tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/indigenous-heritage-11967/articlesIndigenous heritage – The Conversation2023-07-12T20:04:03Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/2093352023-07-12T20:04:03Z2023-07-12T20:04:03ZAnother assault on Country and its precious species has begun at Binybara/Lee Point<p>In federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek’s <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/speeches/national-press-club-address">first major speech</a>, she said: </p>
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<p>If we continue on the trajectory that we are on, the precious places, landscapes, animals and plants that we think of when we think of home may not be here for our kids and grandkids. </p>
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<p>Yet, as you read this, the bulldozers are poised to destroy habitat for threatened species, subvert traditional cultural values and jeopardise a fabulous aspect of Darwin’s natural environment at Lee Point/Binybara. The government’s decision to approve this loss shows a continuing disregard for nature, cultural heritage and the legacy our descendants will inherit.</p>
<p>The battle to protect Binybara – as it is known to its Traditional Owners – has galvanised the local community. But the issues at stake are much broader and expose the tick-a-box nature of our <a href="https://epbcactreview.environment.gov.au/">unsatisfactory environmental laws</a>.</p>
<p>The clearing of over 100 hectares of savanna woodland at Binybara for a defence housing development was first approved in 2019. When <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=413">endangered Gouldian finches</a> turned up <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-24/lee-point-darwin-gouldian-finches-defence-housing-development/101452040">in their hundreds</a> last year, Plibersek agreed to reconsider the approval. </p>
<p>But <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-06-20/tanya-plibersek-lee-point-defence-housing-project-gouldian-finch/102493770">in June</a> this year the minister <a href="https://epbcpublicportal.awe.gov.au/all-referrals/project-referral-summary/project-decision/?id=89308a9b-85aa-e811-bae0-005056ba00a8">decided</a> the development could proceed with a few more conditions. Last week, Traditional Owners, Darwin locals and <a href="https://www.ecnt.org.au/scientific_expert_open_letter">ecologists from a nearby conference</a> watched as the first trees were felled.</p>
<p>On Friday there was a reprieve: a <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-07-08/lee-point-land-clearing-cultural-heritage-application/102577448">ten-day pause</a> to consider the Larrakia people’s concerns.</p>
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<h2>What’s at stake?</h2>
<p>The conflict between conservation or destruction at Binybara has global, national and local contexts.</p>
<p>The shoreline near the proposed housing is a <a href="https://ntepa.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/460802/draft_eis_lee_point_urban_dev_appendixN_migratory_shorebirds.PDF">globally significant</a> site on the flyway of many shorebirds that migrate from eastern Asia to Australia each year. These birds face threats from habitat loss and degradation across their range. Their numbers are <a href="https://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/services/Download/vital:10675/SOURCE2">in steep decline</a>. </p>
<p>Northern Australia has to date provided some respite from disturbance for these travellers. But an 800-home development would increase human activity and disturbance at a site already under pressure. </p>
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<img alt="eastern curlews taking flight" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536736/original/file-20230711-29-ln4ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536736/original/file-20230711-29-ln4ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536736/original/file-20230711-29-ln4ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536736/original/file-20230711-29-ln4ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536736/original/file-20230711-29-ln4ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536736/original/file-20230711-29-ln4ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536736/original/file-20230711-29-ln4ks.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Critically endangered eastern curlews, which are highly sensitive to disturbance, are among the shorebirds found near the site.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
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<p>The national context is that most of our threatened species continue to decline. It’s often a result of an ongoing <a href="https://conbio.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/csp2.117">series of small losses</a> – a patch of bushland cleared here, a population lost there. We cannot reduce the risks of extinction, let alone restore biodiversity, if these losses continue.</p>
<p>Binybara’s incredible richness of birds is valued by locals and tourists alike. Regarded as one of the world’s most beautiful birds, the Gouldian finch’s presence on the outskirts of Darwin is a particular blessing. The proposed development will jeopardise this population, particularly by destroying trees whose hollows provide potential nest sites. </p>
<p>The project’s environmental impact statement acknowledged it would also have a <a href="https://ntepa.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/460773/draft_eis_lee_point_urban_dev.PDF">significant impact</a> on another endangered species, the <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/cgi-bin/sprat/public/publicspecies.pl?taxon_id=87618">black-footed tree-rat</a>. Tree felling would likely cause deaths of individuals and loss of hollows on which the species depends. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/land-clearing-and-fracking-in-australias-northern-territory-threatens-the-worlds-largest-intact-tropical-savanna-208028">Land clearing and fracking in Australia's Northern Territory threatens the world's largest intact tropical savanna</a>
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<h2>A deep cultural significance</h2>
<p>The Larrakia people’s deep and rich cultural ties to this area stretch back millennia. For them, Binybara is a sacred place. </p>
<p>It’s here that their ancestor Binybara transforms into a bird to fly out to see her husband <a href="https://dtc.nt.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0020/249041/ccr-management-plan2016.pdf">Darriba Nungalinya</a>. </p>
<p>The birdlife, from the migrating shorebirds to the owls, kites, eagles and Gouldian finches, is integral to the ecosystems and to the cultural fabric and story of this place. Generations of Larrakia people have lived, hunted, gathered foods, sourced materials and performed ceremonies here.</p>
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<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536430/original/file-20230710-187724-seno86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/536430/original/file-20230710-187724-seno86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536430/original/file-20230710-187724-seno86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536430/original/file-20230710-187724-seno86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536430/original/file-20230710-187724-seno86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536430/original/file-20230710-187724-seno86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/536430/original/file-20230710-187724-seno86.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Binybara Traditional Owners speak at a rally on site.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Martine Maron</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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<p>The woodlands provide foods such as the <em>bowit-jba</em> or bush potato (<em>Brachystelma glabriflorum</em>), <em>datbing-gwa</em> or sugarbag, green plum (<em>Buchanania obovata</em>), milky plum (<em>Persoonia falcata</em>), emu berry (<em>Grewia retusifolia</em>), possum (<em>gutjgutjga</em>), wallaby (<em>milulu-la</em>) and goanna (<em>damiljulberreba</em>). </p>
<p><em>Eucalyptus miniata</em> timber is used for didjeridoo, harpoons, walking sticks, digging sticks and good firewood. <em>Eucalyptus tetrodonta</em> provides medicine and bark canoes. The bark and timber are also used for traditional houses. <em>Erythrophleum chlorostachys</em> (<em>delenyng-gwa</em>) leaves are used for smoking ceremonies and the inner bark for medicine to treat sores and deep wounds.</p>
<p><em>Hibiscus tiliaceus</em> (<em>lalwa</em>) is a source of string for ropes, nets and harpoons. Its straight stems are used for fishing spears. <em>Casuarina equisetifolia</em> provides digging sticks for turtle eggs, firewood and beach shade. The paperbark from Melaleuca species (<em>gweybil-wa</em>) is used for cooking, bedding and roofing material, dugout canoes and rafts, while the leaves have medicinal uses. </p>
<p>Timber from the calendar plant, <em>Acacia auriculiformis</em> (<em>gwalamarrwa</em>), is used for clapsticks, while the pods are used medicinally. Dance practice for funerals happens here, using <em>gwalamarrwa</em> leaves.</p>
<p>It’s likely shell middens, artefact scatters and clay pits will need to be surveyed. There is a possible burial site in the area, a well and a <a href="https://www.dha.gov.au/docs/default-source/default-document-library/ehp_7793_eisleempud_final_02082018_part1.pdf?sfvrsn=22c96b22_0">registered sacred site</a> at the tip of Lee Point. Tree burials, where the deceased was placed in a tree, may have taken place, so there may be scarred trees here. </p>
<p>The ten-day reprieve is due to an emergency application sought by the Traditional Owners under the federal <a href="https://www.niaa.gov.au/resource-centre/indigenous-affairs/protection-indigenous-cultural-heritage-commonwealth-level">Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Heritage Protection (ATSIHP) Act</a>. They ask for a management plan to protect their cultural heritage to be developed with their input and that of experts and Darwin locals who value this place.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/recognising-indigenous-knowledges-is-not-just-culturally-sound-its-good-science-184444">Recognising Indigenous knowledges is not just culturally sound, it's good science</a>
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<h2>A(nother) failure of national environment law</h2>
<p>The main change to the approval was to require plans be developed to offset the loss of 94 hectares of Gouldian finch habitat. What those offsets are – or whether they are even possible – is not yet known. </p>
<p>This kind of “<a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1467-8500.12581">backloading</a>” of offset conditions is highly risky. By the time the difficulty of finding a suitable offset site becomes clear, it is often too late – the habitat is gone. </p>
<p>Just two weeks ago, Plibersek ordered <a href="https://minister.dcceew.gov.au/plibersek/media-releases/government-launches-environmental-offsets-crackdown">an audit</a> of 1,000 environmental offset sites. “It’s not clear whether offset arrangements prevent environmental decline,” she said. </p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/developers-arent-paying-enough-to-offset-impacts-on-koalas-and-other-endangered-species-208587">Developers aren't paying enough to offset impacts on koalas and other endangered species</a>
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<p>What we do know is that old-growth habitat features, such as tree hollows, are irreplaceable. And inherently place-based cultural values cannot be offset. This is ever more important as the Northern Territory moves to <a href="https://theconversation.com/land-clearing-and-fracking-in-australias-northern-territory-threatens-the-worlds-largest-intact-tropical-savanna-208028">ramp up land clearing</a> for cotton growing and gas development.</p>
<p>Another new condition is to maintain a 50-metre buffer zone around a dam where the finches drink. It’s a tokenistic measure, as the finches disperse hundreds of metres to feed and further to nest in old-growth hollow trees, like those in the areas to be cleared. </p>
<p>The case of Binybara exemplifies many of the failings of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act identified by the <a href="https://epbcactreview.environment.gov.au/">Samuel review</a>. The test of the government’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/our-laws-fail-nature-the-governments-plan-to-overhaul-them-looks-good-but-crucial-detail-is-yet-to-come-196126">promised reforms</a> to the EPBC Act will be whether decisions like this continue to be made, leading to the loss of irreplaceable habitats and sacred cultural heritage.</p>
<p>Right now, the future of Binybara hangs by a thread.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/get-the-basics-right-for-national-environmental-standards-to-ensure-truly-sustainable-development-201092">Get the basics right for National Environmental Standards to ensure truly sustainable development</a>
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<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Woinarski receives has received funding from the Australian government's National Environmental Science Program. He is a councillor with the Biodiversity Council and a member of the board of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Lorraine Williams is an elder of the Larrakia Danggalaba clan, the Traditional Owners who sought an emergency application under the federal ATSIHP Act to halt the development.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Martine Maron has received funding from various sources including the Australian Research Council, the Queensland Department of Environment and Science, Bush Heritage Australia, and the Australian government's National Environmental Science Program. She is a member of the Wentworth Group of Concerned Scientists, a councillor with the Biodiversity Council, a member of the board of the Australian Wildlife Conservancy and BirdLife Australia, and a governor of WWF-Australia.</span></em></p>The Darwin woodland is home to endangered species and important for the Larrakia people. The development approval requires habitat offsets – yet the minister herself has publicly doubted offsets work.John Woinarski, Professor of Conservation Biology, Charles Darwin UniversityLorraine Williams, Larrakia Traditional Owner, Indigenous KnowledgeMartine Maron, Professor of Environmental Management, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1936032022-11-03T12:05:39Z2022-11-03T12:05:39ZIndigenous languages make inroads into public schools<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/492822/original/file-20221101-26-bnizxp.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=1%2C0%2C289%2C163&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">James Gensaw, a Yurok language high school teacher in far northern California, goes over some words with a student.
