Climate Change, Mining and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge in Australia

Social Inclusion (ISSN: 2183-2803) 2016, Volume 4, Issue 1, Pages 92-101 Doi: 10.17645/si.v4i1.442

Article Climate Change, Mining and Traditional Indigenous Knowledge in Australia

Tony Birch

Moondani Ballak Indigenous Unit, Victoria University, Melbourne, VIC 8001, Australia; E-Mail: [email protected]

Submitted: 4 September 2015 | Accepted: 21 January 2016 | Published: 23 February 2016

Abstract Australia, in common with nations globally, faces an immediate and future environmental and economic challenge as an outcome of climate change. Indigenous communities in Australia, some who live a precarious economic and social existence, are particularly vulnerable to climate change. Impacts are already being experienced through dramatic weather events such as floods and bushfires. Other, more gradual changes, such as rising sea levels in the north of Aus- tralia, will have long-term negative consequences on communities, including the possibility of forced relocation. Cli- mate change is also a historical phenomenon, and Indigenous communities hold a depth of knowledge of climate change and its impact on local ecologies of benefit to the wider community when policies to deal with an increasingly warmer world are considered. Non-Indigenous society must respect this knowledge and facilitate alliances with Indige- nous communities based on a greater recognition of traditional knowledge systems.

Keywords Australia; climate change; indigenous knowledge; interconnection; two-way learning; wellbeing

Issue This article is part of the issue “Social Inclusion and Indigenous Peoples”, edited by Pat Dudgeon (University of Western Australia, Australia), Waikaremoana Waitoki (University of Waikato, New Zealand), Rose LeMay (Wharerātā Group, Canada) and Linda Waimarie Nikora (University of Waikato, New Zealand).

1. Slow Violence the nineteenth century. (Altman, 2009, p. 17)

In Reports from a Wild Country: Ethics for Decolonisa- The history of colonial expansion is a key contributor to tion (2004), Deborah Bird Rose writes that ‘Settler so- climate change (Lewis & Maslin, 2015; Weizman & cieties are built on a dual war: a war against Nature Sheikh, 2015), producing catastrophic economic and and a war against the natives.’ From the early years of social impacts on Indigenous communities. Recent European occupation of Indigenous Country in Austral- scholarship also links climate change to wider concerns ia, both land and the environment have been degraded of human rights and economic and social justice by a multitude of forces underpinning colonization, in- (Green, 2014; Klein, 2014; Nixon, 2011; Shue, 2014). cluding key aspects of agricultural practice (Muir, Greater recognition of the knowledge maintained with- 2014), and mining (Altman & Martin, 2009). Historical- in Indigenous communities relative to localized ecolo- ly, development in Australia has come at the expense gies and the affects of climate change would go some of Indigenous wellbeing to the advantage of a society way to addressing injustice by configuring Indigenous born out of colonial exploitation: people globally as valuable arbiters of change rather than the helpless victims of the First World: Wealth creation for most Australians has been predicated on expropriation of Aboriginal lands, ini- When considering climkleinate change, indigenous tially for agriculture and then also for mining from peoples and marginalized populations warrant par-

