Final Report
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final report knowledge for managing Australian landscapes Kantri is for Laif (Country is for Life) A Strategy for the Promotion of Indigenous Knowledge and the Development of Indigenous Livelihoods on the Remote north Australian Indigenous Estate. A Land & Water Australia, CRC-TSM and NAILSMA Project Initiative Published by Land & Water Australia Product Code PN30198 Postal address GPO Box 2182, Canberra ACT 2601 Office location Level 1, The Phoenix 86 Northbourne Avenue, Braddon ACT 2612 Telephone 02 6263 6000 Email [email protected] Internet www.lwa.gov.au © Commonwealth of Australia, July 2009 Disclaimer The information contained in this publication is intended for general use, to assist public knowledge and discussion and to help improve the sustainable management of land, water and vegetation. It includes general statements based on scientific research. Readers are advised and need to be aware that this information may be incomplete or unsuitable for use in specific situations. Before taking any action or decision based on the information in this publication, readers should seek expert professional, scientific and technical advice and form their own view of the applicability and correctness of the information. To the extent permitted by law, the Commonwealth of Australia, Land & Water Australia (including its employees and consultants), and the authors of this publication do not assume liability of any kind whatsoever resulting from any person’s use or reliance upon the content of this publication. Kantri is for Laif (Country is for Life) Na‐ja narnu‐yuwa narnu‐walkurra barra, wirrimalaru, barni‐wardimantha, Barni‐ngalngandaya, nakari wabarrangu li‐wankala, li‐ngambalanga kuku, li‐ngambalanga murimuri, li‐ngambalanga ngabuji, li‐ngambalanga kardirdi kalu‐kanthaninya na‐ja narnu‐yuwa, jiwini awarala, anthaa yurrngumantha barra. Nyirra‐nyngkarriya! Nyirru‐linginmaya! Yurrngumantha. Barni‐ndaya winarrku! This Law is important, it is powerful, don’t break it, don’t be ignorant of it, it is from the past, from the old people, our mothers’ mothers’ brothers, our fathers’ fathers, our fathers’ mothers and our mothers’ brothers, they carried this Law, this Law is in the country and the sea for all time. Listen to it! Remember it! It is for all time. Do not leave it behind as some kind of rubbish. (Dinah Norman Marrngawi and Annie Karrakayn in Bradley et al 2005:43). Report Prepared by NAILSMA for Land and Water Australia 31 March 2007 Acknowledgements and Citation Information Indigenous people living in northern Australia have identified a need to educate government and non‐government agencies as to the value of Indigenous Knowledge and the many threats to that knowledge base they confront on an everyday basis. Their concerns have informed this research from start to finish and they have clearly indicated that while it is important to identify issues it is more important to offer solutions. Many organisations have also contributed to this process. Land and Water Australia (LWA) has provided substantial project funding for research, publication and promotion, while the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Savannas Management (CRC‐TSM) has supplied administrative and other logistical support. The Christensen Fund (TCF) has also assisted financially toward the conduct of On Country Forums. The North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA) has undertaken research and consultation as well as the authorship of this and other related documents. Without the support and access to networks provided by each of the alliance partners (see Logos below) this undertaking would not have been possible. Just as significantly, while any errors or misrepresentations in this text remain the responsibility of the author, any successful outcomes must be attributed to the advice and guidance of Traditional Owners too numerous to mention individually here. Thanks must also go to NAILSMA staff for their support and feedback. Principal Investigator Project Officer Joe Morrison, Executive Officer NAILSMA Stephen Johnson, Project Officer NAILSMA Graphic Design and Artwork Special thanks to Leigh Harris at Ingeous Studios who has laboured under difficult circumstances to produce an outstanding ʹlookʹ and has also provided invaluable advice in regards to the structure and content of the Report and accompanying Strategy. Artwork by Leigh Brothers, Darwin, N.T. Citation Johnson, S. (2007) Kantri is for Laif: a Strategy for the Promotion of Indigenous Knowledge and the Development of Indigenous Livelihoods on the Remote north Australian Indigenous Estate. A LWA, CRC‐TSM and NAILSMA Project Initiative Referencing References cited throughout this document, unless otherwise identified in the text, may be found in Appendix A – Literature Review and Annotated Bibliography – of this Report. 2 Project Terms of Reference Support and funding for this project has come primarily from Land and Water Australia (LWA) and the Cooperative Research Centre for Tropical Savannas Management (CRC‐TSM). Research, consultation and authorship of the Strategy and other related documents were undertaken by the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA). The overall project objective was to devise and document ‘a strategy for the conservation and application of Indigenous Knowledge across northern Australia’. However, while this investment represents an acknowledgement of the valuable contribution IK makes to natural resource management (NRM), the character of that contribution is still poorly understood. For this and many other reasons, Aboriginal involvement and input into decision‐making processes has been sadly lacking to date. The current project grew out of these concerns with contributing factors broken down as follows: • Minimal Indigenous inclusion in NRM planning and decision making processes; • Limited or ineffectual consultation with interested Indigenous groups; • Limited understanding of IK and Indigenous terms of reference (ITR); • The undervaluation of IK contributions to effective land and sea management; • A lack of coordinated effort to provide long term and appropriate investment in IK; • A failure to meet documented commitments to IK support; • The rapid loss of language and knowledge across northern Australia; • A lack of appropriate data storage models and adequate IP protection measures; In summary this research project seeks strategic solutions to these issues through: • Documenting the priority needs and aspirations of traditional owners for IK; • Enquiring into general support needs for IK informed on country activities; • Identifying impediments to engagement of IK in wider NRM planning and process; • A review and assessment of other Australian and International models; • A review of data base technology and IP protection; • Developing a strategy for the conservation and application of IK; • Disseminating research findings across a wide range of sectoral groups; • The design of an effective communication strategy for IK promotion and investment; The Indigenous Knowledge project is innovative in many respects. In the first instance, it represents a substantial investment in IK on the part of Land and Water Australia (LWA. In the second, project terms of reference clearly identify the need for an Indigenous designed and driven enquiry with a specific IK focus. These innovations demonstrate a concerted effort on behalf of LWA to understand Indigenous Knowledge in Indigenous terms and thus engage effectively with traditional owners and the knowledge they possess. This approach is, in itself, a validation of Aboriginal land and sea management principles and practices as they are applied across northern Australia. Such investment is timely given immediate threats to the integrity and continuity of IK in contemporary contexts. This initiative represents the first time that a coordinated and strategic attempt to provide appropriate support for IK has been undertaken. However, in line with the project objectives outlined above, the Strategy does not seek to define or document Indigenous Knowledge itself. Instead, the intention is to articulate the interests and aspirations of traditional owners, as they express them, with those of the wider NRM community. Accordingly, the issues identified and solutions provided in this document have come from Aboriginal people themselves, although on numerous occasions this process has been undertaken in close consultation and negotiation with other interested parties. 3 Table of Contents INTRODUCTION ..........................................................................................................................................6 1.1 What is Indigenous Knowledge?................................................................................................6 1.2 Methods and Methodology.........................................................................................................8 BACKGROUND ...........................................................................................................................................11 2.1 History............................................................................................................................................11 2.2 Demography ..................................................................................................................................11 BENEFITS OF IK ..........................................................................................................................................14