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mneesha Gellman</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Whenever November would roll around, James Gensaw, a Yurok language high school teacher in far northern California, would get a request from a school administrator. They would always ask him to bring students from the Native American Club, which he advises, to demonstrate Yurok dancing on the high school quad at lunch time.</p>
<p>“On the one hand, it was nice that the school wanted to have us share our culture,” Gensaw told me during an interview. “On the other, it wasn’t always respectful. Some kids would make fun of the Native American dancers, mimicking war cries and calling out ‘chief.’”</p>
<p>“The media would be invited to come cover the dancing as part of their Thanksgiving coverage, and it felt like we were a spectacle,” he continued. “Other cultural groups and issues would sometimes be presented in school assemblies, in the gym, where teachers monitored student behavior. I thought, why didn’t we get to have that? We needed more respect for sharing our culture.” James Gensaw’s work in California’s public high schools as a Yurok language teacher and mentor to Native American students is part of a reckoning with equity and justice in schools.</p>
<h2>Yurok language in schools</h2>
<p>Tribal officials say Gensaw is one of 16 advanced-level Yurok language-keepers alive today. An enrolled Yurok tribal member, Gensaw is also part of the tribe’s <a href="https://www.yuroklanguage.com/">Yurok Language Program</a>, which is at the forefront of efforts to keep the Yurok language alive.</p>
<p>Today, the Yurok language is offered as an elective at four high schools in far northern California. The classes meet language instruction requirements for admission to University of California and California State University systems.</p>
<p>Yurok language classes are also offered in local Head Start preschool programs as well as in some K-8 schools when there is teacher availability, and at the College of the Redwoods, the regional community college. To date, eight high school seniors have been awarded California’s <a href="https://lostcoastoutpost.com/2019/may/14/eureka-high-students-receive-first-california-seal/">State Seal of Biliteracy in Yurok</a>, a prestigious accomplishment that signifies commitment to and competency in the language.</p>
<p>When I started researching the effects of Yurok language access on young people in 2016, there were approximately 12 advanced-level speakers, according to the Yurok Language Program. The 16 advanced-level speakers in 2022 represent a growing speaker base and they are something to celebrate. Despite colonization and attempts to <a href="https://www.worldcat.org/title/1033640135">eradicate the Yurok language</a> by interrupting the transfer of language from parents to their children, Yurok speakers are still here.</p>
<p>Throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, boarding schools in the United States operated as spaces for what I refer to as “culturecide” — the killing of culture — in my latest book, “<a href="https://www.pennpress.org/9780812254044/indigenous-language-politics-in-the-schoolroom/">Indigenous Language Politics in the Schoolroom: Cultural Survival in Mexico and the United States</a>.” Students in both the United States and Mexico were often made to attend schools where they were beaten for speaking Indigenous languages. Now, new generations are being encouraged to sign up to study the same language many of their grandparents and great-grandparents were forced to forget.</p>
<h2>Language as resistance</h2>
<p>The Yurok Tribe made the decision years ago to <a href="https://www.yuroktribe.org/education">prioritize growing the number of Yurok speakers</a> and as part of that, to teach Yurok to anyone who wanted to learn. They have many <a href="https://www.yuroklanguage.com/virtual-learning-spaces">online resources</a> that are open for all. Victoria Carlson is the Yurok Language Program Manager and a language-keeper herself. She is teaching Yurok to her children as a first language, and she drives long distances to teach the language at schools throughout Humboldt and Del Norte counties.</p>
<p>“When we speak Yurok, we are saying that we are still here,” Carson said in an interview with me, echoing a sentiment that many Yurok students relayed to me as well. “Speaking our language is a form of resisting all things that have been done to our people.”</p>
<p>The students in Mr. Gensaw’s classes are majority, but not exclusively, Native American. Through my research I learned that there are white students who sign up out of interest or because nothing else fit in their schedule. There are Asian American students who wish that Hmong or Mandarin was a language option, but they take Yurok since it is the most unique language choice available. And there are Latinx students who already are bilingual in English and Spanish and who want to challenge themselves linguistically.</p>
<p>In my book and <a href="https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=R00JOgwAAAAJ&hl=en">related publications</a>, I document how access to Indigenous languages in school benefits different groups of students in a range of ways. Heritage-speakers — those who have family members who speak the language — get to shine in the classroom as people with authority over the content, something that <a href="https://www.aclunc.org/publications/failing-grade-status-native-american-education-humboldt-county">many Native American students struggle with</a> in other classes. White students have their eyes opened to <a href="https://ijcis.qut.edu.au/article/view/2322/1223">Native presence that is sorely missing</a> when they study the Gold Rush, Spanish missionaries in California, or other standard topics of K-12 education that are taught from a colonizing perspective. And students from non-heritage minority backgrounds <a href="https://www.pennpress.org/9780812254044/indigenous-language-politics-in-the-schoolroom/">report</a> an increased interest in their own identities. They often go to elders to learn some of their own family languages after being inspired that such knowledge is worth being proud of.</p>
<p>Bringing languages like Yurok into schools that are still, as historian Donald Yacovone points out, <a href="https://www.harvard.com/book/teaching_white_supremacy/">dominated by white supremacist content</a>, does not in and of itself undo the effects of colonization. Getting rid of curricula that teach the <a href="https://upstanderproject.org/learn/guides-and-resources/first-light/doctrine-of-discovery">Doctrine of Discovery</a> – the notion that colonizers “discovered” the Americas and had a legal right to it – is a long-term process. But placing Native American languages into public schools both affirms the validity of Indigenous cultural knowledge and also <a href="https://ijcis.qut.edu.au/article/view/2322/1223">asserts the contemporary existence of Native people</a> at the same time. It is a place to start.</p>
<h2>One step at a time</h2>
<p>In my experience, as a researcher on education policy and democracy, I have found that <a href="https://affect.coe.hawaii.edu/lessons/instruction-that-responds-to-flourishes-with-the-cultural-linguistic-background-of-students-families/">putting more culturally diverse courses in school</a> is something that better prepares young people to learn how to interact in healthy ways with people who are different from themselves.</p>
<p>Gensaw, the Yurok language teacher, is at the forefront of this. One year when he was again asked if he could bring the students to dance around Thanksgiving time, he said yes, but not on the quad. He requested a school assembly space where student behavior could be monitored. The school said yes, and the students danced without being demeaned by their peers. These steps are just the beginning of what it takes to undo the effects of colonization.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/193603/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mneesha Gellman received funding from the Sociological Initiative Foundation, the Phillips Fund of the American Philosophical Society, and Alma Ostrom and the American Political Science Association's Centennial Center for Political Science and Public Affairs to partially support research on which this article is based. </span></em></p>Indigenous language instructors struggle to keep their languages from becoming lost.Mneesha Gellman, Associate Professor of Political Science, Emerson CollegeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1884542022-09-18T20:15:18Z2022-09-18T20:15:18ZFrom crumbling rock art to exposed ancestral remains, climate change is ravaging our precious Indigenous heritage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484975/original/file-20220915-37506-40gf9m.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=41%2C0%2C4608%2C3035&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indigenous Rangers pointing to damaged rock art. Left to right: William Campbell, Meryl Gurruwiwi, Aron Thorn, Marcus Lacey, Djorri Gurruwiwi.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jarrad Kowlessar/courtesy of Gumurr Marthakal Indigenous Rangers</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Climate change is rapidly intensifying. Amid the chaos and damage it wreaks, many precious Indigenous heritage sites in Australia and around the world are being destroyed at an alarming rate.</p>
<p>Sea-level rise, flooding, worsening bushfires and other human-caused climate events put many archaeological and heritage sites at risk. Already, culturally significant Indigenous sites have been lost or are gravely threatened. </p>
<p>For example, in Northern Australia, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2021/nov/16/global-heating-is-destroying-rock-art-tens-of-thousands-of-years-old-experts-warn">rock art</a> tens of thousands of years old has been destroyed by cyclones, bushfires and other extreme weather events.</p>
<p>And as we outline below, ancestral remains in the Torres Strait were last year almost washed away by king tides and storm surge.</p>
<p>These examples of loss are just the beginning, unless we act. By combining Indigenous <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13549839.2015.1036414">Traditional Knowledge</a> with Western scientific approaches, communities can prioritise what heritage to save.</p>
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<img alt="rocky landscape and blue sky" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484803/original/file-20220915-17-6s854.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484803/original/file-20220915-17-6s854.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484803/original/file-20220915-17-6s854.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484803/original/file-20220915-17-6s854.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=313&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484803/original/file-20220915-17-6s854.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484803/original/file-20220915-17-6s854.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484803/original/file-20220915-17-6s854.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Australia’s ancient landscapes are a treasure trove of Indigenous heritage. Pictured: Mithaka Country in remote Queensland.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shawnee Gorringe/courtesy of Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Indigenous heritage on the brink</h2>
<p>Indigenous Australians are one of the longest living cultures on Earth. They have maintained their cultural and sacred sites for millennia. </p>
<p>In July, Traditional Owners from across Australia attended a <a href="https://drm4heritage.wordpress.com">workshop</a> on disaster risk management at Flinders University. The participants, who work on Country as cultural heritage managers and rangers, hailed from as far afield as the Torres Strait Islands and Tasmania.</p>
<p>Here, three of these Traditional Owners describe cultural heritage losses they’ve witnessed, or fear will occur in the near future.</p>
<p><strong>- Enid Tom, Kaurareg Elder and a director of Kaurareg Native Title Aboriginal Corporation:</strong></p>
<p>Coastal erosion and seawater inundation have long threatened the Torres Strait. But now efforts to deal with the problem have taken on new urgency. </p>
<p>In February last year, king tides and a storm surge eroded parts of a beach on Muralug (or Prince of Wales) Island. Aboriginal custodians and archaeologists rushed to <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-05/ancestral-remains-uncovered-torres-strait-due-to-climate-change/101387964">one site</a> where a female ancestor was buried. They excavated the skeletal remains and reburied them at a safe location.</p>
<p>It was the first time such a site had been excavated at the island. Kaurareg Elders now worry coastal erosion will uncover and potentially destroy more burial sites.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sacred-aboriginal-sites-are-yet-again-at-risk-in-the-pilbara-but-tourism-can-help-protect-australias-rich-cultural-heritage-188524">Sacred Aboriginal sites are yet again at risk in the Pilbara. But tourism can help protect Australia’s rich cultural heritage</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="here" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484797/original/file-20220915-26-h3xclx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484797/original/file-20220915-26-h3xclx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484797/original/file-20220915-26-h3xclx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484797/original/file-20220915-26-h3xclx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484797/original/file-20220915-26-h3xclx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484797/original/file-20220915-26-h3xclx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484797/original/file-20220915-26-h3xclx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Excavations of an ancestral burial eroded by king tides in the Torres Strait.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Michael Westaway, UQ/ courtesy of Kaurareg Native Title Aboriginal Corporation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>- Marcus Lacey, Senior Gumurr Marthakal Indigenous Ranger:</strong></p>
<p>The Marthakal Indigenous Protected Area covers remote islands and coastal mainland areas in the Northern Territory’s North Eastern Arnhem Land. It has an average elevation of just one metre above sea level, and is highly vulnerable to climate change-related hazards such as severe tropical cyclones and sea level rise.</p>
<p>The area is the last remnant of the ancient <a href="https://users.monash.edu.au/%7Emcoller/SahulTime/">land bridge</a> joining Australia with Southeast Asia. As such, it can provide valuable <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-42946-9">information</a> about the first colonisation of Australia by First Nations people.</p>
<p>It is also an important place for understanding <a href="https://artreview.com/fragmented-histories-the-yolngu-macassan-exchange/">contact history</a> between Aboriginal Australians and the Indonesian Maccassans, dating back <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/language/indonesian/en/article/deep-ties-between-indigenous-australians-and-indonesias-macassans-celebrated-through-song-and-dance/rg6x9g1l4">some 400 years</a>. </p>
<p>What’s more, the area provides insights into Australia’s colonial history, such as Indigenous rock art depicting the ships of British navigator Matthew Flinders. Sea level rise and king tides mean this valuable piece of Australia’s history is now being eroded.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/shifting-seasons-using-indigenous-knowledge-and-western-science-to-help-address-climate-change-impacts-183229">Shifting seasons: using Indigenous knowledge and western science to help address climate change impacts</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="rocky coastal area from above" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484794/original/file-20220915-25735-p3we31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484794/original/file-20220915-25735-p3we31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484794/original/file-20220915-25735-p3we31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484794/original/file-20220915-25735-p3we31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484794/original/file-20220915-25735-p3we31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484794/original/file-20220915-25735-p3we31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484794/original/file-20220915-25735-p3we31.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The coastal area has an average elevation of just one metre above sea level.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jarrad Kowlessar, Flinders University/courtesy of Gumurr Marthakal Indigenous Rangers</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="flat piece of rock partially buried in sand" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484798/original/file-20220915-25814-pdjdqd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484798/original/file-20220915-25814-pdjdqd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484798/original/file-20220915-25814-pdjdqd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484798/original/file-20220915-25814-pdjdqd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=300&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484798/original/file-20220915-25814-pdjdqd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484798/original/file-20220915-25814-pdjdqd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484798/original/file-20220915-25814-pdjdqd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=377&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Slabs of rock containing ancient Indigenous art have fallen into the sand.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jarrad Kowlessar, Flinders University/courtesy of Gumurr Marthakal Indigenous Rangers</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><strong>- Shawnee Gorringe, operations administrator at Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation:</strong></p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="rubble on dry earth" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484799/original/file-20220915-16744-n8xfin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/484799/original/file-20220915-16744-n8xfin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484799/original/file-20220915-16744-n8xfin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484799/original/file-20220915-16744-n8xfin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=857&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484799/original/file-20220915-16744-n8xfin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1076&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484799/original/file-20220915-16744-n8xfin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1076&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/484799/original/file-20220915-16744-n8xfin.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1076&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Remains of a traditional Indigenous fireplace currently at risk of destruction.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shawnee Gorringe/courtesy of Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>On Mithaka land, in remote Queensland, lie important Indigenous heritage sites such as <a href="https://anthropologymuseum.uq.edu.au/exhibitions/past-exhibitions/kirrenderri-heart-channel-country">stone circles</a>, fireplaces and examples of traditional First Nations water management infrastructure. </p>