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ticular attention. Impacts on their territories and 2015. He labeled the Australian government “public communities are anticipated to be both early and enemy number one” with regard its carbon emissions severe due to their location in vulnerable environ- policy (or lack of it). He also attacked the government ments….Indigenous and marginalized peoples, over an absence of productive negotiations with other however, are not just victims of climate change. nations on climate change (Davey, 2015). This is an Their accumulated knowledge makes them excel- alarming conclusion considering that the renowned lent observers of environmental change and related climate researcher, Professor Will Steffen, of the inde- impacts. (Degawan & Krupnik, 2011) pendent Climate Council of Australia, wrote in the Council’s most recent report, Quantifying the Impact of During the recent United Nations Paris climate change Climate Change on Extreme Heat in Australia, that conference, the Canadian prime minister, Justin Tru- 2013 had been Australia’s hottest year on record; a sit- deau, requested that the formal recognition of Indige- uation, he concluded, that would have been “virtually nous rights be included in the final accord document impossible without climate change” (Steffen, 2015, p. (Prystupa, 2015). Both his, and the position of Indige- 1). While the new Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnball, is nous activists attending the Paris gathering were un- regarded as being somewhat ‘friendlier’ to the envi- dermined by representatives of the United States, the ronment, thus far he has not shifted government policy EU and Australia (amongst others) in order to safe- on climate change. He recently approved the contro- guard against any resultant “legal liabilities” to Indige- versial ‘mega’ Carmichael coal mine in Queensland nous communities (although the specifics of such liabil- (Taylor, 2015b), even though multinational mining ities were not outlined—“Climate talks”, 2015). companies, including BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto are Recalcitrant First World attitudes such as this need “quietly exiting coal” (Grigg, 2015) and its value to the change, and with a sense of urgency. Australian community, in both an economic and envi- Prior to his removal as prime minister of Australia in ronmental sense is heavily contested (Cleary, 2015). September 2015, Tony Abbott had adopted a conserva- Turnball’s position on climate change is also under tive, or even regressive approach to climate change. question due to the Australian government’s refusal to The absence of an assertive policy let alone genuine ac- sign a joint communique at that Paris summit, to phase tion on climate change met strong criticism. The Com- out fossil fuel subsidies (Coorey, 2015). monwealth’s formal statement, presented in its 2015 While Australia’s searing summer heat has histori- energy paper (Australian Government, 2015a), was cally produced catastrophic weather events such as the poorly received by institutions with relevant expertise. Victorian Black Saturday bushfires of 2009, resulting in The chief executive of Australia’s Climate Institute, 173 direct deaths, Steffen reminds us that ‘more Aus- John Connor, noting that the energy paper document- tralians die every year from extreme heat than from ed “the risk Australia’s fossil fuel industry posed in an any type of natural disaster’ (such people, often the el- emissions constrained future’’, concluded that the re- derly and the sick, are likely to die from respiratory ill- port produced no substantial policy to deal with an in- ness and disease, heart failure and other conditions creasingly unstable climate, leaving Connor to conclude bought on by heat exhaustion and dehydration— that the report was dominated by a troubling “fantasy Steffen, 2015, p. 2). Although deaths resulting from of climate ignorance” (Cox, 2015). In a similar criticism, heat associated conditions largely escape the eye of Lenore Taylor, political editor for the Australian arm of media headlines, they represent a strain on general Britain’s Guardian newspaper, commented that in the wellbeing in the community and a prohibitive cost to months prior to the release of the energy paper the the health system. In the future heat exposure will Commonwealth had relied on little more than a “rhe- cause many more deaths than bushfires. If we do need torical smokescreen” to deflect criticism of its inaction reminding, billions of people will live with climate on climate change, observing that government policy change in the future and suffer injustice as a result had been advanced no further in the energy paper it- (Green, 2014; Jeromack, 2014; Shue, 2014). self. She further noted that the Intergenerational Re- Indigenous communities in Australia are particularly port (Australian Government, 2015b), released around vulnerable to a range of impacts of climate change that the same time as the energy paper, and being “sup- threaten the cultural, spiritual, physical and general posedly an economic and planning document for the wellbeing within communities: next 40 years” was “largely silent on the economic consequences of climate change” (Taylor, 2015a). Because land and sea are inextricably linked with The government faced scrutiny at a national and in- Indigenous cultural identities, a changing climate ternational level over its position on climate change threatens ceremony, hunting practices, sacred and environmental policy more generally. The eminent sites, bush tucker and bush medicine, which in turn Australian scientist and Nobel laureate, Peter Doherty, affects law, home, health, education livelihood and criticized the government during an international sym- purpose. (Van Neerven, 2015) posium on sustainability held in Hong Kong earlier in

