Cultural flows LITERATURE REVIEW For First Nations People, water is a sacred source of life. The natural flow of water sustains aquatic ecosystems that are central to our spirituality, our social and cultural economy and wellbeing. The rivers are the veins of Country, carrying water to sustain all parts of our sacred landscape. The wetlands are the kidneys, filtering the water as it passes through the land. First Nations Peoples have rights and a moral obligation to care for water under their law and customs. These obligations connect across communities and language groups, extending to downstream communities, throughout catchments and over connected aquifer and groundwater systems. The project partners acknowledge all of the Traditional Owners across Australia who care for the waterways that sustain our Country. We pay deepest respects to their Ancestors and Elders who have protected and maintained water resources for thousands of years, and passed on the knowledge, stories and lessons through the generations. We acknowledge the nations of Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations and Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations who continue to fight for their inherent right to water, and who had a pivotal role in creating and directing the National Cultural Flows Research Project. We thank the Murrawarri and Nari Nari Nations who worked tirelessly as part of the research team to develop the cultural flows assessment approaches for this project. This guide has been prepared for the Cultural Flows Planning and Research Committee as part of the National Cultural Flows Research Project, developed by and for First Nations with the aim of helping to embed First Nations’ water allocations in Australia’s water management framework. Funding for the Research Project has been generously provided by the Murray Darling Basin Authority, the Commonwealth Environmental Water Office, the National Water Initiative, and the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. Report authored by Australian Cultural Heritage Management Pty Ltd. © Murray Lower Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations (MLDRIN), Northern Basin Aboriginal Nations (NBAN) & North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA) 2014. This work is copyright. First Nations across Australia are permitted to reproduce and adapt this guide to assist them to undertake cultural flow assessments on their Country. Unless permitted under the Copyright Act 1968 (Cwlth), no part may be reproduced for any other purpose without prior written permission from MLDRIN, NBAN and NAILSMA. Ownership of the intellectual property rights of ethnographic information provided by Aboriginal people remains the property of those named persons. Ownership of primary materials created in the course of the research remains the property of Australian Cultural Heritage Management Pty Ltd. Cover photo: Arthur Mostead – Lake Littra Wetland, Chowilla National Park, courtesy of Murray-Darling Basin Authority. Artwork ‘Cultural flows’ by Luke Penrith. Cover graphic design by Mazart Design Studio. Disclaimer: The professional advice and opinions contained in this report are those of the consultants, Australian Cultural Heritage Management Pty Ltd, and do not represent the opinions and policies of any third party. The professional advice and opinions contained in this report do not constitute legal advice. This publication may be of assistance to you but MLDRIN, NBAN and NAILSMA and their agents do not guarantee that the publication is without flaw of any kind or is wholly appropriate for your particular purposes and therefore disclaims all liability for any error, loss or other consequence which may arise from you relying on any information in this publication. Spatial data captured by Australian Cultural Heritage Management Pty Ltd in this report for any newly recorded sites has been obtained by using hand held or differential GPS units using the GDA94 co-ordinate system. National Cultural Flows Research Project Abbreviations Term Meaning ACHM Australian Cultural Heritage Management Pty Ltd AHRC Australian Human Rights Commission AIATSIS Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies CHI Cultural Health Index CMFP Canadian Model Forestry Program COAG Council of Australian Governments CRG Daly River Community Reference Group CSIRO Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation EFA Environmental Flow Assessments ELOHA Ecological Limits of Hydrological Alteration FPWEC First Peoples’ Water Engagement Council GIS Geographic Information Systems IBFA Integrated Basin Flow Assessments IWRM Integrated Water Resources Management LWA Land and water Australia MDBC Murray Darling Basin Commission MDRIN Murray Darling Rivers Indigenous Nations NAILSMA North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance NNTC National Native Title Council NWC National Water Commission NWI National Water Initiative NWT North West Territories TRaCK Tropical Rivers and Coastal Knowledge Acknowledgements ACHM would like to acknowledge and thank the following people, in alphabetical order: Dr Shaun Canning, ACHM (Victoria) Lynette Crocker, Ngangki Burka, Senior Kaurna Woman, Adelaide Brad Goode, Antrhopologist, Dunsborough WA Darren Griffin, RAP Manager at Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation Maitland Parker, Banjima Elder and Heritage Coordinator, Eastern Pilbara, WA Dr Naomi Rea NAT001 Page | iv National Cultural Flows Research Project Executive Summary The National Native Title Council (NNTC) has engaged Australian Cultural Heritage Management Pty Ltd (ACHM) to undertake Component One of the National Cultural Flows Research Project. This baseline component is required to describe the Indigenous cultural water values and needs across Australia. Specifically, this involves: 1. A comprehensive reference (literature review) of known Indigenous uses and values of water in Australia and internationally. 2. A comprehensive review of projects and methodologies that have described cultural values of water. 3. Recommended needs and gaps of cultural flows research in the context of this research program. 4. Recommended and justified terminology for this Research Program. (National Native Title Council 2012) The need for the study arose because, over many decades of ongoing issues in Australian water management and the reiteration of the necessity of including Indigenous values in water management, there has been a singular failure to adequately define the cultural values of water. This lack of definition is compounded by a general lack of knowledge about patterns of Indigenous water use – ranging from past water practices and dependencies of pre‐contact Aboriginal people through to community water practices and needs in the present day (Jackson, Moggridge & Robinson 2010). Literature and documentary sources containing relevant information about Indigenous water use in Australia, past and present, have been summarised, and the distribution of the water bodies concerned has been mapped. This report is accompanied by a Microsoft Access database containing all of the examples summarised in the report. The database can be searched for specific information and patterns of data. The report summarises these sources for each State and Territory in turn. There are several recurring themes through this material. There is the strong cultural association of water sources with Aboriginal creation mythology, and their special association with the primary Creation Ancestor, the Rainbow Serpent and the basic creative duality of fresh and salt water. Many aspects of cultural knowledge relating to these matters are confidential and restricted to adults of one gender or the other. There is the fundamental, traditional economic focus of food sources and potable water, each with its accompanying cultural significance. There is accompanying technology in some places – fish traps, eel farms, and the like, as well as the permanent markers of extensive shell middens along coasts and river banks to show where people have traditionally camped together, collected and consumed food from the water. Throughout the country, special places near water have provided seasonal or occasional abundance which allowed large groups of people traditionally to gather together for ceremonial, social and economic purposes. There is the importance of rivers, streams and lakes as boundaries between tribes and nations, marking traditional country. The larger river systems like the Murray‐Darling were also transportation highways along which people have always travelled, with special cultural relationships defining travel and trading partnerships. The majority of the Australian reports reviewed note the importance of recognising the Indigenous values attached to water and of consultation with Aboriginal people. In particular it was noted that resources and species of high economic value to Western stakeholders do not always coincide with those of significance to Indigenous communities. Many of the reports, while stressing the importance of consultation, stress the shortcomings and failures of this process when not followed up with opportunities for Aboriginal people to be actively involved in the planning, monitoring and management of waterways. This is a reflection of the growing appreciation for the role Indigenous knowledge of the environment can inform management plans. The focus of Indigenous consultation is moving beyond simply avoiding negative impacts on Aboriginal communities to ensure environmental