<p>But repeated drought risks destroying these sites – a threat compounded by erosion from over-grazing.</p>
<p>To help solve these issues, we desperately need Indigenous leadership and participation in decision-making at local, state and federal levels. This is the only way to achieve a sustainable future for environmental and heritage protection.</p>
<p>Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation general manager Joshua Gorringe has been invited to the United Nations’ COP27 climate conference in Egypt in November. This is a step in the right direction. </p>
<h2>So what now?</h2>
<p>The loss of Indigenous heritage to climate change requires <a href="https://www.icomos.org/images/DOCUMENTS/Secretariat/2022/TSP/ADCOMSC_202110_2-1_Trienial_Scientific_Plan_EN.pdf">immediate action</a>. This should involve rigorous assessment of threatened sites, prioritising those most at risk, and taking steps to mitigate damage.</p>
<p>This work should be undertaken not only by scientists, engineers and heritage workers, but first and foremost by the Indigenous communities themselves, using Traditional Knowledge.</p>
<p>Last year’s COP26 global climate conference included a <a href="https://www.cultureatcop.com">climate heritage agenda</a>. This allowed global <a href="https://unfccc.int/news/cop26-strengthens-role-of-indigenous-experts-and-stewardship-of-nature">Indigenous voices</a> to be heard. But unfortunately, Indigenous heritage is often excluded from discussions about climate change.</p>
<p>Addressing this requires doing away with the usual “top down” Western, neo-colonial approach which many Indigenous communities see as exclusive and ineffective. Instead, a “bottom up” approach should be adopted through inclusive and long-term initiatives such as <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/sites/default/files/research_pub/benefits-cfc_0_2.pdf">Caring for Country</a>. </p>
<p>This approach should draw on Indigenous knowledge – often passed down <a href="https://www.bloomsbury.com/au/edge-of-memory-9781472943262/">orally</a> – of how to manage risk. This should be combined with Western climate science, as well as the expertise of governments and other organisations. </p>
<p>Incorporating Indigenous knowledge into cultural heritage policies and procedures will not just improve heritage protection. It would empower Indigenous communities in the face of the growing climate emergency.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/caring-for-country-means-tackling-the-climate-crisis-with-indigenous-leadership-3-things-the-new-government-must-do-183987">Caring for Country means tackling the climate crisis with Indigenous leadership: 3 things the new government must do</a>
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</p>
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<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/188454/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Anna M. Kotarba-Morley receives funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC) and National Centre of Science (NCN) in Poland. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Enid Tom does not have any thing to disclose.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shawnee Gorringe has received funding from the Australian Research Council.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marcus Lacey does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Cyclones, floods and other climate change-linked events are threatening Indigenous heritage tens of thousands of years old. Unless we act, they’ll be gone for good.Anna M. Kotarba-Morley, Senior Lecturer in Archaeology, Flinders UniversityEnid Tom, Kaurareg Elder and director of Kaurareg Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, Indigenous KnowledgeMarcus Lacey, Senior Gumurr Marthakal Indigenous ranger, Indigenous KnowledgeShawnee Gorringe, Manager at Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation, Indigenous KnowledgeLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1872842022-08-22T02:27:21Z2022-08-22T02:27:21ZFrozen in time, we’ve become blind to ways to build sustainability into our urban heritage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/476643/original/file-20220729-19-9vph.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C223%2C4031%2C2685&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Walsh Bay Arts Precinct development won the Greenway Award for Heritage.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">MDRX/Wikimedia</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>It was hard to keep up with all the bad news coming out of the recent <a href="https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/">Australia State of the Environment</a> report. The <a href="https://theconversation.com/this-is-australias-most-important-report-on-the-environments-deteriorating-health-we-present-its-grim-findings-186131">dire state of natural places and First Nations heritage</a> rightly attracted attention. However, one important finding was overlooked: the poor state of Australia’s so-called historic heritage.</p>
<p>The report <a href="https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/heritage/introduction">found</a> this heritage is at risk on many fronts. It’s under pressure from land development, resource extraction, poorly managed tourism, climate change and inadequate management and protections.</p>
<p>In a familiar framing, the report points the finger at <a href="https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/heritage/pressures/population#urban-development">urban development</a> and other changes. However, this mindset itself is actually an obstacle to protecting our urban heritage. </p>
<p>Change in our cities, and to our heritage, is both inevitable and necessary. Our relationships to neighbourhoods and places constantly evolve, <a href="https://theconversation.com/coronavirus-could-turn-cities-into-doughnuts-empty-centres-but-vibrant-suburbs-151406">as we learnt during COVID-19 lockdowns</a>.</p>
<p>Policy ideas framed by sustainability, such as <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/research/results/reports/18-2022">adaptive management</a> that encourages heritage places to change and evolve, are more sensible. Flexible and creative responses to heritage places should be allowed.</p>
<p>An example of embracing change is the <a href="https://www.architectureanddesign.com.au/news/tzg-wins-nsw-medallion-for-walsh-bay-arts-precinct">Walsh Bay Arts Precinct</a> in Sydney. The project has reimagined maritime heritage for culture and the arts. </p>
<p>Adopting new perspectives won’t only preserve our historic buildings and places by enabling us to shape them for today’s needs. It will also mean urban heritage can contribute to cities becoming more socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1534561567991267328"}"></div></p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/sustainable-re-use-and-recycling-work-for-heritage-buildings-and-places-too-83975">Sustainable re-use and recycling work for heritage buildings and places too</a>
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<h2>A problem of definitions</h2>
<p>The <a href="https://www.pc.gov.au/inquiries/completed/heritage">historic heritage</a> that the report finds is deteriorating refers to places, buildings and structures dating from 1788 onwards. But the very idea of “historic heritage” <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Values-in-Cities-Urban-Heritage-in-Twentieth-Century-Australia/Lesh/p/book/9780367371050">is out-of-date</a>. </p>
<p>The term originally contrasted colonial built heritage with so-called “pre-history”. <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/228671099">Indigenous heritage</a> was generally seen as being in the past rather than continuing into the present or having a future.</p>
<p>A more precise term, “cultural heritage”, embraces the diverse historical and societal values that shape cities and historic environments. It better recognises that our urban cultural heritage is a product of colonisation and dispossession and located on Indigenous Country.</p>
<p>On the ground, we see a few examples of more progressive activities. The deeply researched <a href="https://participate.melbourne.vic.gov.au/amendmentc387/amendment-overview">City of Melbourne Hoddle Grid Review</a> embraced Indigenous perspectives, social values and modern buildings. But this is an unusual case of innovation.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-heritage-protection-is-about-how-people-use-places-not-just-their-architecture-and-history-138128">Why heritage protection is about how people use places, not just their architecture and history</a>
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</p>
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<h2>A problem of knowledge</h2>
<p>For heritage to contribute more to social sustainability, by ensuring places reflect and strengthen diverse communities, we need more robust knowledge about existing protections. </p>
<p>We simply <a href="https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/heritage/management/national-and-international-frameworks#national-heritage-management-framework">lack that data</a>. Australia has no heritage reporting mechanisms across national, state and local heritage jurisdictions.</p>
<p>As a result, the State of the Environment report was unable to provide a fuller picture of the state of urban heritage: what is protected, why and how it is protected, nor its values and condition. The report was not funded for this kind of comprehensive data collection, nor for widespread site visits.</p>
<p>We cannot identify which Australian communities and histories – whether First Nations, colonial or multicultural stories – are represented within heritage lists. The five-year report identifies <a href="https://soe.dcceew.gov.au/heritage/environment/historic-heritage">only six targeted projects</a> exploring gaps in state heritage registers. Only one of these studies foregrounds social value.</p>
<p>Centralising community perspectives in heritage remains a challenge. For example, when the <a href="https://www.hulballarat.org.au">City of Ballarat collaborated with residents</a> to identify places of importance, the insights could not be translated into protections because planning laws don’t adequately recognise <a href="https://eprints.gla.ac.uk/252856/">community heritage expertise</a>. Work needs to be done to integrate heritage management and social sustainability.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-can-we-meaningfully-recognise-cities-as-indigenous-places-65561">How can we meaningfully recognise cities as Indigenous places?</a>
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</p>
<hr>
<h2>A problem of adaptation</h2>
<p>Expanding the scope of urban heritage enables new perspectives on how it can contribute to economic and environmental sustainability. Economic development can threaten heritage, but also rescue it from decay. Leading heritage projects treat existing physical and social spaces as significant but underutilised resources.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/business/companies/property-king-builds-kings-cross-empire-with-a-bourbon-and-beefsteak-20210726-p58cxf.html">regeneration of Sydney’s Kings Cross</a>, for example, seeks to return glitz and glamour to the area, albeit minus its gritty and subversive character. Heritage and communities are both enhanced and diminished through development and investment.</p>
<p>The report rightly identifies climate change as a threat to heritage places. Yet, <a href="https://heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/research-projects/heritage-and-climate-change/">across jurisdictions</a>, inadequate emphasis is placed on heritage as <a href="https://historicengland.org.uk/whats-new/features/climate-change/our-strategy/">a driver</a> of climate adaptation. Reworking existing environments, buildings and structures, whether or not they are heritage-listed, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2020/jan/13/the-case-for-never-demolishing-another-building">is a sustainability trend</a>. </p>
<p>Indeed, the report encourages the retention of existing buildings for their <a href="https://www.yourhome.gov.au/materials/embodied-energy">embodied energy</a> due to the resources that have gone into constructing and maintaining them. But it maintains the premise that development tends to undermines conservation.</p>
<p>This longstanding mindset stands in the way of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2022/aug/16/demolition-is-an-act-of-violence-the-architects-reworking-buildings-instead-of-tearing-them-down">widespread adaptive reuse</a>.
Adopting broader perspectives and new approaches empowers heritage for sustainability agendas.</p>
<p>Although not heritage-listed, Broadmeadows Town Hall (1964) in Melbourne has been <a href="https://architectureau.com/articles/kerstin-thompson-architects-transforms-suburban-town-hall/">conserved and transformed</a> in a sophisticated and functional way.
At Melbourne’s Southbank, the listed <a href="https://architectureau.com/articles/historic-melbourne-tea-house-to-be-revamped/">Robur Tea House</a> may soon finally be revitalised. Reworking the 1880s industrial building with a skyscraper above may well be the best way forward. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1419943792354881536"}"></div></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/we-cant-afford-to-just-build-greener-we-must-build-less-170570">We can't afford to just build greener. We must build less</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What’s stopping us from doing better?</h2>
<p>With clear parallels to today, the <a href="https://nla.gov.au/nla.obj-1473866678/">Inquiry into the National Estate</a> reported in 1974 that Australia’s heritage had been “downgraded, disregarded, and neglected”. The Commonwealth government <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id%3A%22media%2Fpressrel%2FHPR10029719%22;src1=sm1">took dramatic action</a> by establishing the independent and innovative <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13527258.2018.1475406">Australian Heritage Commission</a> (1975–2004).</p>
<p>In recent times, however, the Commonwealth has <a href="https://epress.lib.uts.edu.au/journals/index.php/phrj/article/view/244">greatly reduced its involvement</a> in conserving urban heritage. Every state and local government now has its own approaches, resulting in <a href="https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9781351157520-13/reshaping-sunburnt-country-heritage-cultural-politics-contemporary-australia-william-logan">fragmented governance arrangements</a>. The lack of national leadership, co-ordination and innovation has led to us falling behind <a href="https://www.icomos.org/images/DOCUMENTS/Secretariat/2021/SDG/ICOMOS_SDGs_Policy_Guidance_2021.pdf">international approaches</a>.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZshZ3Fv1O90?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Personalities of Historic Places – Why Do Historic Places Matter?</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Urban heritage can strengthen communities and help foster an inclusive and democratic society only by engaging with a diversity of places and stories. Widespread adaptation and reuse of both listed and non-listed heritage places can support economic and environmental sustainability.</p>
<p>New and radical perspectives are needed to keep heritage relevant and thriving in cities.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>James Lesh’s book <a href="https://www.routledge.com/Values-in-Cities-Urban-Heritage-in-Twentieth-Century-Australia/Lesh/p/book/9780367371050">Values in Cities: Urban Heritage in Twentieth-Century Australia</a> will be <a href="https://robinboyd.org.au/event/a-new-history-australian-heritage-movement/">launched</a> at the Robin Boyd Foundation in Melbourne on August 24 2022.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/187284/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>James Lesh has received external research funding from government. He is a member of the Victorian National Trust's Heritage Advocacy Committee.</span></em></p>Our urban heritage should be allowed to evolve and adapt to the values and needs of today. It’s the best way to avoid neglect and decay, while enabling this heritage to help make cities sustainable.James Lesh, Lecturer in Cultural Heritage and Museum Studies, Deakin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1635812021-07-08T20:12:19Z2021-07-08T20:12:19ZWill your grandchildren have the chance to visit Australia’s sacred trees? Only if our sick indifference to Aboriginal heritage is cured<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410257/original/file-20210708-15-1j4yz41.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=22%2C0%2C5023%2C3359&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Trees have always been a point of conflict between colonisers and Indigenous people. </p>
<p>At the very beginning of European-Indigenous interactions, skirmishes broke out because colonisers were ignorant of protocols and the desecration of important Indigenous sites and habitats. In the 19th century, as frontiers pushed west into the Country of Wiradjuri, colonists were indifferent to the sanctity of marked trees.</p>
<p>As a <a href="http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145226802">news article</a> from the Daily Advertiser in 1941 reported: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>The only carved tree […] unfortunately fell victim to the advancing tide of civilisation and was cut up and converted into railway sleepers that now possibly lie somewhere along the line between Yanco and Hay, or Leeton and Griffith. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>Most recently, the binary difference between Indigenous and non-Indigenous systems were in the spotlight as Djab Wurrung custodians and activists fought to prevent the desecration of <a href="https://theconversation.com/an-open-letter-from-1-200-australian-academics-on-the-djab-wurrung-trees-149147">Djab Wurrung sacred trees</a>. Dozens camped to protect a 350-year-old Djab Wurrung Direction Tree, and a <a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-this-grandmother-tree-connects-me-to-country-i-cried-when-i-saw-her-burned-129782">Grandmother Tree</a> estimated to be 800 years old. </p>