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Potential disruptions will include restricted access to ness to country itself. The ability to adequately engage traditional land and sacred sites, the destruction of the with Country, to nurture and maintain cultural cere- sites themselves, and threats to traditional food sup- mony for both Elders and the young (Green, King, & plies, which will in-turn deplete health regimes (Green, Morrison, 2009) will become increasingly difficult. In- King, & Morrison, 2009; Stacy & Tran, 2013; Tran, Stre- digenous communities live interdependently with lein, Weir, Stacy, & Dwyer, 2013). What is true for In- country. Sickness, in its holistic cultural, physical and digenous communities in Australia is reflected in com- psychological sense will be acutely felt: munities in the elsewhere, be it rising sea levels affecting Indigenous communities in both the southern A connection with “Country”—a place of ancestry, and northern hemispheres. For instance, the Hope (Ti- identity, language, livelihood and community—is a kigaq) of Alaska, have been witnessing rising sea levels key determinant of health. If community-owned since the 1970s. They now face the consequence of the country becomes “sick” through environmental negative impacts of climate change on the spiritual, so- degradation, climate impacts, or inability of tradi- cial and economic maintenance of the community (Sa- tional owners to fulfil cultural obligations, through kakibara, 2009). A particular injustice suffered by In- the ongoing management and habitation of their digenous people (and the poor more generally), as a land, the people of that land will fell this “sickness” direct result of climate change, is evident in the telling themselves. (Green et al., 2009, p. 1) irony that “ironically and tragically, climate change is being experienced by many indigenous communities 2. Cash over Country that have not participated in the industrial activity that is its primary cause” (Alexander et al., 2011). In addition to the stresses of climate change, Indige- The “slow violence” caused by environmental debil- nous communities across Australia deal with the im- itation, including that wrought by climate change has pacts of large-scale mining, often targeting fossil fuels, inflicted harm on the disadvantaged, including Indige- particularly coal. The extraction technologies them- nous communities, by wealthier nations and their acts selves burn excessive amounts of petroleum-based of collective irresponsibility: fossil fuels, releasing additional carbon into the atmos- phere (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2015). Austral- The environmentalism of the poor is frequently ia’s reliance on coal, as both an export mineral and in catalyzed by resource Imperialism inflicted on the the delivery of a domestic energy supply adds signifi- global South to maintain the unsustainable appe- cantly to global carbon emissions. In 2013, the envi- tites of rich-country citizens and, increasingly, of ronmental researcher and activist, Bill McKibben (quot- urban middle—classes in the global South itself ing a Climate Council of Australia report), wrote that (Nixon, 2011, p. 17). Australia’s projected coal exports would soon “produce 30% of the carbon needed to push global warming be- The precarious socio-economic status of Indigenous yond two degrees” (McKibben, 2013, p. 7). He con- communities within Australia will become exacerbated cluded that by as early as 2020 “the country’s coal under climate change, considering that many commu- burnt abroad [as an export mineral] will be producing nities live in a perilous state of disadvantage. While the three times as much CO2 as all the country’s cars and majority of Australians escaped the ravages of the factories and homes” (McKibben, 2013, p. 7). The poli- global financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, Indigenous cy appears to make little economic sense, considering communities then and now, exist within a cycle of pov- that in 2015 the global price of coal is two-thirds below erty. In 2013 the United Nations ranked Australia sec- the peak price of 2011. The market outcome appears ond in the world behind only Norway in its annual Hu- grim for the industry: “dedicated coal producers in Aus- man Development Index, a key indicator of physical tralia like New Hope and Whitehaven have seen their and social well-being (United Nations, 2013). Unfortu- market value slashed by 70−80% over the past five nately, had the Index been applied to Indigenous peo- years” (Cleary, 2015, p. 24). It may though make short- ple in Australia alone, it is estimated that the ranking term (and short-sighted) political sense, as both the cur- would dramatically slip down the “happiness” ladder to rent government and the Labor Opposition are aware 122nd place (Georgatos, 2015). that mining generally, and coal in particular, is largely It is widely accepted by scientists that an increase in conducted in “swing” or conservative electorates. The temperature of around two degrees Celsius will cause long-term cost of electoral expediency will be high: not only widespread death as a direct result of illnesses and diseases attributed to climate change, but severe Ultimately, Australian state power has been sacri- mental illness and deep psychological scaring (Chris- ficed to the power of a single, polluting, damaging, toff, 2014; Hamilton, 2013; Kolbert, 2014). Indigenous dying industry, at the cost of every basic task of the people, particularly those living outside major urban modern state. This cannot last. (Schlosberg, 2015, centers, will additionally face the consequence of sick- p. 11)

