Towards Sustainable Community Heritage Management and the Role of Archaeology: a Case Study from Western Australia
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Heritage & Society ISSN: 2159-032X (Print) 2159-0338 (Online) Journal homepage: https://www.tandfonline.com/loi/yhso20 Towards Sustainable Community Heritage Management and the Role of Archaeology: A Case Study from Western Australia Myles Mitchell, David R. Guilfoyle, Ron Doc Reynolds & Catherine Morgan To cite this article: Myles Mitchell, David R. Guilfoyle, Ron Doc Reynolds & Catherine Morgan (2013) Towards Sustainable Community Heritage Management and the Role of Archaeology: A Case Study from Western Australia, Heritage & Society, 6:1, 24-45, DOI: 10.1179/2159032X13Z.0000000005 To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1179/2159032X13Z.0000000005 Published online: 18 Jul 2013. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 721 View related articles Citing articles: 6 View citing articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at https://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=yhso20 heritage & society, Vol. 6 No. 1, May, 2013, 24–45 Towards Sustainable Community Heritage Management and the Role of Archaeology: A Case Study from Western Australia Myles Mitchell1, David R. Guilfoyle2, Ron Doc Reynolds3 and Catherine Morgan4 1Australian National University, Canberra, Australia. 2Research Associate, Centre of Excellence in Natural Resource Management, Albany, and Research Associate, Western Australian Museum, Australia. 3Gabbie Kylie Foundation, Esperance, Australia. 4University of Leicester, UK. Abstract This paper explores the challenges and positive outcomes of collabora- tive heritage management programs that maintain a focus on customary protocols and community priorities. A holistic approach to cultural heri- tage management has developed over time in the Esperance region of Western Australia, which situates the local Traditional Owner community at the center of heritage management. The established structure fosters acommunity-basedapproachtoprojectdevelopmentandimplemen- tation and has led to the successful completion of a number of large- scale conservation and management projects within a wide-ranging research and community developmentprogram.Inestablishingthis structure, the program provides a mechanism for engagement and col- laboration with a range of external academic and government programs, while maintaining control in how these external parties operate and with an emphasis on dissolving mainstream power relations. We examine the successes and ongoing challenges in a critical reflection of this program and its implications for the broader field of community-based cultural heritage management. The paper reviews the program with specific reference to the role of archaeology, including the demand by commu- nities and Traditional Owners for participatory, community-oriented archaeologists. © W. S. Maney & Son Ltd 2013 DOI 10.1179/2159032X13Z.0000000005 TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY HERITAGE MANAGEMENT AND THE ROLE OF ARCHAEOLOGY 25 Resumen Este artículo explora los desafíos y resultados positivos obtenidos por los pro- gramas cooperativos de gestión del patrimonio cultural que hacen foco en los protocolos habituales y las prioridades comunitarias. A través del tiempo, se ha desarrollado en la región de Esperance, en el oeste de Australia, un enfoque integral de la gestión del patrimonio cultural que ubica a la comuni- dad local como propietaria tradicional en el centro de la gestión del patrimo- nio cultural. La estructura establecida propicia un enfoque comunitario en el desarrollo e implementación de proyectos y ha conducido a la culminación exitosa de una serie de proyectos de conservación y gestión de gran escala en el marco de un programa de investigación y desarrollo comunitario de amplio alcance. Al establecer esta estructura, el programa brinda un meca- nismo para la vinculación y colaboración con una variedad de programas externos tanto académicos como gubernamentales, al tiempo que retiene el control sobre la forma en que operan estas terceras partes haciendo hincapié en disolver las relaciones de poder convencionales. Examinamos los éxitos y los desafíos continuos a través de una reflexión crítica de este programa y sus consecuencias para el campo más amplio de la gestión comunitaria del patrimonio cultural. El artículo examina el programa con referencia específica al rol de la arqueología, incluyendo la solicitud realizada por las comunidades y los propietarios tradicionales de contar con arqueólogos participativos con orientación comunitaria. Résumé Cet article se penche sur les défis et les résultats positifs des programmes col- laboratifs de gestion du patrimoine culturel qui se concentrent sur protocoles traditionnels et les priorités des communautés. Au fil