<p>This conflict showed it is not necessary for a tree to be modified for it to be considered sacred. It also showed us this failure, centuries old, is one born from a conflict of ideas and beliefs between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people.</p>
<p>This year’s <a href="https://theconversation.com/although-we-didnt-produce-these-problems-we-suffer-them-3-ways-you-can-help-in-naidocs-call-to-heal-country-163362">NAIDOC theme “Heal Country”</a> asks all Australians to take stock of the ongoing threat and desecration of Indigenous heritage — including sacred, cultural trees. This heritage not only holds value for Indigenous Australians, but for all Australians as a cornerstone of our national identity. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410258/original/file-20210708-23-1xivstn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410258/original/file-20210708-23-1xivstn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410258/original/file-20210708-23-1xivstn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410258/original/file-20210708-23-1xivstn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410258/original/file-20210708-23-1xivstn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410258/original/file-20210708-23-1xivstn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410258/original/file-20210708-23-1xivstn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410258/original/file-20210708-23-1xivstn.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=559&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Wiradjuri scar tree located on the outskirts of Narrandera, NSW.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Sentinels in ceremony, birthing and burials</h2>
<p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/religion/our-story-is-in-the-land-indigenous-sense-of-belonging/11159992">Aboriginal ontology</a> captures the relationship between all worldly and spiritual phenomena, and relationship to Country.</p>
<p>Aboriginal people view the landscape and all things within it not as inanimate places or objects, but as sentient landscapes and entities with agency and metaphysical properties. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/although-we-didnt-produce-these-problems-we-suffer-them-3-ways-you-can-help-in-naidocs-call-to-heal-country-163362">'Although we didn’t produce these problems, we suffer them': 3 ways you can help in NAIDOC's call to Heal Country</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Sacred trees are pivotal points in a nexus of interpersonal relationships between person-animal-plant, in person-person kinship, in identity and connection to place. They hold our ancestor stories, they are a direct link to our old people. </p>
<p>Trees transcend simple economics and sit at the centre of the sacred — they are sentinels in ceremony, birthing and burials.</p>
<p>In Wiradjuri Country, <a href="https://www2.sl.nsw.gov.au/archive/events/exhibitions/2011/carved_trees/">carved trees</a> marked ceremonial grounds and burials. Burial trees were decorated with distinct diamond and scroll motifs, unique and powerful, and faced those buried.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1396966969182625792"}"></div></p>
<p>Economically, trees provided generations of Indigenous people with shelter, fibre, tools, food and material for canoe-making. </p>
<p>The common thread in Indigenous tree use is its sustainable practice. Rarely would a tree be felled purely for economic gain because its inherent value is realised for spiritual and broader ecosystem health.</p>
<p>Importantly, people-tree beliefs systems are very much alive in Aboriginal societies of southeast Australia. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/an-open-letter-from-1-200-australian-academics-on-the-djab-wurrung-trees-149147">An open letter from 1,200 Australian academics on the Djab Wurrung trees</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Scarred trees are still commonly made by Wiradjuri people. Species of eucalypt, particularly red gum, yellow and grey box are carved and, when their bark is soft, removed to make coolamons (wood or bark carrying container) and canoes. Red gums are manipulated while young, their branches interwoven. Commonly called ring trees, they are said to mark boundaries and line the banks of the Marrambidya (Murrumbidgee River).</p>
<p>Wiradjuri women still perform the ancient birthing ceremony of returning a child’s gural (placenta) to Country. My daughter’s gural was returned to Country and buried at the base of river red gum sapling on the banks of the Marrambidya. </p>
<p>This is her place now, she is connected to this sapling. It will grow as she grows, and she will return to this spot for the rest of her life.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410259/original/file-20210708-25-11ffctl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410259/original/file-20210708-25-11ffctl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410259/original/file-20210708-25-11ffctl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410259/original/file-20210708-25-11ffctl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410259/original/file-20210708-25-11ffctl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410259/original/file-20210708-25-11ffctl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410259/original/file-20210708-25-11ffctl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410259/original/file-20210708-25-11ffctl.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A practice coolamon cut with my daughter and partner.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Lillardia Briggs-Houston</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>The threat of public indifference</h2>
<p>Sacred trees also stand at the intersection of Aboriginal heritage and environmental protection, activism and politics. Economic- and wildfire-driven deforestation represent omnipresent threats to sacred trees and Indigenous heritage more broadly. </p>
<p>But even more insidious is the threat of public indifference. It’s a sickness that has spread through our nation’s institutions and political systems. </p>
<p>This sickness shows a lack of respect for Indigenous culture and our humanity. Its symptoms take the form of ongoing desecration of our heritage and incessant dispossession of Indigenous people. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410263/original/file-20210708-27-1i50hf5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410263/original/file-20210708-27-1i50hf5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410263/original/file-20210708-27-1i50hf5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410263/original/file-20210708-27-1i50hf5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410263/original/file-20210708-27-1i50hf5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410263/original/file-20210708-27-1i50hf5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410263/original/file-20210708-27-1i50hf5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410263/original/file-20210708-27-1i50hf5.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Binyal (River Red Gum) ring tree boundary marker. They are often found along the Marrambidya</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Unless there’s mainstream appreciation of Aboriginal culture and heritage, episodes like the destruction of <a href="https://theconversation.com/destruction-of-juukan-gorge-we-need-to-know-the-history-of-artefacts-but-it-is-more-important-to-keep-them-in-place-139650">Juukan Gorge</a>, <a href="https://www.smh.com.au/national/what-do-these-sacred-trees-tell-us-about-aboriginal-heritage-in-australia-20201030-p56a0g.html">Djab Wurung</a> and <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2021/04/06/devastated-aboriginal-victoria-investigates-reports-damage-ancient-kuyang-stone">Kuyang</a> will continue, and the public conversation will remain divisive.</p>
<h2>The Riverina’s last sacred trees</h2>
<p>In a small township called Narrandera situated along the Marrambidya (Murrumbidgee River), sacred Wiradjuri trees still survive. They represent a living continuum between the old ways and the new. </p>
<p>Most of this country along the Murrumbidgee has been consumed by Australia’s unquenchable appetite for land and water. Almost everywhere you look, there are expanses of land cleared to make way for intensive crop cycles. Miles of irrigation fed by the Marrambidya deliver water to thirsty crops and livestock. </p>
<p>The land clearing and deforestation in this part of Australia is staggering, and it doesn’t surprise me that our abysmal record qualified us as the only developed nation on the World Wildlife Fund’s global list of deforestation <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/how-australia-became-one-of-the-worst-deforesters-in-the-world/10452336">hotspots</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410264/original/file-20210708-27-uvydbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Koala in a tree" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410264/original/file-20210708-27-uvydbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410264/original/file-20210708-27-uvydbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410264/original/file-20210708-27-uvydbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410264/original/file-20210708-27-uvydbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410264/original/file-20210708-27-uvydbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410264/original/file-20210708-27-uvydbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410264/original/file-20210708-27-uvydbe.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Murrumbidgee Valley is the Riverina’s only koala habitat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>One exception where communities of old trees still stand is in the <a href="https://www.nationalparks.nsw.gov.au/visit-a-park/parks/murrumbidgee-valley-regional-park">Murrumbidgee Valley Regional Park</a>, which hugs the Marrambidya and provides a corridor sanctuary for flora and fauna. </p>
<p>It’s the most important ecological habitat in this part of Bidgee country, not only because of its remarkable biodiversity value (this is the Riverina’s only koala habitat) or heritage value, but more so because of its scarceness.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-this-grandmother-tree-connects-me-to-country-i-cried-when-i-saw-her-burned-129782">Friday essay: this grandmother tree connects me to Country. I cried when I saw her burned</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Here, some of the region’s last sacred trees and important Aboriginal cultural sites survive. </p>
<p>The two photos below show a shield tree and a stone core. These were both found in the same stretch of the Murrumbidgee Valley Regional Park.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410262/original/file-20210708-17-118rn9o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410262/original/file-20210708-17-118rn9o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410262/original/file-20210708-17-118rn9o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410262/original/file-20210708-17-118rn9o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410262/original/file-20210708-17-118rn9o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410262/original/file-20210708-17-118rn9o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410262/original/file-20210708-17-118rn9o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410262/original/file-20210708-17-118rn9o.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Wiradjuri shield tree located in the Murrumbidgee Valley National Park.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410261/original/file-20210708-21-1voarkm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410261/original/file-20210708-21-1voarkm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410261/original/file-20210708-21-1voarkm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410261/original/file-20210708-21-1voarkm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410261/original/file-20210708-21-1voarkm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=550&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410261/original/file-20210708-21-1voarkm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410261/original/file-20210708-21-1voarkm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410261/original/file-20210708-21-1voarkm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=692&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A stone core identified on a exposed surface in the Murrumbidgee Valley National Park. These are stones from which usable flakes, similar to a knife, are struck. They have distinct impressions made from these strikes.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Rob Williams</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Sacred trees used to be common throughout the Riverina, but are now found only in a handful of state forests, national parks, or in vegetation reserves hugging the region’s highways. Extrapolating beyond the fence line into farmland, one could presume they were once common throughout this territory prior to colonisation.</p>
<h2>A future for sacred trees</h2>
<p>We must ask ourselves some tough questions. What will the next two centuries of unrestrained economic and infrastructure growth mean for Aboriginal heritage? Will your grandchildren have the same opportunity to visit and sit with sacred trees on Country — to listen to them, to speak to them and to appreciate them?</p>
<p>The ongoing desecration of Aboriginal heritage and Country, particularly our waterways, directly traumatises Aboriginal people. When we are denied access to Country and our heritage is destroyed, it leads to poorer health, well-being and social outcomes for <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-12-14/mayi-kuwayu-study-indigenous-health-on-country/9258364">Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people</a>.</p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1411830911499264005"}"></div></p>
<p>This is not just an Indigenous issue, or only about Indigenous struggle. Indigenous heritage is an asset all Australians can enjoy, celebrate, and advocate for greater protection and sustainable management. Once gone, it can never be replaced.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>I acknowledge the Wiradjuri and all Indigenous people, their ancestors, elders, and youth, and advocate for their ongoing connection and right to access and protect Country.</em></p>
<p><em>I also acknowledge Lillardia Briggs-Houston, Wiradjuri, Gangulu and Yorta Yorta woman, for her advice and contributions to this piece.</em></p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/strength-from-perpetual-grief-how-aboriginal-people-experience-the-bushfire-crisis-129448">Strength from perpetual grief: how Aboriginal people experience the bushfire crisis</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163581/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Rob N. Williams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Sacred trees are a cornerstone of our national identity. They transcend simple economics and sit at the centre of the sacred — sentinels in ceremony, birthing and burials.Rob N. Williams, Archaeologist & PhD Candidate, University of SydneyLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1515802020-12-13T19:04:53Z2020-12-13T19:04:53ZJuukan Gorge: how could they not have known? (And how can we be sure they will in future?)<p>How could they not have known? </p>
<p>That was the question on everyone’s lips after leaders of the Australian defence force claimed <a href="https://theconversation.com/why-australian-commanders-need-to-be-held-responsible-for-alleged-war-crimes-in-afghanistan-151030">not to have known</a> about the atrocities committed by special forces in Afghanistan. </p>
<p>It is now being asked about the leadership of Rio Tinto after that company ignored the wishes of the Puutu Kunti Kurrama and Pinikura (PKKP) peoples and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1IOotU9mN0">destroyed</a> caves containing priceless Aboriginal heritage dating back 46,000 years. </p>
<p>Three of Rio’s most senior executives, including the chief executive, apparently knew nothing about what was happening until it was too late. This was:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>despite a detailed archaeological report about the heritage value of the caves which the company had commissioned </p></li>
<li><p>despite representations of traditional landowners about the significance of the caves, and that they be preserved </p></li>
<li><p>despite the concerns of Rio’s own cultural heritage staff in Western Australia</p></li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374557/original/file-20201212-13-rkhmhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374557/original/file-20201212-13-rkhmhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/374557/original/file-20201212-13-rkhmhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374557/original/file-20201212-13-rkhmhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374557/original/file-20201212-13-rkhmhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=228&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374557/original/file-20201212-13-rkhmhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374557/original/file-20201212-13-rkhmhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/374557/original/file-20201212-13-rkhmhn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=286&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Northern_Australia/CavesatJuukanGorge/Interim_Report">Extract from Joint Standing Committee on Northern Australia's interim report</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>How could they not have known? The parliament’s joint standing committee inquiry into the destruction of the Juukan Gorge caves is a golden opportunity to get an answer.</p>
<p>Unfortunately, this month’s <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Northern_Australia/CavesatJuukanGorge/Interim_Report">interim report</a> only touches on this question, and none of the eight recommendations it addresses to Rio Tinto deal with it. </p>
<p>The closest it comes is an observation that Rio had</p>
<blockquote>