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Many of the same conservative political electorates are land, culture and communities for decades”, with a poor also home to Indigenous communities who regularly record in not only environmental maintenance, but in negotiate mining agreements, although negotiation in failing to deliver genuine social and economic benefits to most cases must be understood as a limited concept. If Indigenous communities (Telford, 2014, p. 1). a mining venture is opposed by Indigenous people, but Indigenous activists are concerned that communi- supported by government, mining takes precedent ties will become economically and culturally disadvan- over Indigenous property rights, even when land is taged further if the desire for fossil fuel extraction in “protected” by the Native Title Act 1993—Cwlth (Alt- Australia continues unabated (which appears to be the man, 2009, p.18). While mining is promoted as the clear policy of the current government—Feik, 2015). economic saviour of Indigenous communities by min- Government support of the mining industry has also ing companies themselves, government, and occasion- historically restricted Indigenous access to traditional al Indigenous spokespeople, the issue is complicated, lands, including vital totemic and sacred sites (Altman, as the long-term advantages of mining as a means of 2009, p. 24). As an outcome of Australia’s most recent delivering economic empowerment is questionable: mining ‘boom’ in Australia, Indigenous people are again being extracted from Country (Green, 2014; McQuire, The value of the minerals sector to Australian pros- 2015). Relationships between government and mining perity is in stark contrast to the economic poverty companies can produce adverse outcome for Indigenous experienced by many Indigenous Australi- communities opposing mining when “the state operates ans….Indigenous poverty, however, appears to be as a ‘broker state’”, negotiating and, where necessary, only minimally ameliorated by such agreements. legislating for the benefit of mining at the expense of In- (Scambary, 2013, p. 1) digenous people (Altman, 2009, p. 5). Successful mining applications in Western Australia In an extensive study of the history of mining in Aus- have been dependent on the deregistration of a sacred tralia and its relationship to Indigenous communities, sites (Garty, 2015), a situation that can not occur with- Benedict Scambary found that negotiated agreements out legislative support from government. An expert in between Indigenous communities and mining compa- Human Geography at Curtin University in Western Aus- nies “favour mainstream economic development”, of- tralia, Todd Jones, estimates that ‘more than 3,000 Ab- ten at the expense of Indigenous communities. Rela- original sites have lost registration status’ in recent tionships remained “fraught” while “mining years (Jones, 2015), including many sites deemed nec- agreements of themselves are not creating sustainable essary for protection against mining under the Aborigi- economic futures for Indigenous people” (Scambary, nal Heritage Act, first legislated in 1972 (Laurie, 2015). 2013, pp. 231-232). The economic pact between gov- Meanwhile, in Queensland, the state Labor govern- ernment and mining companies also comes at the ex- ment is currently preparing to extinguish Native Title pense and self-determination and autonomy within In- altogether to ensure that the proposed Carmichael coal digenous communities: mine can proceed without threat of a successful legal challenge by Indigenous groups (Australian Broadcast- The Australian state—that is committed to econom- ing Commission, 2015). ic liberalism in such processes—seems to voracious- The potential economic benefit in the form of em- ly pursuing a strategy to further disempower Indig- ployment and mining royalty payments, as an outcome enous people in an extremely uneven power of mining are tempting, even with sacred Country itself relationship. (Altman, 2009, p.18) under threat. Royalties are often promoted to Indige- nous communities as the only means of material sur- Combined concerns over climate change and the ineq- vival. The potential for royalties and other benefits are uities embedded in historical relationships between In- also negotiated between Indigenous groups and mining digenous communities and mining companies has mo- companies on an unequal playing field, as the “sub- bilized a new generation of Indigenous activists. Amelia stantial structural power and resource imbalances dis- Telford, a Bundjalung woman (referring to her Indige- advantage the Aboriginal parties in negotiations” (Mar- nous nation and Country), was recently announced at tin, 2009, p. 100). When communities do choose the Young Conservationist of the Year by the Australian mining, choice becomes a relative concept: Geographic Society (Cormack, 2015). She is also a member of both the Australian Youth Climate Coalition, The absence of support for alternative livelihood and SEED, an Indigenous-led environmental organization options has contributed too, with Indigenous com- she co-founded. Telford, a “self-identified greenie” munities often facing the choice between mining or points to the relationship between mining companies welfare dependence—and increasingly even wel- and Indigenous communities to support her additional fare is being withdrawn if the mining option is not concerns about climate change. “The fossil fuel indus- taken up. (Altman, 2009, p. 18) try”, she writes, “has been putting stress on Aboriginal

