Authors: Anne Poelina, Torres Webb, Dhimurru Aboriginal Corporation, Aunty Shaa Smith, Neeyan Smith, Sarah Wright, Paul Hodge, Lara Daley, Kimberley Land Council and Bardi Jawi Niimidiman Aboriginal Corporation, Emma Woodward, Peter Yates and Rosemary Hill. 1.1 OUR VISION AND PURPOSE FOR OUR KNOWLEDGE OUR WAY 2 1.2 INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE SYSTEMS 4 1.3 INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE GOVERNANCE AND PROTOCOLS 6 1.4 INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE, CULTURES AND COUNTRY 7 1.5 COLONISATION AND INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE 10 1.6 THE BENEFITS OF LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER AND FROM COUNTRY 19 1.7 LESSONS TOWARDS BEST PRACTICE FROM THIS CHAPTER 20 1 FOUNDATiONS OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OUR WAY 2 Our purpose in producing these Guidelines is to support learning, by both ourselves and our partners, about good ways of using our Indigenous knowledge to look after our land and sea Country. These Guidelines give Australian Indigenous Peoples a voice about what is best practice in working with our knowledge in caring for Country, which is alive and deeply connected to us2. Country in Aboriginal English is not only a common noun but also a proper noun. People talk about country in the same way that they would talk about a person: they speak to country, sing to country, visit country, worry about country, feel sorry for country, and long for country. People say that country knows, hears, smells, takes notice, takes care, is sorry or happy. Country is not generalised or undifferentiated … country is a living entity with a yesterday, today and tomorrow, with a consciousness, and a will toward life. Because of this richness, country is home, and peace; nourishment for body, mind, and spirit; heart’s ease. Debra Bird Rose2 (p.7) Key Articles in the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoplesf (UNDRIP) provide the basis for our approach that Indigenous people must decide what is best practice in working with our knowledge (Box 1-1)g. f https://www.un.org/development/desa/indigenouspeoples/wp-content/uploads/sites/19/2018/11/UNDRIP_E_web.pdf g Similar principles recognising Indigenous Peoples’ rights are found in other international law and policy, for example in the Operational Guidelines to the World Heritage Convention (https://whc.unesco.org/en/guidelines/), and the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage (http://portal.unesco.org/en/ev.php-URL_ID=17716&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html). 1 FOUNDATiONS OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OUR WAY 4 5 6 1.4 INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE, CULTURES AND COUNTRY Indigenous knowledge comes from Country, from our ancestors and ancestral beings present in Country today. Our use of the term Country can challenge non- Indigenous people’s understanding of the word. When we talk of Country, we are referring to all of those places that Traditional Owners speak for, the landscapes and the particular named sites and significant places within those landscapes15,16. A person’s Country might include land and sea. It might include freshwater places and/or the intertidal zone. It includes the cosmos, and the winds and clouds. We are connected to our Country in many and diverse ways2,15,17. Our kinship relationships connect us as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples within a network of other people, plants, animals and features in the landscape18. These relationships are formed through Country19. Connection is maintained through our knowledge and through our actions to care for our Country. Our physical presence on Country reproduces our knowledge, including of seasonal and long term changes19. We renew our relationships with Country through gathering, preparing, sharing and eating food from Country. We collect, prepare and use plants as medicines and for the creation of arts and crafts. We observe and talk with Country. We look after our sacred sites and dance, sing and hold ceremonies about the life-giving nature of Country20,21. Caring for Country keeps our cultural life, identity, autonomy and health strong9,22-24. Kinship, language and culture come together in our land and sea management activities and shape our health and well-being22,23,25. We rely on our power to look after Country – if we fail in our obligations to keep our Country healthy, we believe that the health of the Traditional Owners will also fail26. Our cultures are rich and diverse across our language and clan groups. We sometimes use the English words law and lore as a way to talk about our cultures. Culture in the Indigenous sense has legal, political and moral force. Many 1 FOUNDATiONS OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OUR WAY 8 9 1.5 COLONISATION AND INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE This colonial aftermath has powerfully shaped our experiences as Indigenous Australians from the late 1700s to the present day. Our social, political, economic and spiritual well-being continues to be systematically eroded39. This has a far-reaching impact on Indigenous culture and knowledge. Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait ancestors showed resistance, bravery and, above all, extraordinary resilience in the face of colonisation8. We have kept our knowledge alive and strong throughout the time since colonisation, and now are finding safe ways to share it. For example, we have kept our knowledge of the powerful connections and responsibility of Darkinjung, Darug, Gundungurra, Dharawal, Wanaruah and Wiradjuri people for our Country in the mountains around Sydney, despite ongoing destruction of our sites and our societies. Our adaptive cultures, continuing practices and connections to the ancient art, historic events, songs and stories of what is now known as the Greater Blue Mountains are gaining recognition as part of the outstanding values of this World Heritage Area40. Now is the time for recognition, reconciliation and starting the journey towards healing. Towards this goal, the Dr Charles Perkins AO Annual Memorial Oration was established in acknowledgement of his tireless dedication to human rights and social justice for Indigenous Australians. Each year, a spokesperson within the field of Indigenous and non-Indigenous race relations is invited to give the oration. 1.5.2 Healing impacts of colonisation with Indigenous knowledge Our response across Australia to transition away from colonisation is to begin the healing of Country together with the healing of our Peoples. This is not to gloss over or trivialise the devastation that our people endure from the disasters inflicted by colonisation – but to show that we continue, and our pathway continues, for the future of our Indigenous societies41. As Dja Dja Wurrung woman, Rebecca Phillips explains42 (p.1): Dhelkunya Djandaki, Dhelkunya Murrup, Dhelkunya Djaara Ngulumbarra – Murun dhelk (Healing our Country, Healing Spirit, Healing People gathering together – living - 1 FOUNDATiONS OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OUR WAY 12 13 1 FOUNDATiONS OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OUR WAY 14 15 Protection of these 'components' of traditional resources would be adequate only if they are conserved, maintained, and enhanced in situ – as a part of the lands, territories and cultures of the Peoples themselves46. In Australia, options to improve the current situation include: j Requiring free, prior and informed consent and access and benefit-sharing in government-funded programs j Standardising research protocols and guidelines j Making protocols enforceable j Greater use of trademarks and branding j Developing standard research agreements that ensure the rights over knowledge are with the Indigenous people j Changes to the Native Title Act 1993 (Commonwealth) and other legislation to respect and protect Indigenous rights and interests to our knowledges j Specific legislation for Indigenous knowledge11. 1.5.4 Knowledge sharing protocols Our knowledge protocols are vital to positive experiences in sharing knowledge. It is our business to know and follow our own cultural protocols when sharing knowledge within each of our different Traditional Owner groups. We have worked together with scientists and others to establish protocols and guidelines for sharing knowledge outside. For example, scientists and Traditional Owners worked together in a National Environmental Science Program project that distilled four key lessons for sharing fire knowledge27 (p.22): 1. Indigenous peer-based knowledge sharing on Country, for example through ‘fire walks’, promotes and grows Indigenous knowledge, which is highly valued by Indigenous fire practitioners and leaders across Australia and critical to effective partnerships. 2. Knowledge sharing between Indigenous and non- Indigenous fire experts and practitioners is key to managing contemporary landscapes. Sharing can be formal or informal and needs to be co-designed with Traditional Owners and empower Indigenous decision-making to effectively support Indigenous fire management partnerships. 3. Knowledge-sharing relationships are key for collaborative and adaptive management. They inform partnership negotiation, design, and the monitoring and evaluation of the multiple benefits, risks, opportunities and practices of Indigenous fire management projects and partnerships. 