<p>a structure which sidelined heritage protection within the organisation, lack of senior management oversight, and no clear channel of communication to enable the escalation of heritage concerns to executives based in London</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Coalition committee member Dean Smith, Senator for Western Australia, went further in additional comments appended to the report</p>
<blockquote>
<p>it is my view that … board members … enabled a culture to develop at Rio Tinto where non-executive level management did not feel empowered to inform the executive of the significance of the rock shelters</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The problem is that bad news about what is happening at lower levels of large organisations travels up slowly, if at all. Matters get “stuck”, and are not addressed. </p>
<h2>Bad news doesn’t travel up</h2>
<p>Paedophile priests, money laundering by banks, fraudulent misrepresentation by auto companies, corruption in police departments, unacceptable safety risks taken by mining companies – in each case when these sort of issues come to light, those at the top say they knew nothing about it. </p>
<p>There are reasons for this failure to know: the people at the top would rather not hear about it, and so those below avoid telling them; whistleblowers get ostracised; people ‘"in the know" remain silent out of self-interest or misplaced loyalty; bonuses encourage a focus on profit at the expense of all else.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/juukan-gorge-inquiry-puts-rio-tinto-on-notice-but-without-drastic-reforms-it-could-happen-again-151377">Juukan Gorge inquiry puts Rio Tinto on notice, but without drastic reforms, it could happen again</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>So what should leaders do to change things? The first thing is to acknowledge that there is likely to be bad news – problems, challenges and things that are not right.</p>
<p>Indeed, if they are not hearing bad news, something is wrong.</p>
<p>Chief executives and board members need to develop a sense of “chronic unease” about whether they are really getting the full story from their subordinates or whether there are hidden time bombs ticking away that will eventually explode. They need to personally seek out and reward the bearers of bad news.</p>
<h2>Bad news needs to be sought out</h2>
<p>Second, they need to structure their organisation to maximise the chance of bad news reaching the top. What is required in large commercial organisations like Rio Tinto is someone on the executive committee whose job is ensuring non-commercial environmental, social and governance risks are managed. </p>
<p>That executive should neither be responsible for, nor rewarded for, any aspect of commercial performance and should be given a direct line to board members. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/corporate-dysfunction-on-indigenous-affairs-why-heads-rolled-at-rio-tinto-146001">Corporate dysfunction on Indigenous affairs: Why heads rolled at Rio Tinto</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Specialist staff reporting to that executive need to be embedded at lower levels of the organisation and in each of the company’s divisions.</p>
<p>The interim report concludes that Rio Tinto’s <a href="https://www.riotinto.com/en/news/releases/2020/Rio-Tinto-publishes-board-review-of-cultural-heritage-management">board review</a> has not fully grappled with these issues. </p>
<p>Yet Rio Tinto has made some positive changes following the catastrophe.</p>
<p>First, it has acknowledged that its cultural heritage staff in Western Australia have had no reporting line to higher-level social performance staff. Indeed, there have been no higher-level staff exclusively responsible for impacts to communities. </p>
<h2>Rio is making an (uneven) start</h2>
<p>The company is creating a “social performance” function, reporting to a group executive on the corporate executive committee. </p>
<p>Second (and of concern) Rio Tinto has specified that this executive will also be the culmination point for reports on new mining “projects”.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.riotinto.com/en/operations/projects">Projects</a> are commercially and engineering oriented and might come to be seen as more important to the company and requiring greater focus from the group executive than health, safety, environment and social concerns.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rio-tinto-just-blasted-away-an-ancient-aboriginal-site-heres-why-that-was-allowed-139466">Rio Tinto just blasted away an ancient Aboriginal site. Here’s why that was allowed</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Third, social performance staff will be “embedded” within local mine management and product groups. </p>
<p>The critical question is whether reports from these social performance specialists will get diluted by the time they reach the top. The best chance is a direct line to a specialist in corporate headquarters who reports to a “group executive social performance” on the executive committee. </p>
<p>Rio Tinto has appointed a chief adviser Indigenous affairs who will report to the chief executive, although it is unclear what authority the position will hold. </p>
<p>The announced changes leave much uncertain. The inquiry will hold further hearings <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/House_of_Representatives/About_the_House_News/Media_Releases/Never_Again">next year</a>. It will get the chance to insist on proper structures.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/151580/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Deanna is chief investigator of an ARC Linkage grant on public-private inquiries in mining; member of the International Council of Mining and Metals independent expert review panel; and trustee and member of the international advisory council for the Institute for Human Rights and Business. She is Director of the Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining (CSRM) at UQ. CSRM conducts applied research with communities, governments, and mining companies, including Rio Tinto.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Andrew Hopkins does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Rio Tinto’s own staff wanted the blast stopped.Andrew Hopkins, Emeritus Professor of Sociology, Australian National UniversityDeanna Kemp, Professor and Director, Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1462112020-10-14T19:11:12Z2020-10-14T19:11:12ZCan a mining state be pro-heritage? Vital steps to avoid another Juukan Gorge<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361538/original/file-20201005-24-1p42tfq.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=240%2C4%2C1102%2C810&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Participants in the Wintawari Guruma Rock Art Research Project record rock art near Tom Price in the Pilbara region.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jo McDonald, CRAR+M Database, Photo reproduced with permission WGAC</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The destruction of 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge sites in the Pilbara has created great distress for their traditional owners, seismic shockwaves for heritage professionals and appalled the general public. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://theconversation.com/corporate-dysfunction-on-indigenous-affairs-why-heads-rolled-at-rio-tinto-146001">fallout for Rio Tinto</a> has been profound as has the groundswell of criticism of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/02/western-australia-revamps-indigenous-heritage-laws-after-juukan-gorge-destruction">Western Australia’s outdated heritage laws</a>. A path forward must ensure a pivotal role for Indigenous communities and secure Keeping Places for heritage items. More broadly, we need more Indigenous places added to the <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national-heritage-list">National Heritage List</a>, ensuring them the highest form of heritage protection. </p>
<p>In a state heavily dependent on mining, the model for this could follow the successful seven-year heritage collaboration I have been part of on-country with Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation (MAC) and Rio Tinto in the Dampier Archipelago (Murujuga).</p>
<p>As Director of the <a href="https://www.crarm.uwa.edu.au/">Centre for Rock Art Research and Management</a> at the University of Western Australia, I am funded to undertake research supported by <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/4b63db66-1d8e-4427-91d1-951aff442414/files/ca-hamersley.pdf">Rio Tinto’s conservation agreement</a> with the Commonwealth.</p>
<p>This Rio Tinto funding enables research documenting the significant scientific and community values of the archipelago, feeding into the management of this estate by MAC, who represent the local coastal Pilbara groups. It also resources Indigenous rangers and trains undergraduate students. </p>
<p>The Murujuga conservation agreements, made between the Commonwealth and both Rio Tinto <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/pages/4b63db66-1d8e-4427-91d1-951aff442414/files/ca-woodside.pdf">and Woodside</a>, were negotiated when the archipelago’s one million-plus engravings and stone features were added to Australia’s <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/national/dampier-archipelago">National Heritage List</a> in 2007. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-the-rock-art-of-murujuga-deserves-world-heritage-status-102100">Explainer: why the rock art of Murujuga deserves World Heritage status</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Murujuga is one of only seven Indigenous rock art places on the National Heritage List. There are 118 listings in total in Australia (only 20 of them Indigenous). Murujuga is the only listed Indigenous site here with a conservation agreement requiring industry to fund heritage protection.</p>
<p>Rio Tinto does not have a similar agreement with the traditional owners of Juukan Gorge, the Puutu Kunti Kurruma Pinikuru (PKKP) peoples — nor do any of the other Pilbara resource extraction companies with their host native title communities. These mining tenements are managed by a range of royalty agreements, which recognise native title rights but are flexible and require transparency.</p>
<p>Despite working closely with Rio Tinto, I have been dismayed by the Juukan incident and the fault lines it has revealed in Rio Tinto’s historically significant investment in heritage management and agreement-making with Aboriginal people.</p>
<p>PKKP this week <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/oct/12/devastated-indigenous-owners-say-rio-tinto-misled-them-ahead-of-juukan-gorge-blast">expressed their distress</a> at the company’s <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-10-12/juukan-gorge-blast-inquiry-told-of-rio-tinto-gag-clauses-warning/12754100">behavior</a>. Clearly, there is much for Rio Tinto to improve. But similarly, the regulation process is seriously flawed. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363071/original/file-20201013-15-153vt6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363071/original/file-20201013-15-153vt6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/363071/original/file-20201013-15-153vt6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363071/original/file-20201013-15-153vt6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363071/original/file-20201013-15-153vt6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=316&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363071/original/file-20201013-15-153vt6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363071/original/file-20201013-15-153vt6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/363071/original/file-20201013-15-153vt6c.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=397&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A screenshot of a supplied video taken in 2015 showing one of the Juukan Gorge rock shelters in Western Australia before they were destroyed by Rio Tinto in May 2020.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">PKKP AND PKKP Aboriginal Corporation.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/rio-tinto-just-blasted-away-an-ancient-aboriginal-site-heres-why-that-was-allowed-139466">Rio Tinto just blasted away an ancient Aboriginal site. Here’s why that was allowed</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Conserving Aboriginal heritage</h2>
<p>Many of the changes in the WA Government’s new <a href="https://www.dplh.wa.gov.au/aha-review">Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill 2020</a> are welcome: in particular, the recognition of native title, allowing “stop work orders” if an Indigenous community says mining work was begun without their permission, and increased penalties for damaging heritage.</p>
<p>But Aboriginal groups, <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-09-08/juukan-gorge-repeat-possible-under-proposed-wa-law-leaders/12639846?fbclid=IwAR3YWPfDUc-uIRM0MfjN384ey5RiMEOfDA1T8CSoBFfmNPJpoteCeo-biSg">including many in the Kimberley and south-west WA</a>, fear the onus for this regulatory process will be passed onto them and — despite being the appropriate people to manage their own heritage — they will not be adequately resourced to do so.</p>
<p>The number of heritage sites <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/sep/21/rio-tinto-expected-to-destroy-124-more-aboriginal-sites-inquiry-told">likely to be at risk</a> in the future will number in the thousands, given the current footprint of mining is a mere 1% of the planned expansion over the next century. A new paradigm is needed in managing heritage. There needs to be a process of identifying regionally significant landscapes <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/8582db94-6daa-4097-b77e-079a797ef67d/files/dhawura-ngilan-vision-atsi-heritage.pdf">and earmarking them for conservation</a> before future development footprints are determined. </p>
<p>And there need to be more conservation agreements like the Murujuga one, with industry-funding heritage and conservation rather than just mining clearance work.</p>
<p>In the Pilbara, for instance, there are three national parks, Karajini, Millstream-Chichester and Murujuga, where mining cannot occur. But more are needed in other native title areas. They need to be resourced so Aboriginal heritage rangers can manage them, with appropriate <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-08-26/murujuga-national-park-reopens-rock-art-new-boardwalk/12598186?fbclid=IwAR0ZNXw657rmewpB_8QNhyM-xb8dcnhLon9L6gIqVTGM6CG27H5NvIHQBFA">facilities for tourists</a>. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362792/original/file-20201011-15-1y9bz86.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362792/original/file-20201011-15-1y9bz86.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/362792/original/file-20201011-15-1y9bz86.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362792/original/file-20201011-15-1y9bz86.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362792/original/file-20201011-15-1y9bz86.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=370&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362792/original/file-20201011-15-1y9bz86.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362792/original/file-20201011-15-1y9bz86.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/362792/original/file-20201011-15-1y9bz86.PNG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=465&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Members of the Wintawari Guruma Rock Art Project recording contemporary values with traditional custodians, university researchers and Rio Tinto heritage personnel.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jo McDonald CRAR+M Database reproduced with permission of Wintawari Guruma Aboriginal Corporation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Mining compliance surveys, which “manage harm” to heritage are a significant economy for many Aboriginal communities. </p>
<p>But a number of Pilbara Aboriginal Corporations, including Wintawari Gurama, with whom I have developed a rock art research project, don’t want to just participate in the mining economy, which is tantamount to destroying their heritage. </p>
<p>They want to train local rangers, and document, record and manage their own heritage estates, enabling elders and young people to earn a living on country.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361462/original/file-20201004-15-8wh3bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/361462/original/file-20201004-15-8wh3bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361462/original/file-20201004-15-8wh3bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361462/original/file-20201004-15-8wh3bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361462/original/file-20201004-15-8wh3bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361462/original/file-20201004-15-8wh3bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/361462/original/file-20201004-15-8wh3bx.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A Murujuga Ranger recording rock art.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jo McDonald CRAR+M Database reproduced with permission of Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>This approach is equally required in places like the Kimberley, where <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/rural/2020-07-16/bennett-resources-submits-fracking-plan-for-canning-basin/12458082">fracking could be the next resources</a> “boom”. </p>
<h2>Aboriginal communities need Keeping Places.</h2>
<p>Across the Pilbara, items <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/28/calls-for-high-level-personnel-changes-at-rio-tinto-after-juukan-gorge-destruction">such as the 7,000 heritage items salvaged</a> from Juukan Gorge, are being housed in locked shipping <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/former-top-rio-adviser-calls-for-root-and-branch-renewal/12372454">containers</a>. Secure air-conditioned Keeping Places are an urgent requirement. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/destruction-of-juukan-gorge-we-need-to-know-the-history-of-artefacts-but-it-is-more-important-to-keep-them-in-place-139650">Destruction of Juukan Gorge: we need to know the history of artefacts, but it is more important to keep them in place</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These, too, could be funded by industry, becoming the focus of heritage tourism and ranger training, and hosting collaborative research on heritage, biodiversity and conservation.</p>