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Some communities caught in such a bind are classed as done since their responsibility is to care for that coun- “remote” within Australia, although the description has try for future generations” (Muir, 2012, p. 6). no cultural meaning in an Indigenous sense. In 2007 It is rarely appreciated by the wider Australian the John Howard led conservative government an- community that Indigenous people confront burden- nounced an “intervention” into the Northern Territory some layers of responsibility when considering the (where it has legal jurisdiction), a policy shift that re- broad consequences of a proposed mining lease. An sulted in enforced levels of social and economic control onerous cultural weight accompanies the consideration of Indigenous communities. (For a discussion of the In- of the sacred-spiritual aspects of Country on the one tervention and its aftermath see Scott & Heiss, 2015). hand, and the potential economic benefit to be gained Not only was the Intervention dependent on the de- in agreeing to mining on the other. When Indigenous monization of Indigenous communities in the media, traditional owners make important decisions regarding the Commonwealth was required to suspect the Racial protection and maintenance of Country, they do so Discrimination Act (RDA) in order for it to discriminate under duress, considering that their people are often directly against Indigenous people. (See McMullen, suffering immediate and endemic social and economic 2015, for an informed summary). disadvantage. The extraction of fossil fuels from Indig- The Indigenous legal scholar, Professor Larissa Beh- enous land ultimately becomes a major contributor to rendt reminds that what the Commonwealth govern- global warming. A policy initiative that would engage ment described as a “national emergency” was the with Indigenous people more ethically and equally outcome of the neglect of the same Indigenous com- would be to materially reward communities for their munities for over thirty years (Behrendt, 2015, p. 64). continued protection of Country at the expense of en- State and Commonwealth governments had previously vironmentally harmful forms of mining. It makes eco- been made aware of a greater need for the care of In- nomic and environmental sense, in addition to recog- digenous children through major reports researched nizing the rights of Indigenous people, that and produced by Indigenous scholars (Graham, 2015). communities be materially compensated when they The Northern Territory Intervention has impacted be- reach decisions based upon the spiritual and cultural yond the Northern Territory. If it is historically that value of Country. Rather than suffer further disad- case that ‘even who and what Aboriginal people con- vantage for protecting the environment (thus produc- sider themselves to be has been affected by the repre- ing a net benefit for the global community), Indigenous sentations of Aboriginality by others (Merlan, quoted communities should be rewarded as means of securing in Martin, 2009, p. 113) then the Intervention has pro- an economic and cultural future. duced a nationwide definition of Indigenous inadequa- cy, and calls for a return paternalistic controls by the 3. Two-Way Learning? state. Indigenous communities across Australia have been neglected by successive state and Common- Prior to the arrival of the British in Australia approxi- wealth governments, leaving the communities with lit- mately 300 Indigenous nations co-existed for at least tle or non-existent economic and cultural autonomy 50,000 years “dealing with climate and ecosystem whenever mining leases are being negotiated (Scamba- change” (Green & Minchen, 2014, p. 1). Intricate levels ry, 2013). of knowledge of both the environment and related The complexities faced by a desperate community, cosmologies continue to be held within Indigenous having to consider cash-over-Country, produce damag- communities, including the consequences of the sea ing tensions. A recent dispute involving a proposed gas- rise that occurred at the end of the Ice Age, between 8 mining leases being granted at James Price Point, near to 10,000 years ago (Nunn & Reid, 2015; Upton, 2015); Broome in Western Australia, highlighted the struggles the relationship between Indigenous storytelling, faced by Indigenous people making decisions about the knowledge retention and astronomy (Hamacher, viability of community. The site of the proposed ven- 2014); and the scientific methodology underpinning ture, on Goolarabooloo land, caused a rift between firestick farming, sustainable forms of hunting, care for those who believe the mine would “deliver economic Country, and traditional agricultural and fishing tech- benefits that would secure the welfare of future gen- niques (Gammage, 2011; Pascoe, 2014; Presland, erations” and others in the community who argued 2008). A gradual engagement with the richness of such that Indigenous people should not be forced to make a knowledge is creating partnerships between Indige- choice between cultural and socio/economic worth; nous people, the scientific and broader intellectual “health, education and welfare service are a basic right community, in realization of the potential of such for all Australians and should not be contingent upon knowledge. giving up one’s land and culture” (Muir, 2012, p. 6). Through modes of intellectual practice Indigenous Amongst those opposing the gas mine, “senior people offer other societies the opportunity to better Goolarabooloo Traditional Owners categorically state engage with the current manifestation of climate that it [the proposed mine] is a deal that cannot be change in innovative ways. There is also an associated