4. Successful Indigenous fire knowledge practices and partnerships are embedded in and influenced by knowledge about people, Country and fire institutions. Systems thinking can help link Indigenous and non-Indigenous knowledge and facilitate knowledge partnerships. Many of our Indigenous groups, through their representative organisations including Prescribed Bodies Corporate, Aboriginal Corporations and Land Councils, are formulating their own protocols and guidelines for partnerships. For example, in their Healthy Country Plan52, the Bardi Jawi have established Traditional Owner Engagement and Protocols that apply to knowledge sharing (Box 1-3). In the absence of good laws to protect our ICIP, we work with contracts and protocols for recognition of our rights53. Agreement-making between Traditional Owners and partners, based on following Indigenous knowledge protocols, can provide for both customary law and Australian nation-state legal protection. We have developed agreements about using our local cultural protocols for working with our governments to ensure free, prior and informed consent for their activities. For example, the Dja Dja Wurrung Clan’s Aboriginal Corporation (DDWCAC) supported the processes of FPIC for a Joint Management Plan with the Victorian Government. Dja Dja Wurrung (DDW) people engaged in collective understanding through several activities including: DDW Champions Focus ' Groups, with several held on Country; Healthy Country Planning workshops; the DDWCAC Annual General Meeting; opportunities for interactive online mapping; and a three- day ‘Map-a-Thon’ workshop in collaboration with Parks Victoria. The DDWCAC Board made decisions at six board meetings held during 2017-18 (Box 1-4)54. Indigenous leaders in Perth worked with the National Trust of Australia to provide guidance about how our rights and understanding of knowledge, respect and ownership are the foundations for interpreting our heritage. Rights and understanding underpin the practical methods of an Indigenous Reference Group and agreement-making (Box 1-5)55. 1 FOUNDATiONS OF OUR KNOWLEDGE OUR WAY 18 1.6 THE BENEFITS OF LEARNING FROM EACH OTHER AND FROM COUNTRY As Indigenous people, we enjoy learning from each other, and from Country. Recent research has shown that sharing knowledge can be negatively associated with our wellbeing, while learning is positively associated56. We think this is because of our heavy responsibilities to follow cultural protocols when sharing knowledge, a responsibility that is not always well understood by those with whom we may be asked to share. Seven key messages about the benefits of Indigenous land and sea managers learning from each other were identified at the Kimberley Ranger Forum in 2017: 1. Being on Country, welcomed by Traditional Owners, following cultural protocols and reciprocity, sets the tone for respectful and collaborative deliberations, creating the right environment for learning, sharing and growing together. 2. Rangers are empowered through social cohesion, collegiality and a sense of pride experienced at the Forum. 3. Groundedness in Indigenous cultural ways of knowing, being, doing and learning through story, song, dance, art, language, family and kinship connections are most important in creating a safe space where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples can be who we are – honouring and acknowledging how we best learn, share from and grow with each other. 4. Peer-to-peer exchanges and one-on-one interactions allow for more targeted learning and follow up. 5. Exchanging/sharing common experiences, successes and challenges allows rangers to feel heard, valued and understood in being central to the success of any land and sea management program, through identifying what works and why in policy, program design and on-ground activities. This also supports women rangers and land managers to be stronger and more confident in our own roles and decision-making. 6. Engaging in practical, hands-on activities together, particularly the realistic first-aid scenarios, building the tables, the smack-down on the beach and fixing machinery, are great ways to undertake training. 7. Greater formal and informal interaction between rangers and non-Indigenous invitees to Forums can cultivate more of a collaborative working culture (collaborative empowerment)57. I love hearing the ideas and different perspectives from different people and the way they work on Country. Cissy Gore-Birch, Kimberley Ranger Forum, August 2017. The Forum was uplifted by happiness and unity of purpose. We hope that these Guidelines will also be a source of happiness and unity of purpose. We have included numerous links to videos and online material throughout the Guidelines and in the future would like to produce more videos and online tools to support people who like to learn in different ways. 20