Case studies

Bush Medijina is a 100% Indigenous-owned bush products enterprise led by Warningakalina women. Their vision is to support local communities in Groote Eylandt, Northern Territory, through the translation of traditional Indigenous native botanical knowledge into modern skin care. Governed by an Indigenous, all-female board, the sustainable enterprise enables traditional knowledge sharing between generations via the community-based creation of online-marketable products, founded on traditional processes for harvesting and producing local botanicals (Bush Medijina 2021).

Such enterprises deliver a variety of social, cultural and environmental benefits (Maclean et al. 2019, Jarvis et al. 2021a). In a region where employment opportunities are constrained, the enterprise creates opportunities for women to come together to learn and build skills, enhancing community cohesion and wellbeing by creating a sense of purpose governed by cultural protocols. Social benefits to individuals and the broader community arise from the opportunity to:

• spend time on Country
• share intergenerational customary knowledge (and, subsequently, strengthen that knowledge)
• build skills, including business acumen, in creating and bush products
• build community natural resource management capacity.

Being engaged in bush products–based enterprises can also create direct benefits for the environment, as economic returns finance Indigenous people’s access to Country and concurrent stewardship activities. Such activities include monitoring environmental resources and maintaining valuable bush products through active land management, like burning. Engaging in other cultural practices and traditions further nurtures and strengthens the knowledge base from which Indigenous land and sea management activities occur.

Provided by the Torres Strait Regional Authority, Stan Lui, and Terry Harper and team

The Torres Strait Regional Authority (TSRA) is developing a Torres Strait 2021 state of environment report card to present updates about the health of the environment in the Torres Strait (TSRA 2016b). Torres Strait is a predominantly Indigenous region, and the state of environment story is best told through a joint conventional science and Traditional Owner cultural lens. The report card focuses on the 16 key people, sea and land values identified in the Land and Sea Management Strategy for Torres Strait (TSRA 2016a), and involves a confidence-rating approach that considers both Indigenous and other science perspectives (Figure 22). This approach treats both perspectives as equally important, and acknowledges that Indigenous perspectives encompass a range of rich knowledge sources such as oral histories, lived experience, traditional ecological knowledge, local observations and community narratives, alongside other scientific knowledge and insights (Mustonen et al. 2021). Indigenous people’s expertise and continuing stewardship of our coasts, islands and sea Country are key to managing the world’s oceans more sustainably in the face of growing pressures (Mustonen et al. 2021).

The approach assessed confidence in the overall assessment for each of the 16 key values. The judgement of Indigenous people’s representatives and science partners with experience in Torres Strait land and sea management were used to determine a prevailing (not unanimous) view using 3 confidence levels:

• high confidence – adequate high-quality evidence and high level of consensus
• medium confidence – limited evidence or limited consensus
• low confidence – very limited evidence, assessment based on anecdotal information and professional judgement.

The Torres Strait SOE process and workshop has really drawn from First Nations people’s knowledge and identified how both TEK (traditional ecological knowledge) and Science, both based on observation and evidence, are similar and can be integrated to identify knowledge gaps in research priorities and monitoring. Madeina David, Iama Traditional Owner, Marine Biologist and Senior Natural Resource Management Officer, Land and Sea Management Unit, Torres Strait Regional Authority

Figure 22 Two Perspectives, One Narrative: proposed confidence score grading approach for the Torres Strait state of the environment report

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Figure 22 Two Perspectives, One Narrative: proposed confidence score grading approach for the Torres Strait state of the environment report

Source: Torres Strait Regional Authority © 2021

Source: The Keeping Place (2021)

The Keeping Place project is a collaborative repatriation project between Traditional Owner groups and resource companies in the Pilbara, and the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation and the National Trust of Australia. The project has developed a bespoke online platform to house heritage survey reports and records, and to protect and manage cultural knowledge and cultural heritage. The Keeping Place is a secure, customisable online platform that enables Traditional Custodians to gain data sovereignty, apply cultural protocols to traditional knowledge, manage native title, map Country, improve governance and contract management, and open up social and economic opportunities for current and future generations.