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moral imperative at stake (Broome, 2012; Klein, 2014; Many traditional owners express their attachment Shue, 2014), as threats to the wellbeing and livelihood to country through their unique ecologies, and the of Indigenous communities undermine the vitality and discipline of ecology’s focus on relationships links to survival of communities themselves. Important cultural the holistic language of country. (Weir, 2015, p. 1) knowledge could also be lost, undermining the potential of future intellectual relationships between Indige- In the absence of an ethical framework able to facili- nous and non-Indigenous society (Bird Rose, 2004). tate productive relationships, the outcome for Indige- Whether through the degrading of Indigenous sacred nous people will most often be of negative value. The and educational sites as an outcome of mining (dis- “intersubjective exchange”, the working relationship, cussed above), the wanton vandalism of sacred sites enacted within an unstated social contract—“you rec- (Birch, 2010), or additional forced closures of, and gov- ognise my worth, I recognise yours”—has been de- ernment ‘interventions’ in Indigenous communities scribed by one activist/researcher as an exercise in (Scott & Heiss, 2015), the destruction of physical, “moral reciprocity” (Vincent, 2012, p. 2). An important ephemeral and spiritual culture denies Indigenous peo- and cautionary caveat hovering over such exchanges is ple access to ongoing customary practice. A responsibil- that Indigenous knowledge cannot be sifted through by ity to Country forms the basis of a dynamic and ever- outsiders for choice: “Indigenous knowledge is not evolving engagement with land and whatever changes simply a collection of facts, but a way of life” (Muller, may be required to adapt to shifts in the local ecology. 2015, p. 59). And while Traditional Ecological Knowledge Both within Australia, and globally, Indigenous (TEK) is increasingly valued by researchers, it has also communities have a key role to play in adapting to cli- become something of a “buzzword”. Indigenous schol- mate change (Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact [AIPP], ars in North America, for example, have noted that the 2015; Chief, Daigle, Lynn, & Whyte, 2014; Green, Niall, wealthy, including some in the environmental move- & Morrison, 2012). The discipline of Anthropology, ment, selectively covet aspects of TEK “to solve their sometimes positioned as the enemy of Indigenous own crises”: communities (Cowlishaw, 2015), has increasingly rec- ognized the intellectual value of exploring concepts When our knowledge becomes a commodity it can such as deep-time archaeology and climate ethnogra- be used at will by the power structures of the dom- phy within Indigenous communities. The potential inant society to support existing doctrines and the benefits to communities beyond Indigenous peoples status quo. It can be appropriated, marginalized may substantial, such as an attempt to “re-situate the and even used against us. (Simpson, 2001) human in ecological terms…within an Indigenous philosophical ecology” (Bird Rose, 2005, p. 295). Research- Unfortunately, others within the scientific, economic ers are also currently exploring the degree to which and environmental bodies continue to have little inter- “place-based peoples observe, perceive and respond to est in either TEK or the potential benefits of two-way the local effects of global climate change”, enriching knowledge exchanges. While Indigenous traditions re- localized knowledge systems best equipped to deal main “of little value in a world based on the oppression with ecological shifts as an outcome of climate change of whole nations of people and the destructive exploi- (Crate, 2011, p. 179). Engaging with Indigenous people tation of natural resources” (Wilson, 2004, p. 360) more directly and inclusively also provides community these attitudes will prevail in some quarters, while In- members the opportunity to voice concerns about the digenous people will continue to be treated as “passive multitude of threats to health and wellbeing that cli- and helpless at best, and obstructionist and destructive mate change presents (Green, Niall, & Morrison, 2012). at worse … in contemporary discussion of develop- If relationships between Indigenous and non- ment, conservation, indigenous rights and indigenous Indigenous communities are to prosper the repository knowledge” (Salick & Byg, 2007, p. 4). Such narrow- of intellectual wealth held by Indigenous people must minded thinking refuses to engage with the potential be engaged with in an equitable manner, rather than it value offered by TEK. Human society has experienced become an exercise in “cherry-picking” by outside exchanges in climate in the past, and the planet has peri- perts with little understanding and respect for the po- odically been confronted with catastrophic change to tential of a genuine exchange, such as through the both the ecology and human and nonhuman life. Indig- concept of “two-way leaning” (Muller, 2015). Whether enous communities have been at the forefront of deal- assessing general wellbeing, connection to country, ing with, and adapting to climate change in the past, knowledge of ecology, the environment and climate, offering an opportunity to face the challenge of con- storytelling—the production of a culturally instructive temporary climate change in innovative ways: narrative—is central to the maintenance and dissemi- nation of Indigenous knowledge (Sakakibara, 2009). It Indigenous peoples interpret and react to climate is also an example of the holistic philosophies binding change impacts in creative ways, drawing on tradi- Indigenous people to country: tional knowledge as we as new technologies to find