<p>Murujuga, which has been added to the <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/6445/">World Heritage Tentative List</a>, has a tourism management plan. <a href="https://www.murujuga.org.au/our-work/conzinc-bay-tourism-precinct/">A Living Knowledge Centre</a> is planned, and <a href="https://parks.dpaw.wa.gov.au/site/ngajarli-deep-gorge">additional interpretation</a> facilities. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360146/original/file-20200927-18-ypjidh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360146/original/file-20200927-18-ypjidh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/360146/original/file-20200927-18-ypjidh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360146/original/file-20200927-18-ypjidh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360146/original/file-20200927-18-ypjidh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360146/original/file-20200927-18-ypjidh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360146/original/file-20200927-18-ypjidh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/360146/original/file-20200927-18-ypjidh.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=560&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ngajarli (Deep Gorge) bird track panel on Murujuga with evidence of industry visible in the background.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jo McDonald CRAR+M Database reproduced with permission of Murujuga Aboriginal Corporation</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The state government and industry stakeholders are funding the <a href="https://www.der.wa.gov.au/images/documents/our-work/programs/burrup/Murujuga_Rock_Art_Strategy.pdf">Murujuga Rock Art Strategy</a>, which will monitor and assess emissions from nearby industry. There are, however, concerning plans to introduce new industry in the adjacent Burrup Industrial Estate. This is an issue, too, for the federal government, which has ultimate oversight of heritage on the national list.</p>
<p>In WA, the state government asserts that heritage can co-exist with industry. But this will only be possible if the state recognises heritage is non-renewable — just like the mineral wealth of this country.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/146211/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jo McDonald receives funding from The Australian Research Council, and holds the endowed Rio Tinto Chair in Rock Art Studies, funded by their Conservation Agreement with the Commonwealth. She sits on the State-based Murujuga Stakeholder Reference Group and the Murujuga Heritage Committee. </span></em></p>Heritage is non-renewable — just like the mineral wealth of this country.Jo McDonald, Director, Centre for Rock Art Research + Management, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1393132020-06-04T04:01:05Z2020-06-04T04:01:05ZSixty years on, two TV programs revisit Australia’s nuclear history at Maralinga<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339057/original/file-20200602-95018-o4mad4.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=5%2C2%2C978%2C531&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZjY3ZjYzMWMtNzlhMy00YTg4LWI3MDktMWM3YzNmOTA5YWFmXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTk2MjUxNjA@._V1_.jpg">IMDB</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Over successive Sunday nights, the ABC has premiered two important television programs recounting the history of nuclear testing in Australia – the documentary <a href="https://about.abc.net.au/press-releases/when-the-atomic-dust-settles-culture-remains-maralinga-tjarutja-premieres-on-abc/">Maralinga Tjuratja</a> and a six-drama series <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11853364/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Operation Buffalo</a>. Both explore the ramifications of the Anglo-Australian nuclear venture conducted at Maralinga during the cold war – but in very different ways. </p>
<p>Interest in exploring Australia’s atomic history has lingered long after the 1980s <a href="https://www.naa.gov.au/explore-collection/first-australians/publications-and-other-resources-about-first-australians/british-nuclear-tests-maralinga">Royal Commission</a> into the British nuclear tests in regional South Australia between 1953 and 1963. The new programs seek to add to our understanding of the traumatic and bizarre nature of this time. </p>
<h2>Familiar ground</h2>
<p>Recent books by <a href="https://www.hachette.com.au/frank-walker/maralinga-the-chilling-expose-of-our-secret-nuclear-shame-and-betrayal-of-our-troops-and-country">Frank Walker</a>, <a href="https://www.newsouthbooks.com.au/books/atomic-thunder/">Elizabeth Tynan</a> and <a href="https://www.allenandunwin.com/browse/books/childrens/childrens-non-fiction/Maralingas-Long-Shadow-Christobel-Mattingley-9781760290177">Christobel Mattingley</a> reappraise the official record or draw further from eyewitness accounts. </p>
<p>The <a href="http://nuclearfutures.org/about/">Nuclear Futures</a> community arts project facilitated a number of Australian and international collaborative art undertakings during 2014-16. </p>
<p>A major travelling exhibition, <a href="https://blackmistburntcountry.com.au">Black Mist Burnt Country</a> (2016-19), toured galleries and museums across Australia showcasing Indigenous and non-Indigenous artworks featuring our nuclear history.</p>
<p>There is an important back catalogue of documentary making on the subject, including <a href="https://aso.gov.au/titles/documentaries/backs-blast/">Backs to the Blast</a> (1981), <a href="http://johnpilger.com/videos/the-secret-country-the-first-australians-fight-back">The Secret Country</a> (1985), <a href="https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/the-screen-guide/t/fortress-australia-2001/4030/">Fortress Australia</a> (2001), <a href="http://shop.nfsa.gov.au/silent-storm">Silent Storm</a> (2003) and <a href="https://www.nfsa.gov.au/collection/curated/australian-atomic-confessions-gregory-young">Australian Atomic Confessions</a> (2005). </p>
<p>By contrast, <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01439685.2015.1134109?scroll=top&needAccess=true&journalCode=chjf20">Australian film and television drama</a> has made rare ventures into the domain, most notably with Michael Pattinson’s <a href="http://www.michaelpattinson.com.au/ground-zero.php">Ground Zero</a> (1987). Clearly, there is still more to say about the events at Maralinga and the other test sites. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-the-silence-of-ediacara-the-shadow-of-uranium-72058">Friday essay: the silence of Ediacara, the shadow of uranium</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Maralinga Tjarutja: listening to Indigenous voices</h2>
<p>I’ve met with <a href="http://unlikely.net.au/issue-05/the-global-hibakusha-project">displaced indigenous populations, military veterans and downwind communities</a> affected by cold war nuclear testing and heard their testimony over the years. It was refreshing to encounter a local documentary on the subject produced and narrated by Indigenous Australians. </p>
<p>Written and directed by Larissa Behrendt, <a href="https://about.abc.net.au/press-releases/when-the-atomic-dust-settles-culture-remains-maralinga-tjarutja-premieres-on-abc/">Maralinga Tjarutja</a> stresses that the Indigenous people of this area should not be solely defined by their displacement and exposure to the nuclear tests, but by <a href="https://www.adelaidereview.com.au/latest/2020/05/22/maralinga-tjarutja/">millennia of being in-country, where culture, knowledge and country are indivisible</a>. The Indigenous elders interviewed for the documentary reveal a perspective of deep time and an understanding of place that generates respect for the sacredness of both.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339060/original/file-20200602-95042-167dnlg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339060/original/file-20200602-95042-167dnlg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339060/original/file-20200602-95042-167dnlg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339060/original/file-20200602-95042-167dnlg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339060/original/file-20200602-95042-167dnlg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339060/original/file-20200602-95042-167dnlg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339060/original/file-20200602-95042-167dnlg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339060/original/file-20200602-95042-167dnlg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=424&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sadness and loss is expressed in Maralinga Tjarutja by the land’s traditional owners.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZTkzMTRkYTQtNjI5MC00Y2IyLWFmZDYtMmYyODljODYxY2E5XkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTY1MTcxMzc@._V1_.jpg">IMDB</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Importantly, the documentary foregrounds a genuine hunger for knowledge and “truth” alongside the desire to reconcile two at times conflicting narratives, black and white. </p>
<p>It reveals the uncertainty that some Maralinga lands remain problematic for habitation, especially for traditional cooking. Elders, children and grandchildren describe the sadness and loss still affecting them, tinged with a hope for the future through the regeneration of the bush overseen by local Oak Valley rangers.</p>
<p>The profound and often tragic legacy of British nuclear testing in Australia will continue to have a long cultural and environmental half-life impacting flora, fauna and families for many generations to come. With people gagged by the <a href="https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-7422/">UK Official Secrets Act</a> and missing, inconclusive or disputed findings about the impacts from exposure to radiation, intergenerational trauma will linger due to uncertainty and anxiety.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/virtual-reality-film-collisions-is-part-disaster-movie-part-travelogue-and-completely-immersive-66563">Virtual reality film Collisions is part disaster movie, part travelogue and completely immersive</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Operation Buffalo: new fiction, bad history</h2>
<p>Last Sunday’s introductory credits to the new six-part ABC series, Operation Buffalo, declares it “a work of historical fiction”, a point immediately qualified with the proviso “but a lot of the really bad history actually happened”. </p>
<p>Viewers expecting a serious docudrama forensically recounting the major controversies surrounding the British atomic tests in Australia will be disappointed.</p>
<p>An incongruous melange of satire, nostalgia and drama, Operation Buffalo functions akin to the traditions of <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062552/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Dad’s Army</a> or <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/mash-oral-history-untold-stories-one-tvs-important-shows-1086322">M*A*S*H*</a> rather than the deliberately grotesque and absurdist black comedy of Stanley Kubrick’s <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057012/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1">Dr Strangelove</a> or <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0065528/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2">Catch-22</a>. </p>
<p>Longstanding larrikin and ocker tropes are paraded for parody alongside colonial tensions. </p>
<p>In the first episode men are mostly depicted as boozy, randy philanderers, unidentified rapists, lisping British boffins, or pompous and imperial patricians. The few women encountered are wily sex workers or world-weary nurses. Against this bumbling and corrupt assembly of miscreants, the initial representation of Indigenous characters is curiously played straight. Future episodes hint at a broadening of these stereotypes to include female scientists, spies and thuggish ASIO agents. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339059/original/file-20200602-95059-13xetta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339059/original/file-20200602-95059-13xetta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/339059/original/file-20200602-95059-13xetta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339059/original/file-20200602-95059-13xetta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339059/original/file-20200602-95059-13xetta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=354&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339059/original/file-20200602-95059-13xetta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339059/original/file-20200602-95059-13xetta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/339059/original/file-20200602-95059-13xetta.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=445&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Attraction and nuclear physics meet in Operation Buffalo.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BODExNTdiMTktMWYxNS00YmUwLThiYmYtNjVmMDQ0Mzc2M2YyXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMTk2MjUxNjA@._V1_.jpg">IMDB</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Operation Buffalo occasionally lapses from satire to farce, sprayed with scattergun effect, missing as much as hitting its comedic or political targets. Overall, the idea that such buffoons would be in charge of the nuclear testing enterprise is, of course, ludicrous. But the <a href="https://parlinfo.aph.gov.au/parlInfo/search/display/display.w3p;query=Id:%22library/lcatalog/10022171%22;src1=sm1">historical record</a> remembers ethically odious British and Australian personnel, who ignored their own safety protocols to proceed with nuclear detonations.</p>
<p>The narrative economy dictated by a historical drama format often results in the conflation of characters and events, as evident is the 2019 HBO series <a href="https://www.hbo.com/chernobyl">Chernobyl</a>. So, what obligation if any do the series creators have to accurately present these events?</p>
<p>In the weeks to come, Operation Buffalo will likely touch on matters still raw in the national psyche. They include Britain’s unilateral abandonment of major military and scientific joint-ventures in Australia, secret human radiation experiments, the mistreatment of Indigenous populations and service personnel, and the compounded denials and deceit over the contamination of the Maralinga lands. The scattergun approach may yet find its target. </p>
<hr>
<p><em><a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/show/operation-buffalo">Operation Buffalo</a> is screening over six weeks on ABC and is available to stream on iView. <a href="https://iview.abc.net.au/show/maralinga-tjarutja">Maralinga Tjarutja</a> can still be watched via iView.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/139313/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mick Broderick received funding from The Australian Research Council, the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and the Australia Council for the Arts. </span></em></p>Two ABC television premieres – both about the mid-century British nuclear testing at Maralinga in regional South Australia – approach tricky territory in very different ways.Mick Broderick, Associate Professor of Media Analysis, Murdoch UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1239192019-11-05T18:58:02Z2019-11-05T18:58:02ZChurches have legal rights in Australia. Why not sacred trees?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299815/original/file-20191101-102224-1otykcz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=10%2C125%2C2385%2C1325&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The traditional owners have won widespread support for their fight to protect Djab Wurrung Country and their sacred trees.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://dwembassy.com/numbers-flock-to-djab-wurrung-embassy/">Djab Wurrung Embassy</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>This article is part of a <a href="https://theconversation.com/au/topics/anzsee-78179">series</a> on rebalancing the human–nature interactions that are central to the study and practice of ecological economics, which is the focus of the <a href="https://anzsee.org.au/2019-anzsee-conference/">2019 ANZSEE Conference</a> in Melbourne later this month.</em></p>
<hr>
<p><a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/we-all-have-to-compromise-western-highway-works-to-start-in-days-20191003-p52xa3.html">Work has resumed</a> on widening the Western Highway near Ararat, Victoria, which will destroy thousands of trees. This includes around 250 sacred trees, some up to 800 years old. These trees are a <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2019/july/1561989600/sophie-cunningham/djab-wurrung-birthing-tree">living heritage of deep cultural significance and practice</a> for the Djab Wurrung traditional owners.</p>
<p>In Australia, corporations such as Coles and Westpac and even some churches operate as legal entities entitled to most of the rights and responsibilities that individuals possess. Why don’t the Djab Wurrung sacred trees have legal standing? </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/what-kind-of-state-values-a-freeways-heritage-above-the-heritage-of-our-oldest-living-culture-122195">What kind of state values a freeway's heritage above the heritage of our oldest living culture?</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>In New Zealand, the <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-16/nz-whanganui-river-gets-legal-status-as-person-after-170-years/8358434">Whanganui River</a> now has it. Even in Victoria <a href="http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubStatbook.nsf/51dea49770555ea6ca256da4001b90cd/DD1ED871D7DF8661CA2581A700103BF0/$FILE/17-049aa%20authorised.pdf">legislation to protect the Yarra River</a> recognises the connection of the traditional owners to the river and surrounding land, Birrarung Country. </p>
<h2>It’s not just people who have legal standing</h2>
<p>Australian law has long accorded legal standing to other entities such as businesses. Under the <a href="http://www5.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/cth/consol_act/ca2001172/">Corporations Act 2001</a>, a corporation is a legal entity that can enter contracts, lend and borrow money, sue and be sued, hire employees, own assets, and pay taxes. Over the past few decades corporate rights have expanded, and the process of incorporation has been simplified.</p>
<p>Corporations exist now as private enterprises for churches, not-for-profits and lobby groups. A corporation is separate and distinct from its owners, which minimises the risk for stakeholders and investors. It operates as a living person who can assert their rights in relation to economic (self)-interest. </p>