du temps, une approche holistique de la gestion du patrimoine culturel s’est développée dans la région d’Esperance en Australie occidentale, qui place la communauté-propriétaire traditionnelle locale au centre de la gestion du patrimoine. La structure établie facilite une approche du développement et de la réalisation de projets basée sur la communauté. Elle a permis de mener à bien plusieurs projets de conservation et de gestion d’envergure majeure, au sein d’un pro- gramme de recherche et de développement communautaire de grande dimen- sion. En mettant en place cette structure, le programme fournit un mécanisme d’engagement et de collaboration avec une gamme de programmes académi- ques et gouvernementaux, tout en contrôlant la façon dont ces intervenants externes opèrent et en prenant particulièrement soin de dissoudre les relations de pouvoir dominantes. Nous examinons les succès et les défis en cours dans une réflexion critique sur ce programme et ses implications dans le domaine plus large de la gestion communautaire du patrimoine cul- turel. L’article passe en revue ce programme en s’intéressant en particulier 26 MYLES MITCHELL ET AL. au rôle de l’archéologie et notamment à l’exigence des communautés et des Propriétaires traditionnels de traiter avec des archéologues participatifs et tournés vers la communauté. keywords: archaeology, community archaeology, indigenous, Aboriginal, Australia, cultural heritage, Western Australia, Esperance, Post Colonial archaeology, collaborative research, heritage management Introduction By protecting and respecting the spiritual foundations and restoring the land, we are reconnecting to, and healing, our tribal kinship systems, our families and our Law, our cultural features, places, and landscapes’ (Traditional Owner, Doc Reynolds). Through formalizing a strategic vision, a core set of values, and a series of important partnerships within an operational structure manifest as the Gabbie Kylie Foun- dation (National Trust of Australia – Western Australia), the Esperance Wudjari Traditional Owners of southern Western Australia have embarked on a journey to manage heritage and land into the future, while upholding customary practices and protocols (Figure 1). The ultimate aim in the establishment of the Foundation was to re-establish the power structures within a heritage system that typically positions land managers, archaeologists or other heritage professionals at the center of heritage management, figure 1 Location of Esperance and Gabbie Kylie Foundation projects (2008 to 2012). TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY HERITAGE MANAGEMENT AND THE ROLE OF ARCHAEOLOGY 27 while traditional owners remain at the fringe of decisions and actions affecting their heritage and land (McNiven & Russell, 2005; Smith & Wobst, 2005; Hemming & Rigney, 2010). This paper reviews this program as a working model of Indigenous community-based heritage management, whereby Traditional Owners are central to managing their heritage, with archaeology as a prominent component in achieving community-identified priorities in land and heritage management. The broadest goal of the Gabbie Kylie Foundation is to develop a program where cultural and natural landscapes of the Esperance region are sustainably managed by Traditional Owners. This paper outlines how the Foundation was set up and the steps taken toward this goal, including the challenges that remain. It is presented as an account of the links between this program and the larger movement toward a more socially-responsible (and integrated) archaeology within the broader field of cultural heritage management. We also explore the practical, operational require- ments and challenges faced when having the above-mentioned goal guiding all facets of community engagement, partnership building, research, project development, on-ground heritage management outcomes, and ongoing sustainability. This paper explores some of the reasons underpinning the success of the program as well as some of the challenges that remain. In so doing, we examine how the Gabbie Kylie Foundation (GKF) and this community model can work toward sustainability, and how the lessons learned in this community model may be useful for other pro- grams operating in ‘post-colonial’ contexts. This paper is framed around the problem posed by Hemming and Rigney (2010) who, in writing from the perspective of the Ngarrindjeri Nation of South Australia, call for a restructuring of the power relations that underpin the post-colonial system of heritage management in Australia. They argue that understanding and acknowl- edging the historical construction of ‘contemporary colonizing relations of power’ is critical in planning and implementing partnership programs between Indigenous nations, universities, heritage consultants, business, and governments; and that ‘long-term, Indigenous-driven,