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solutions, which may help society at large to cope one takes risks and becomes vulnerable. But this is with impending change. (Salick & Byg, 2007, p. 4) also a fertile stance: one’s own ground can become destabilized. In open dialogue one holds oneself In Australia Indigenous communities are experiencing available to be surprised, to be challenged and be the impacts of climate change, in the form of bush-fires changed. (Bird Rose, 2015, p. 128) and drought in some areas of the country, and “warming temperatures, sea level rise, different rain patterns An expectation of an informed engagement on climate [and] more and stronger cyclones, floods and storms” change with Indigenous communities is being voiced in others (Stacy & Tran, 2013, p. 5). Some communities, globally. For instance, In Aotearoa (New Zealand) Mao- due to their isolated location, are affected by dramatic ri have called for not only recognition of traditional weather events to a degree that most communities ex- knowledge, but a participatory role in approaches and perience only rarely (Tran et al., 2013). With infrastruc- policies devised to deal with environmental policy gen- ture being poor in many Indigenous communities, in- erally and climate change specifically (Jones, Bennett, cluding an absence of decent drainage, proper Keating, & Blaiklock, 2014). It is a role that necessitates emergency shelters, inadequate transport and roads due recognition of Maori not only as First Peoples, but and a lack of suitable medical facilities, the health, so- the holders of first knowledge. In northern America, cial and economic aftershocks of an extreme weather particularly in Canada, where TEK is taught within both events devastate communities in both immediately Indigenous communities and the academic classroom. A and long-term. To suggest that these communities are call for the formal recognition of TEK by Indigenous subsequently neglected by government is no over- scholars, activists, and communities is accompanied by statement. Following the severe floods in the Northern understandable hesitancy and concern, not least of all Territory in early 2015, one journalist was left asking due to the structural and governmental contradictions the question, “Why don’t Australians care about the that simultaneously debilitate Indigenous communities. lives of Aboriginal people?” when it was revealed that The Canadian experience offers a cautionary tale Indigenous communities had been the last to be of- for Indigenous people globally, particularly in Australia, fered shelter during the flood, and were forced to wait where social and economic disadvantage often mirror for a longer period of time to have the damage caused the North American experience. The Canadian Indige- by the flood repaired (Sinclair, 2015, p. 1). nous scholar, Waziyatawin Angela Wilson, commented a decade ago that ‘before knowledge of these ways of 4. Conclusion being and interacting with the world can be shared…we must first work on recovering these tradi- Researchers in Indigenous wellbeing conclude that for tions among our own populations’ (Wilson, 2004, pp. communities to be equitably engaged in future a holis- 361-362). A second Indigenous scholar from Canada, tic approach toward climate change must be imple- Leanne Simpson warms that collaboration with outsid- mented within both environmental and health policies. ers can result in the dilution of TEK, undermining its If this does not occur the socio-health and economic original objective as an anti-colonial strategy: gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Australia will certainly widen (Green & Minchen, 2014). The depoliticizing of Indigenous Peoples and TEK Additionally, if relevant institutions, including govern- serves to make the discussion of TEK more palata- ment, fail to engage with Indigenous people, climate ble to scientists by sanitizing it of the ugliness of change policy initiatives remain inadequate. The well- colonization and injustice, so scientists can poten- being of Indigenous people in Australia is depended on tially engage with the knowledge but not the peo- the maintenance and care of Country. White Australia ple who own and live that knowledge (Simpson, must give greater recognition to this need. In return, 2004, p. 376). through the process of genuine exchange it could become the beneficiary of a new way of seeing. New ide- The shift in mindset required to produce meaningful as, dialogues and relationships present a challenge be- and valuable interactions between Indigenous and yond a shift in economic and environmental thinking non-Indigenous people in Australia is perhaps the ulti- and innovative policy-making. Deborah Bird Rose be- mate challenge to the nation. Key thinkers in the area, lieves that White Australia is suffering an “ethical pa- such as Bird Rose, ask that non-Indigenous people ralysis” with regard to both the environment and rela- begin a conversation that respects Indigenous self- tionships with Indigenous communities (Bird Rose, determination while considering the value of relation- 2013, p. 2). She offers an alternative strategy of com- ships built on “connection” rather than “unity” (Bird munication, a dialogue of openness, rich with both risk Rose, 2013, p.5). An additional shift in the individual and benefit: and collective psyche in Australia is also needed if the impacts of climate change are to be mitigated. From a To be open is to hold one’s self available to others: philosophical and intellectual perspective, “we need to