<p>The logic of <em>Homo economicus</em> and the utilitarian maximisation of profit is central to settler societies such as Australia’s. The settler colonial approach to nature decouples people from country. There is a hierarchy of rights that favours and reinforces settler property rights in the quest for new towns, farms, fences, and transportation lines. </p>
<p>If trees had rights this would be very costly for development. Trees are seen as resources, classified according to their utilitarian value. </p>
<h2>Who speaks for the trees?</h2>
<p>In Australia, the law protects trees if they are considered threatened, endangered or vulnerable. Indigenous plant species, for example, may be protected under the <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/epbc/about">Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999</a>. </p>
<p>Vegetation may be protected more broadly as part of the public estate (such as in national parks, for instance). Native vegetation on private land may also be protected to conserve biodiversity and preserve habitat for endangered species. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299816/original/file-20191101-102228-1ba7h2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299816/original/file-20191101-102228-1ba7h2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/299816/original/file-20191101-102228-1ba7h2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299816/original/file-20191101-102228-1ba7h2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299816/original/file-20191101-102228-1ba7h2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=574&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299816/original/file-20191101-102228-1ba7h2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299816/original/file-20191101-102228-1ba7h2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/299816/original/file-20191101-102228-1ba7h2u.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=721&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Recognition of the role of traditional owners, which includes protection of Country, is a key issue of environmental justice in Australia.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://dwembassy.com/gallery/">Djab Wurrung Embassy</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Federal and state government laws may protect “significant” trees through heritage and/or Aboriginal heritage legislation. Or they may not.</p>
<p>The Djab Wurrung have challenged both state and federal government decisions against heritage protection for the sacred trees and their surrounds. <a href="https://dwembassy.com/">Activists</a> have set up camp to protest the destruction of the trees – grandmother <a href="https://www.themonthly.com.au/issue/2019/july/1561989600/sophie-cunningham/djab-wurrung-birthing-tree">birthing trees</a>, their companion grandfather trees, and <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/like-losing-my-son-why-trees-threatened-by-western-hwy-are-so-sacred-20190824-p52kcq.html">directions trees</a>. </p>
<p>They reject the rationale that supports the widening of a freeway over the preservation of significant living cultural heritage and <a href="https://www.change.org/p/daniel-andrews-protect-sacred-djapwurrung-birthing-trees-from-expansion-of-the-western-hwy-by-vicroads">ask for its protection</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>We ask that this impending destruction as part of VicRoads works be halted immediately, more appropriate respect for the concerns of the Djab Wuurung community be taken into consideration, and that the trees and the site are protected.</p>
</blockquote>
<h2>Should trees have legal standing?</h2>
<p>In New Zealand, the Whanganui River, which flows 145 kilometres to the sea in the central North Island, <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/2019/04/maori-river-in-new-zealand-is-a-legal-person/">now has legal standing</a>. The law recognises the Maori Iwi people’s sacred relationship with land and water. </p>
<p>Through this <a href="http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2014/0051/latest/DLM6183601.html">legislation</a> the Whanganui River is <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/sundayextra/new-zealand-granting-rivers-and-forests-same-rights-as-citizens/7816456">recognised as a person</a> when it comes to the law. The river has “its own legal identity with all the corresponding rights, duties and liabilities of a legal person”, the minister for Treaty of Waitangi negotiations <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/16/new-zealand-river-granted-same-legal-rights-as-human-being">said</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p><a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2017-03-16/nz-whanganui-river-gets-legal-status-as-person-after-170-years/8358434">This legislation recognises</a> the deep spiritual connection between the Whanganui Iwi and its ancestral river and creates a strong platform for the future of Whanganui River.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Similar “<a href="https://www.earthlaws.org.au/what-is-earth-jurisprudence/rights-of-nature/">rights of nature</a>” laws, which change the legal status of nature, exist in Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, India, and Uganda, to name a few.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/three-rivers-are-now-legally-people-but-thats-just-the-start-of-looking-after-them-74983">Three rivers are now legally people – but that's just the start of looking after them</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Djab Wurrung Dreaming is entitled to protection</h2>
<p>Why isn’t Australia embracing “<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-giving-legal-rights-to-nature-could-help-reduce-toxic-algae-blooms-in-lake-erie-115351">rights of nature</a>” legislation? Djab Wurrung trees, and the ancient dreaming cultural landscape of which they are part, need protection.</p>
<p>Communities are starting to advocate for the rights of nature to exist, thrive and evolve. Under the <a href="http://www.legislation.vic.gov.au/Domino/Web_Notes/LDMS/PubStatbook.nsf/51dea49770555ea6ca256da4001b90cd/DD1ED871D7DF8661CA2581A700103BF0/$FILE/17-049aa%20authorised.pdf">Yarra River (Wilip-gin Birrarung murron) Act</a>, while the river’s legal status hasn’t changed, there is progressive recognition of the connection between the traditional owners and the river. As the preamble to the act <a href="http://classic.austlii.edu.au/au/legis/vic/consol_act/yrpbma2017554/preamble.html">states</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>This Act recognises the intrinsic connection of the traditional owners to the Yarra River and its Country and further recognises them as the custodians of the land and waterway which they call Birrarung.</p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/new-law-finally-gives-voice-to-the-yarra-rivers-traditional-owners-83307">New law finally gives voice to the Yarra River's traditional owners</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Such Indigenous perspectives, developed on Country in holistic ways incorporating lore/law, have a particularly valuable contribution to make to ecological economies. </p>
<p>We need far better legal recognition of the role of traditional owners, which includes cultural and environmental heritage protection. In the current political environment, deeply locked into a culture and mindset of economic growth and property ownership, “you’d have to be dreaming”.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/123919/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Wendy Steele receives funding from the Australian Research Council</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michelle Maloney is Co-Founder and Director of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance and the New Economy Network Australia.</span></em></p>Laws in other countries recognise ‘rights of nature’. But even trees sacred to Indigenous Australian communities have no special protection.Wendy Steele, Associate Professor, Centre for Urban Research and Urban Futures Enabling Capability Platform, RMIT UniversityMichelle Maloney, Adjunct Senior Fellow, Law Futures Centre, Griffith UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1221952019-08-22T03:12:59Z2019-08-22T03:12:59ZWhat kind of state values a freeway’s heritage above the heritage of our oldest living culture?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288983/original/file-20190822-170914-7agtel.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The government intends to destroy Djab Wurrung sacred trees and sites to upgrade the Western Highway at the same time as it seeks heritage status for the Eastern Freeway.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gofundme.com/support-towards-djap-wurrung-embassy">Allies Decolonising/gofundme</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>The Victorian government has announced it is <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/government-seeks-heritage-protection-for-notoriously-jammed-freeway-20190820-p52j43.html">seeking heritage listing for parts of the Eastern Freeway</a> in Melbourne. We heard this news on Wednesday as we sat under a <a href="https://www.greenleft.org.au/content/struggle-save-birthing-trees">grandfather tree</a> in solidarity with Djab Wurrung people whose cultural heritage is being threatened by the same government.</p>
<p>A Major Road Projects Victoria proposal to extend the Western Highway will destroy sacred Djab Wurrung trees and places. They <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/the-feed/how-a-community-created-an-embassy-to-save-sacred-land-from-bulldozing">have been protecting these trees</a> for more than a year, but <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/protester-numbers-surge-at-sacred-tree-site-as-eviction-clash-looms-20190821-p52jh7.html">faced eviction</a> – from their own Country – by today’s deadline. All this is happening as the government is conducting <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2018/06/21/victorian-treaty-bill-passes-through-upper-house">treaty negotiations across the state</a>.</p>
<p>What kind of world do we live in when freeways are valued as of greater cultural significance than the practice of the oldest living culture in the world? Threatening to evict Djab Wurrung while proposing heritage status for the Eastern Freeway is a surreal perversion of law, heritage and community value.</p>
<p>These matters raise important questions about how cultural heritage value is determined and by whom. They also attest to the continued power of roads and transport infrastructure in a climate-changing world.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288982/original/file-20190821-170935-1kpt61x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288982/original/file-20190821-170935-1kpt61x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288982/original/file-20190821-170935-1kpt61x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288982/original/file-20190821-170935-1kpt61x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288982/original/file-20190821-170935-1kpt61x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288982/original/file-20190821-170935-1kpt61x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288982/original/file-20190821-170935-1kpt61x.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Protest ‘road signs’ at the camp.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">artwork by Mick Douglas</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Scorning an ancient cultural heritage</h2>
<p>The proposal to expand the Western Highway has been around for decades. The on-Country presence of Djab Wurrung people was sparked when it became clear the new duplicated section between Buangor and Ararat would destroy their sacred trees, which include an important <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/nitv-news/article/2019/04/17/demolition-800-year-old-sacred-trees-compared-notre-dame-fire">directions tree and birthing site</a>. </p>
<p>This is not merely about protecting individual trees – some of which are up to 800 years old. It’s about the way those trees relate to each other, the landscape, Djab Wurrung people and their law, which have been here for thousands of generations. </p>
<p><div data-react-class="Tweet" data-react-props="{"tweetId":"1066064594005880832"}"></div></p>
<p>Victoria supposedly has a legislative system for protecting this Aboriginal heritage. The government asserts that it has followed the “due process” of this system in relation to the Djab Wurrung trees. The fact that Djab Wurrung Elders and leaders have been protesting on site for the past 15 months raises serious questions about what constitutes “due process”. </p>
<p>Many concerns <a href="https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-08-21/western-highway-tree-protesters-may-be-arrested-this-week/11420640?sf217857042=1&fbclid=IwAR2E-MbmLkZhQ5u_ljoK4n13tRR58B5MZyrlPiHgmfVHyAJXVrB3o7-i00Y">have been raised</a> about a flawed system. At the very least, it has been exposed as a blunt instrument clearly not sensitive enough to cope with these complexities. </p>
<p>Not only is the government unwilling to negotiate on Country in good faith, Djab Wurrung people are being actively silenced and criminalised. One of the leaders, Zellanach Djab Mara, was recently held on remand for 26 days on a charge of driving without a licence, which his supporters saw as <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2019/05/27/system-oppression-djab-wurrung-protector-released">a move to “get him off Country”</a>. A magistrate later <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2019/05/27/system-oppression-djab-wurrung-protector-released">said</a> Zellanach’s time in custody was too long for a minor offence.</p>
<p>But Djab Wurrung people will not be silenced. <a href="https://www.sbs.com.au/news/standoff-over-800-year-old-sacred-indigenous-trees-heats-up-as-work-crews-move-in">More than 500 people</a> arrived at <a href="https://dwembassy.com/">the camp</a> on Wednesday in solidarity. The campaign has gained <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/world/australia/djab-wurrung-trees.html">international media attention</a> and more than 130,000 people have <a href="https://www.change.org/p/daniel-andrews-protect-sacred-djapwurrung-birthing-trees-from-expansion-of-the-western-hwy-by-vicroads">signed a petition</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288980/original/file-20190821-170910-1daw8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288980/original/file-20190821-170910-1daw8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288980/original/file-20190821-170910-1daw8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288980/original/file-20190821-170910-1daw8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288980/original/file-20190821-170910-1daw8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288980/original/file-20190821-170910-1daw8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288980/original/file-20190821-170910-1daw8xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Hundreds of supporters gather at Djab Wurrung embassy camp on Wednesday, August 21.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Megan Williams, used with permission</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Celebrating 50 years of freeway culture</h2>
<p>Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway certainly has history, a notorious one. Traversing Wurundjeri Country, its construction caused massive destruction of Wurundjeri places and heritage. It also displaced working-class communities in inner Melbourne, triggering one of Australia’s <a href="http://www.ycat.org.au/1977-the-battle-of-alexandra-parade/3/">most significant anti-freeway campaigns</a>. </p>
<p><a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/tony-birch-105618">Tony Birch</a> has <a href="https://griffithreview.com/articles/recovering-narrative-place-stories-climate-change-tony-birch/">written eloquently</a> about the scar the Eastern Freeway created psychologically and geographically. The damage included:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>[…] obliteration of a vital section of the river at its confluence with the Merri Creek, a once majestic waterway winding its way into the north across Wurundjeri land.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>But these are not the histories the government seeks to honour by heritage-listing the Eastern Freeway. These histories are silenced <a href="https://northeastlink.vic.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0011/364187/NELP-EES-Technical-report-K-Historical-heritage.pdf">in favour of bridge design</a>. Just like the concurrent attempt at erasing Djab Wurrung heritage. Listing the Eastern Freeway would assert that the destruction such roads create is something we collectively value as heritage. </p>
<h2>Heritage in an upside-down world</h2>
<p>Both these decisions expose just how upside-down and perverse our way of collectively cherishing place and heritage has become. And both advance a transport system that continues to encourage high-carbon mobility, despite Victoria’s <a href="https://www.climatechange.vic.gov.au/legislation/climate-change-act-2017">legislated commitment</a> to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.</p>
<p>A viable and <a href="https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/cheaper-western-highway-route-overlooked-former-vicroads-advisor-says-20190820-p52j0n.html">cheaper route for the Western Highway duplication</a> is available, just as a viable alternative to the Eastern Freeway once existed. </p>
<p>Road safety is vital, certainly. But surely it would be better achieved by reducing freight traffic on roads, rather than enabling everyone to drive faster. Freight rail offers an alternative solution to some of the key issues that advocates of the Western Highway project use to justify it. </p>
<p>It is possible to have highway safety and efficient mobility at the same time as protecting sacred places and actual cultural heritage through genuine processes.</p>
<p>Proposing a freeway for heritage listing is a clear statement of a government willing to cherry-pick what counts as heritage. As Djab Wurrung Traditional Owner and former state MP for Northcote <a href="https://www.thesaturdaypaper.com.au/opinion/topic/2019/08/17/protecting-the-djab-wurrung-trees/15659640008626">Lidia Thorpe asserts</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>The protection of high cultural and natural values must be part of any treaty process, rather than brazenly destroying those values while the treaty process is under way. </p>
</blockquote>
<h2>A way forward</h2>
<p>We call on the Victorian government to immediately establish a respectful dialogue with Djab Wurrung people by accepting their invitation to come to Country and talk with Elders and leaders in good faith. To do so the threat of eviction must be immediately withdrawn. As Zellenach said to us while we were at camp, “no one can effectively negotiate while under duress”.</p>