Consultation, occurring over several years, with the Indigenous Land and Sea Corporation and the local Yinhawangka and Nyiyaparli peoples resulted in the development of a governance framework, best-practice guidelines and associated contracts for The Keeping Place platform and the resulting legal entity.

Healthy Country Plans are increasingly being developed to record Indigenous knowledge, values and priorities for culture and Country. These plans are grounded in the knowledge and ambitions of Traditional Owners, which means they may be used to direct ranger work, as well as assess and track the condition of Country and culture.

The work of Environmental Systems Solutions is an example of how effective information management can enable Indigenous groups to achieve the aspirations set out in their Healthy Country Plans. Environmental Systems Solutions has worked with Indigenous organisations for more than 2 decades to develop cultural and environmental information management systems, including tools, processes and skills, that assist them to record, manage, present and use information to their advantage. These systems vary according to the information management needs and capacity of each group, but include components specifically designed for:

• scheduling and recording ranger work according to Healthy Country Plans, work plans and contracts
• recording cultural heritage and traditional knowledge
• cultural mapping
• visitor management and engagement
• asset management
• whole-of-business management.

Beyond just recording information about Indigenous knowledge and priorities, this work activates the potential of this information to enable these priorities for Country, culture and people to be realised.

Sources: KJ (2018), IDA (2021c)

Karajarri Country stretches across the south-western Kimberley coast and inland into the Great Sandy Desert in Western Australia. Because there are only a few Elders in the community, which means loss of cultural knowledge is potentially high, Mervyn Mulardy (Karajarri Cultural Coordinator) began recording stories and information. When Karajarri Country was declared an Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) in 2014, Mervyn and Sam Bailey (the then IPA coordinator) started to set up a structured database to store the cultural information Mervyn had been collecting. The Karajarri Cultural Database is a way of preserving and passing on cultural knowledge for future generations. The database has 2 categories – one for cultural knowledge and the other a work database for rangers, informing and linking to the rangers’ work and storing information that they collect when on Country.

The database includes written information, photos, audio and video in both English and Karajarri, traditional knowledge, stories, songs, anthropological data and more. It contains information that can be used by rangers for land management, who can also record their work and contribute to the database. The database is also used to support community research and revitalise cultural practices.

It is important to note that all Indigenous communities still practise their own diverse, traditional forms of knowledge transmission. Projects such as the Karajarri Cultural Database complement and strengthen embedded systems, and help to combat some of the ongoing pressures of colonisation in retaining and practising culture, and passing knowledge to future generations. Community members designed and implemented this project, which creates a safe space for sharing and storing knowledge within the community. If such projects are not Indigenous led, Indigenous cultural and intellectual property is put at risk and communities cannot engage.

Written with Anne Poelina

The Fitzroy River in the west Kimberley region has the largest flow of any river in Western Australia. For Traditional Owners, it is known as the Martuwarra: a living ancestral being with a right to life, to live and flow (Martuwarra RiverOfLife et al. 2020b, O’Donnell et al. 2020, Allam 2021a).

Traditional Owners are concerned about the potential impacts of proposed intensive agriculture, pastoral and mining developments, and oil and gas exploration in the Fitzroy catchment (Poelina et al. 2019). While the Western Australian Government has promised not to build any damns or weirs on the river or its tributaries, pastoralists and mining bodies have proposed to draw groundwater and harvest surface water from the river.

Traditional Owners are concerned about the potential impacts of water extraction on freshwater flows, and the ecosystems and biodiversity that rely on them – including the coastal and marine environment in King Sound – and flow-on cultural and spiritual impacts (Martuwarra RiverOfLife et al. 2021). They are also concerned about run-off of agricultural chemicals used in intensive farming systems, increased erosion associated with increased cattle grazing intensity, and potential for pollution from mining and other extractive industries. They are worried that not enough science has been done to understand the potential cumulative impacts of all the different proposed developments in the catchment. Martuwarra Council are told it is for the greater good of our nation, but we know, as Senior Walmajarri Elder Mr Brown states, ‘drain the water out, that will kill the culture’ (Brown n.d.).

The river holds extremely important values for Traditional Owners. They depend on it to live. It is a healing place of many important stories, and it is a gathering place essential for passing on knowledge, culture and spirituality.