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spark our moral imagination” (Klein, & Cave, 2015, p. Bird Rose, D. (2015). Dialogue. In K. Gibson, D. Bird 5). Serious climate action in Australia will continue to Rose, & R. Fincher (Eds.), Manifesto for living in the be piece-meal, fragmented and subject to unstable po- Anthropocene (pp. 271-273). Brooklyn: Punctum litical whims in the absence of a fundamental shift in Books. our relationship with the both each other and the envi- Broome, J. (2012). Climate matters: Ethics in a warming ronment. world. New York: W.W. Norton and Company. Chief, K., Daigle, J., Lynn, K., & Whyte, K. P. (2014). In- Acknowledgments digenous experiences in the U.S. with climate change and environmental stewardship in the An- I wish to recognize my appreciation of discussions that thropocene. In USDA Forest Service (RMRS-P-71, pp. have assisted me greatly in completing this essay. My 161-176). Washington: USDA Forest Service. thanks, therefore, go to Sara Wills, Chris Healy, Stephen Christoff, P. (Ed.). (2014). Four degrees of global warm- Muecke, Deborah Bird Rose and Michael Davis. ing: Australia in a hot world. London: Routledge. Cleary, P. (2015). Coal crash: What it means for Austral- Conflict of Interests ia. The Monthly. Coorey, P. (2015). UN Climate Conference 2015: Revolt The author declares no conflict of interests. sparks backdown on fossil fuel phase out. Retrieved from www.afr.com References Cormack, L. (2015). Young conservationist of the year. Retrieved from http://www.smh.com.au Alexander, C., Bynum, N., Johnson, E., King, U., Cowlishaw, G. (2015). Friend or foe? Anthropology’s Mustonen, T., Neofotis, P., . . . Weeks, B. (2011). encounter with aborigines. Inside Story. Retrieved Linking indigenous and scientific knowledge of cli- from http://insidestory.org.au mate change. BioScience, Vol. 61 No 6, 477-484. Cox, L. (2015). Energy paper “willfully deluded” on cli- Altman, J. (2009). Indigenous communities, miners and mate change. Age. Retrieved from www.theage. the state in Australia. In J. Altman & D. Martin com.au (Eds.), Power, culture, economy: Indigenous Austral- Crate, S. (2011). Climate and Culture: Anthropology in ians and mining (pp. 17-49). Canberra: ANU e press. the Era of Contemporary Climate Change. Annual Altman, J., & Martin, D. (Eds.). (2009). Power, culture, Review of Anthropology, 40, 175-194. economy: Indigenous Australians and mining (pp. Davey, M. (2015). Australia “public enemy number 17-49). Canberra: ANU e press. one” of UN climate talks, says Nobel laureate. The Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact. (2015). Asia Report and Guardian. Retrieved from www.theguardian.com Indigenous Peoples. AIPP Printing Press Co. Degawan, M., & Krupnik, I. (2011). Indigenous peoples, Australian Broadcasting Commission. (2015). Carmi- marginalized populations and climate change: Vul- chael coal mine: Coordinator-general proposes ex- nerability, adaptation and traditional knowledge. tinguishing native title over key mining property. Workshop proceedings, 19-21 July 2011, Mexico Retrieved from www.abc.net.au/news City, Mexico. Australian Government. (2015a). Energy white paper. Feik, N. (2015). Dishonesty is the worst policy. The Canberra: Department of Industry and Science. Re- Monthly Blogs. Retrieved from www.themonthly. trieved from ewp.industry.gov.au com Australian Government. (2015b). 2015 intergenera- Gammage, B. (2011). The biggest estate on earth: How tional report. Canberra: The Treasury. Retrieved aborigines made Australia. Crows Nest: Allen & from www.treasury.gov.au Unwin. Behrendt, L. (2015). The dialogue of intervention. In R. Garty, L. (2015). Traditional owners in WA to launch Scott & A. Heiss (Eds.), The intervention: An anthol- class action over deregistration of sacred sites. Re- ogy (pp. 64-74). Salisbury South: Griffen Press. trieved from www.abc.net.au Birch, T. (2010). Nothing has changed: The making and Georgatos, G. (2015). Quality of life for Australians 2nd unmaking of Koori culture. In Meanjin anthology only to Norway, but for First Peoples 132nd. The (pp. 107-118). Melbourne. Melbourne University Stringer. Retrieved from http://thestringer.com.au Press. Graham, C. (2015). Bad aunty: seven years on, how Bird Rose, D. (2004). Reports from a wild country. Ken- ABC lateline sparked the racist NT intervention. Re- sington: University of New South Wales Press. trieved from http://newmatilda.com Bird Rose, D. (2005). An indigenous philosophical ecol- Green, K. (2014). Bringing social justice in from the cold ogy: Situating the human. The Australian Journal of as we get closer to a global climate change deal. Anthropology, 16(3), 294-305. The Conversation. Retrieved from www.theconver Bird Rose, D. (2013). Slowly—Writing into the Anthro- sation.com pocene. TEXT, 20, 1-14. Green, D., & Minchen, L. (2014). Living on climate-

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About the Author Dr. Tony Birch Tony Birch is the inaugural Bruce MacGuinness Research Fellow in the Moondani Academic Unit at Victoria University, in Melbourne Australia. He is both a researcher and fiction writer. His books include Shadowboxing (2006), Father’s Day (2009), Blood (2011), The Promise (2014) and Ghost River (2015).

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