partner presentations, workshop • Finding the balance between having participants were asked to respond to enough info/access to that material can be the challenges/issues that arose and any found vs cultural sensitives to keep people issues that could support the presenters in safe challenge addressing these issues. • Access and awareness of existing materials in collections PRESENTATIONS Ideas Karajarri Presentation • Develop a cultural arm for cultural capacity building. Have a cultural business arm Issues/Challenges separate from PBC’s • Collection institutions need to listen and • Sharing knowledge across boundaries give control/access to community • Cultural awareness in national/state • How can institutions make culturally institution informed decisions to manage collections • Developing infrastructure for community • It’s too hard archive • Auditing of collections and consultation • Innovating ways to engage youth in with communities diaspora communities with archives • Securing resources and expertise is not through cultural revitalisation easy • Collaboration: connecting community to • Passing knowledge to younger generations collection • Finding money • ICIP national access protocols • Capacity and resources to manage own • Develop a Karajarri business case for collections cultural centre can we establish state or • Funding/resources + lack of younger regional AIATSIS hubs generation involvement Kiwirrkurra Presentation • Challenge of so many different systems/ Issues/Challenges archives/databases that we have to search to find our stories and our materials • For existing collections does AIATSIS’ access and use framework give precedence • Culture is not healthy but finding funding to the copyright holder over community is difficult rules for seeing and using? • Archive material being used for • Permission to access complex. Who decides? revitalisation while old people still available to put it in context + protocols • Can you have perfect permission? • Describing collections following community • Rightful ownership of a recording is being concepts taken by the person who is recording • Locating old recorded material in diverse • Joint copyright? Indigenous owner and creator archive • Why do we respect the legal rights of • Safe community cultural keeping places + people who stole our material more than archives we value our cultural rights? • Lack of knowledge or where collections can • Copyright vs ICIP be found • Copyright doesn’t equal Indigenous knowledge and intellectual property
32 • Getting people to better understand their • Provide media training to young people cultural and intellectual property rights • Develop own cultural agreements with and copyright collecting organisation regarding collection • Complexity of every step it would be great management if national protocols would evolve • Get help from other groups who have been • Appropriate storage of returned media. working through what you are Security. Who holds the media? • There are benefits from learning from and • No safe place to store items staying connected to other communities • How will the materials be stored safely? • Identify further resources other than • How to manage material when no storage AIATSIS: NLA, NFSA, NMA or office? • Keep consistent and detailed metadata for • Secret material on unsafe media (USB) all materials created • Communities are isolated and there’s not • Set up a dedicated male and female public a lot of infrastructure archive • Limited access to collections due to • Wangka Maya Presentation copyright Issues/Challenges • Community using AIATSIS guides before • Reuniting language that is almost extinct AIATSIS makes contact and dealing with family around copyright • Keeping culture strong with young people • Future proofing access/use • Lack of understanding about historical • Access to more information background makes it difficult to identify • How do we work through legacy collections relevant material while still maintaining new work? • Collecting institutions needs to have good Especially with limited resources ways of explaining what they do and how • Maintain relationships with many they do it (changing) language communities • Database development ability to annotate • Managing complex relationships records e.g. Photographs remotely in virtual meetings • Recognition for training and support for indigenous researchers working with Ideas archives • State library of WA can assist with • Complexity of relationships with all organising, scanning and storing materials stakeholders • Archive: make a list of what you want to • Resources and capacity to manage regional record. archive • Keep copyright for story owners Ideas • Set up keeping places • Help Karajarri with language building • Think about how much information • Look after material would be needed in 50 years to find the right people to decide who can see their • Create stronger ties with Karajarri to assist recordings in material use interns and partners to assist • Don’t start collecting material until there is a safe place to keep it • Internships to work on handling or organising materials • Have a workshop in the community to understand copyright • Sharing expertise, ideas about working together 33 • Continue working with elders, share • Peter has responsibility as the creator knowledge • Conflict in communities won’t stop access • Wangka Maya are a great resource for new keep engaging organisations • Community paid for knowledge and • Regional alliances + exchange of best engagement practice and training • Conflict in community one says no, all • Challenge of upgrading old technology say no! archives • Ross needs to attribute cultural knowledge • Consent forms need to reviewed and to appropriate people determined set by upgraded regularly agreement • Find a place where you can store your • Who in the community did land council cultural stuff away from danger give material to? Individuals, organisations • Work with libraries and archives to build or families? skills of local communities to look after • First point of call in the community is their own archives proper authority (e.g. men’s or women’s) • Language revitalisation vs permissions SCENARIO DISCUSSION • Permission systems have changed since Workshop participants also shared their ideas recording was made 30 years ago in response to a number of scenarios where • No consent no agreement they were asked to think about community and • Does Linda know she’s the permission collection based issues concerning ethics, culture person? and rights, access and how they can be resolved. • Right to say no Ethics • Linda may be worried about doing the • Linda may not want language being spoken wrong thing Ingrid won’t have to deal with off country the fallout but Linda will • Is Linda making money from these books? • Misplaced administrative control Does any go back to the community? • AIATSIS needs to go to community to seek • Making your culture public can come with permission consequences Culture and Rights • Empowering aboriginal decision making • Not just recording but also learning • Recording can be colonising • Cultural delegation Indigenous governance • Recognising processes and protection of • Cultural strengthened by practice aboriginal archives • Feel stronger with law and culture • Is Linda allowed to veto use? She may be responsible for recording but not for • Law and culture needs resourcing language • Office works within community driven • Need to be aboriginal rather than fitting in protocols boxes • Ensuring the right people are empowered • Funding favours institutions (centralisation to make decisions of information) Access Issues • Ethics are traditional rules and customs • 20 dancers clients don’t know how to • Include context around how material is consult + most passed away being used 34 • Recognise that time frames can be • Learning with community person to changed last minute understand their role • Exchange of information from community • Aboriginal staff from local community to AIATSIS to include in records • Too much responsibility on community • Budget for exhibition needs to be included managers for community consultation • Lack of information • Principles: ask then follow protocols • Learning with community person to • Give time to enable proper process to give understand their role consent to use content • Staff need to understand the community • Cannot speak for other communities • Cultural laws like avoidance. Who can you • Think and recognise the diversity of talk to the right way? communities • Health danger cultural survival • Understand the pressure and community • How do you know the processes family obligations • Younger people frightened. Need to teach • Budget for exhibition needs to be included law and culture. for community consultation • Ross should go to senior family members • Proper process in obtaining community approval • Different groups not clear • Legacy collections issues of access • No documentation when recordings are made • Representatives from families need to be consulted • Somebody without authority providing/ denying access • Who is going to talk to everyone in the community? Paid role. • Unsafe storage of material • AIATSIS needs to go back to community to • Employing local people in the office obtain access conditions • Complex communication between many • Numerous consultations, not just first parties is the request being explained contact properly? • Find off Peter more information update • Matthew could have contacted on Ingrid’s AIATSIS documentation behalf. Could also try to determine intent of interviewee • Issues of representative from two different language groups • Establishing ownership • Community meeting send invite to all • Content identification community members to attend • Not planning to re-use recording, only • No current contract details for creator language in it. Does this change the situation • Community consultation is needed to obtain permission to put in museum • Succession planning. Capacity building • Recording is the back up (but the focus of • Recording may be part of a larger funding) collection which contains sensitive material • Seek family advice • Edward should check with board • Need for an agreed practice or framework but flexible
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