Martuwarra Council is working with fellow Australians to build a ‘coalition of hope’ (Poelina 2020). They want to make sure the river continues to exist in its natural state for current and future generations. They want to make sure there is ‘living water’ for the plants, animals, people, and their own pastoral and tourism industries. They are already witnessing changes in the river, and recent dry years saw 40 endangered sawfish die in shrinking pools.

Because of their concerns for the river, Fitzroy River catchment Traditional Owners came together to form the Martuwarra Fitzroy River Council, a forum for bringing the 7 Traditional Owner groups together to declare a united voice to protect Fitzroy River (Madjulla Inc 2018). The council aims to deliver a strong voice to government and develop their vision for the catchment, as Traditional Owners. Traditional Owner groups are pushing for sustainable economic development in the region, based on new and emerging sustainable industries with less pressure on natural systems (Martuwarra RiverOfLife et al. 2020a). They are looking to sustainable enterprises to invest in the ‘forever industries’, with necessary support and training to ensure their communities benefit from economic developments on their native title lands (ACF 2021a).

Written with Victor Steffensen

Victor Steffensen is a Tagalaka man, expert Indigenous fire practitioner and author of Fire Country, a landmark book on the revival of traditional burning in Australia (Steffensen 2020). Traditional burning is the cultural practice of using fire to manage the landscape. It has been developed and used by Indigenous peoples for thousands of years. The revitalisation of this knowledge and the reintroduction of this into Australian land management regimes is crucial to looking after the health of the land and the community.

Steffensen grew up in far north Queensland where he was mentored by 2 Awu-Laya Elders, the late Dr George Musgrave and Dr Tommy George. Over many years, they passed on significant knowledge of Country to him, including how to read and apply fire to the landscape. Through this work, Steffensen has become one of the leaders in the revitalisation of cultural burning in Australia. He says that land and people have evolved together for thousands of years and that we must strengthen this connection for a healthy future. He points out that the western system that has taken people out of the landscape has caused many problems, both social and environmental. Indigenous fire and land management is thus a vital pathway for restoring the health of landscapes and the health of communities.

Victor and the Firesticks Alliance, an Indigenous-led organisation, are reinvigorating the use of cultural burning by both Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Firesticks Alliance provides leadership and advocacy in this area, delivering workshops and training programs. This provides opportunities to empower Indigenous people, and improve social and welfare outcomes. The programs are strengthening the role of women in fire and land management and developing youth programs. It is crucial that Indigenous communities benefit through education, employment and connecting with Country. This has been the fundamental aspiration of many Elders from the beginning, and will continue as the central goal into the future (V Steffenson, pers. comm., 9 August 2021).

As the practice of traditional burning is revitalised, it is crucial that the programs are Indigenous led and community driven. It is also crucial that the Indigenous knowledge behind these ancient burning practices is respected and safeguarded. The training programs need to be legally protected and the knowledge secured. Aboriginal people should be the key players in how their Country is managed because the land is all we have left to restore our culture and move towards a better quality of life. Victor says, ‘It is important that Aboriginal people lead the space of reviving their knowledge to avoid exploitation of our opportunities and to ensure all the environmental and social benefits are achieved for everybody’ (Steffenson, V, pers. comm., 9 August 2021).

Sarah Szydzik

In 2016, Wamba Wamba man Steven Ross and Alicia Talbot began developing the idea for a national First Peoples’ Science Centre as part of their work with the City of Parramatta (Janke 2021). Such a centre could highlight the value of Indigenous science and strengthen the critical connection between scientific research and traditional knowledge (Janke et al. 2020). It could support and advance the careers of Indigenous scientists and lead to culturally sensitive projects and collaborations. It could also assist in the protection and safekeeping of Indigenous knowledge, explore commercial means and share opportunities through education (Janke 2021). The City of Parramatta, the University of Sydney and the Powerhouse Museum are the project partners. Project management and governance for the centre sits with the First Peoples’ Science Centre Steering Committee, comprising 9 Indigenous members including scientists, academics, industry experts and community leaders in the sector (S Szydzik, First Peoples’ Science Centre, pers. comm., 15 September 2021).