<p>If the Victorian government is serious about Treaty, this is the opportunity to demonstrate understanding of what respectful recognition of Indigenous sovereignty looks like.</p>
<p>The world is watching.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288914/original/file-20190821-170927-14nhvr7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/288914/original/file-20190821-170927-14nhvr7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288914/original/file-20190821-170927-14nhvr7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288914/original/file-20190821-170927-14nhvr7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288914/original/file-20190821-170927-14nhvr7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288914/original/file-20190821-170927-14nhvr7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/288914/original/file-20190821-170927-14nhvr7.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Sign at the Djab Wurrung embassy.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo by Blanche Verlie</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><em>Marianne (Ria) Jago at the Victorian Women’s Legal Service is a collaborator on this article.</em></p>
<p><em>We wrote this article on Djab Wurrung Country at the invitation of Djab Wurrung people to help protect their Country. We pay respects to Djab Wurrung Elders past, present and emerging and the sovereign Aboriginal peoples on whose lands we each live and work.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/122195/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Libby Porter receives funding from Australia Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Bronwyn Lay is affiliated with Earthworker as a Board member and past member of the Greens. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Marianne Jago is senior policy advisor with the Women's Legal Service Victoria.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Amaara Raheem, Blanche Verlie, and Mick Douglas do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Victorian government plans to destroy trees and sites sacred to Djab Warrung people to make way for the Western Highway at the same time as it seeks heritage listing for the Eastern Freeway.Libby Porter, Professor of Urban Planning, Centre for Urban Research, RMIT UniversityAmaara Raheem, PhD Candidate, School of Architecture and Urban Design, RMIT UniversityBlanche Verlie, Associate Lecturer, School of Global, Urban and Social Studies, RMIT UniversityBronwyn Lay, Coordinator, Climate Change Research and Practice Hub, RMIT UniversityMarianne Jago, Adjunct Research Fellow, Environmental Management, James Cook UniversityMick Douglas, Associate Professor, School of Design, RMIT UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1099442019-01-17T01:50:23Z2019-01-17T01:50:23ZIn the land of Storm Boy, the cultural heritage of the Coorong is under threat<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254235/original/file-20190116-24607-1j3070b.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Kelly Wiltshire and Ngarrindjeri elder Major Sumner examine middens damaged by off-road vehicle use. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When I go to see the new film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3340446/">Storm Boy</a>, which opens in cinemas nationally today, my mind will turn to the landscape that forms the film’s backdrop. This is the Kurangk (Coorong), land of the Ngarrindjeri Nation. The Nation’s cultural heritage, testifying to the Ngarrindjeri’s enduring connection to the region, is being destroyed by off-road vehicles. </p>
<p>The film, starring Geoffrey Rush, Jai Courtney, David Gulpilil, and Finn Little, is a new adaptation of Colin Thiele’s 1964 novel, first made into film in 1976. The story, about a young boy who adopts a clever, orphaned pelican, is widely loved among Australians.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WEHORLGUliw?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>The Kurangk is found in south eastern South Australia and covers an area of 50,000 hectares. Its main feature is a long, brackish to very salty estuary that stretches 130 km in a south-east direction from the Murray Mouth, where Australia’s iconic Murray River meets the sea. </p>
<p>The southern Kurangk is an important breeding ground for Noris (pelicans), with the broader landscape supporting over 200 species of birds. As a result of these unique qualities and others the Kurangk has been recognised under the <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/water/wetlands/publications/coorong-and-lakes-alexandrina-and-albert-ramsar-wetland-factsheet">Ramsar Convention as a Wetland of International Importance since 1985</a>. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/australias-problem-with-aboriginal-world-heritage-82912">Australia's problem with Aboriginal World Heritage</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>The region is an important cultural landscape that has <a href="https://www.environment.gov.au/indigenous/publications/pubs/ngarrindjeri-scp-2006-1.pdf">sustained the Ngarrindjeri Nation culturally and economically since Creation</a>. Middens comprising of discarded cockle shells, which can be found on the sand dunes of the Younghusband Peninsula that separate the Kurangk’s estuary from the Southern Ocean, are testament to this ongoing connection.</p>
<p>In the early 1980s, archaeologist Roger Luebbers documented the <a href="http://link.aiatsis.gov.au/portal/The-Coorong-report--an-archaeological-survey-of/TpvnNFyK_Zw/">location, size and content of various middens in the Kurangk</a>, demonstrating that these middens form the largest, most extensive evidence of Aboriginal occupation in the region. At the time Luebbers also worked with members of the Ngarrindjeri Nation, recording oral accounts to get a sense of people’s continued connection to the Kurangk since colonisation. </p>
<p>His work demonstrated an uninterpreted and continuing connection of the Ngarrindjeri Nation into historic times, which continues today through the ongoing <a href="http://aciucn.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/26_HemmingRigney.pdf">management, use and enjoyment</a> of this landscape. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254233/original/file-20190116-24638-164r793.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254233/original/file-20190116-24638-164r793.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254233/original/file-20190116-24638-164r793.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254233/original/file-20190116-24638-164r793.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254233/original/file-20190116-24638-164r793.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254233/original/file-20190116-24638-164r793.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254233/original/file-20190116-24638-164r793.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254233/original/file-20190116-24638-164r793.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Noris (pelicans) on the Kurangk at dawn.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Amy Della-Sale/Ngarrindjeri Regional Authority Inc.
</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Disappearing under the wheel</h2>
<p>Luebbers considered the cultural heritage of the Kurangk unparalleled in temperate Australia and argued for its long-term protection. But despite the high quality and comprehensiveness of these archaeological investigations, little has been done to ensure the long-term protection of this heritage. </p>
<figure class="align- zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254234/original/file-20190116-24641-gmluwi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254234/original/file-20190116-24641-gmluwi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254234/original/file-20190116-24641-gmluwi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254234/original/file-20190116-24641-gmluwi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254234/original/file-20190116-24641-gmluwi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=401&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254234/original/file-20190116-24641-gmluwi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254234/original/file-20190116-24641-gmluwi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254234/original/file-20190116-24641-gmluwi.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=504&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Archaeologist Roger Luebbers examining middens on the Kurangk.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Photo: Rhys Jones, AIATSIS, JONES.R05_CS-000141919</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p><a href="https://www.springerprofessional.de/the-impacts-of-off-road-vehicles-in-the-coorong-dune-and-lake-co/13364134">Studies</a> have shown that sand dunes, where middens lie, are vulnerable to visitors to the Kurangk, especially off-road vehicles such as quad bikes and four-wheel drives. Since the 1980s these have become much more common. As a result, the number of visitors to remote, dune areas of the Kurangk has steadily increased over the intervening decades, coinciding with increased impacts to Ngarrindjeri cultural heritage, which are physically disturbed by the tyres of the vehicles. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-how-archaeology-helped-save-the-franklin-river-92510">Friday essay: how archaeology helped save the Franklin River</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>While there are signs in the Kurangk directing people to stay within fenced access tracks and designated camping areas, numerous visitors ignore or even vandalise these so they can access dune areas where the vast middens are located. </p>
<p>Given the large area the Kurangk occupies, illegal vehicle use can go undetected despite National Parks rangers regularly monitoring visitor use. Ngarrindjeri elders I have worked with over the years have described burial grounds within the Coorong turned to dust as a result of illegal vehicles.</p>
<h2>Encroaching seas</h2>
<p>Climate change is also having a dramatic impact on the landscape of the Kurangk. Vehicle tracks along the ocean have become reduced thanks to <a href="https://www.murrayvalleystandard.com.au/story/5119495/sea-level-rise-threatens-lower-lakes-barrages/">erosion linked to sea level rise</a>. Tragically, some visitors have <a href="https://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/south-australia/familys-coorong-tragedy/news-story/886a0cf917d036a1c4731a36fc36071e">lost their lives</a> trying to negotiate this thin strip of coastline. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254231/original/file-20190116-24628-x2bwbb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254231/original/file-20190116-24628-x2bwbb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/254231/original/file-20190116-24628-x2bwbb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254231/original/file-20190116-24628-x2bwbb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254231/original/file-20190116-24628-x2bwbb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=402&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254231/original/file-20190116-24628-x2bwbb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254231/original/file-20190116-24628-x2bwbb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/254231/original/file-20190116-24628-x2bwbb.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=505&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Vehicle track along the ocean in the southern Kurangk.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-the-rock-art-of-murujuga-deserves-world-heritage-status-102100">Explainer: why the rock art of Murujuga deserves World Heritage status</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>As access to these parts of the Kurangk becomes more restricted, more people are encroaching illegally on the dunes where Ngarrindjeri cultural heritage lies. <a href="https://data.environment.sa.gov.au/Content/Publications/LimestoneCoastAndCoorong_CoastalActionPlan.pdf">Stopping vehicle access</a> to areas where people have historically had access is difficult. The South Australian government must also balance this with its obligation to allow continued public access due the Kurangk’s National Park status.</p>
<p>The impact of visitors on Ngarrindjeri cultural heritage within the Kurangk is an ongoing issue, <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329346626_Ngarrindjeri_Vision_for_the_Ecological_Character_Description_of_the_Coorong_and_Lower_Lakes">forming a range of broader concerns the Ngarrindjeri Nation wants to address with their long-term vision for country</a>. </p>
<p>To protect this amazing heritage and the landscape where it resides, we’ll need to address visitor behaviour, improve infrastructure, and address the effects of climate change. Otherwise an irreplaceable record of the Ngarrindjeri Nations’ long-term and continued connection to this incredible cultural landscape will be destroyed forever.</p>
<hr>
<p><em>The author would like to thank the ongoing support of Ngarrindjeri elders and colleagues, Grant Rigney, Amy Della-Sale and Roger Luebbers.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/109944/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kelly D. Wiltshire does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The Coorong’s Indigenous heritage is threatened by off-road vehicles and climate change.Kelly D. Wiltshire, PhD Candidate, Flinders UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/829122018-12-12T19:10:59Z2018-12-12T19:10:59ZAustralia’s problem with Aboriginal World Heritage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250137/original/file-20181211-76977-mt41uv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Uluru-Kata Tjuta: of 19 Australian World Heritage sites this is one of only two that recognise the values of 'living' Aboriginal culture.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Journalist Stan Grant once compared our Indigenous cultural heritage to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2017/oct/13/stan-grant-compares-indigenous-cultural-sites-to-the-sistine-chapel">Vatican’s Sistine Chapel</a>. Ironically, though Grant pointed to the Lake Mungo site in the Willandra Lakes as an example, Aboriginal people are poorly represented by Australia’s World Heritage sites. Torres Strait Islanders are not represented at all. </p>
<p>Of 19 World Heritage sites across the country, including such wonders as the Great Barrier Reef and the Sydney Opera House, only two, Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta, recognise the values of “living” Aboriginal culture, alongside the breathtaking natural features in those areas. These are what UNESCO calls “mixed” sites, bringing nature and culture together. </p>
<p>Australia’s two other such sites - the Tasmanian Wilderness, and the Willandra lakes - recognise archaeological records of Aboriginal people, along with natural values, but not contemporary Indigenous rights and associations.</p>
<p>None of Australia’s three sites inscribed purely for cultural values recognises Aboriginal people. They are the Sydney Opera House, the Royal Exhibition Building in Melbourne, and a multi-component listing of convict sites across the country including Port Arthur in Tasmania. </p>
<p>Aboriginal people rightly remain concerned, and often angry, that they were excluded from the original nominations of all of Australia’s World Heritage sites, natural, cultural and mixed. Yet they also remain deeply sceptical about the benefits of such listing. </p>
<h2>Some progress</h2>
<p>There has been some progress. Australia received enormous international credit for modifying, in 1994, the original Uluru-Kata Tjuta nomination to recognise living Aboriginal culture. But the real turnaround has been when Aboriginal people have directed these processes themselves. </p>
<p>After years of work, Gunditjmara people succeeded in having the <a href="https://theconversation.com/search/result?sg=d22d9c76-d498-49fe-b417-3a1abf803265&sp=1&sr=1&url=%2Fthe-detective-work-behind-the-budj-bim-eel-traps-world-heritage-bid-71800">site of Budj Bim</a> on Aboriginal land in southwest Victoria, placed on Australia’s Tentative World Heritage List. The site includes a remarkable system of eel traps around Lake Condah. Elements of these traps date back over 6,500 years. This is the first step in the long process of gaining World Heritage recognition.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250139/original/file-20181211-76965-nmbwxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250139/original/file-20181211-76965-nmbwxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250139/original/file-20181211-76965-nmbwxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250139/original/file-20181211-76965-nmbwxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250139/original/file-20181211-76965-nmbwxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250139/original/file-20181211-76965-nmbwxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250139/original/file-20181211-76965-nmbwxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250139/original/file-20181211-76965-nmbwxp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Remains of a 1,700 year old stone house at Budj Bim, Victoria.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/82134796@N03/17412056436/in/photolist-swDkKA-9cHWct-9cHWoi-9cM2X9-siRj1S-25uik8G-26SFowX-25uijxJ-L7mwzh-28fhttH-7gFAgK-siZbAK-7gKyhf-uEviXt-ayveyB-ayvdsD-ayxTWW-rDBnSP-sAoM7Z-sAeLKq-28aYJcG-sArJ2P-sy95rf-sAoWTn-shk31S-Q3xtaQ-Q6SqW4-PwZe9f-Q6SSrH-PSU2sS-AAnF1i-sLE1Y5-t1TT5d-Fqo7kQ-GiuYBL-FqmLUs-GeXCPe-FqnQ1L-GcEwwG-GkQJEe-FqotBN-Fqy8z2-FVKQbJ-Gf177B-GiwXbf-FqEMog-FqtY6b-GcLiBG-FVGpKA-GeXP4x">denisbin/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Recently the World Heritage Committee established a <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/news/1841/">forum for Indigenous peoples</a> - in the making since the early 2000s. With the issue now so firmly on the international agenda, Australia will come under intense scrutiny to lift its game regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander World Heritage. How might that be done?</p>
<h2>Indigenous heritage now</h2>
<p>World Heritage sites are assessed against <a href="https://whc.unesco.org/en/criteria/">ten criteria</a> across natural and cultural values. Originally highly Eurocentric, these criteria have gradually widened to become more inclusive, especially of Indigenous people.</p>
<p>Uluru-Kata Tjuta has long been held up as the paragon of this shift. It was originally listed as World Heritage in 1987, solely for its environmental characteristics. It was relisted in 1994 to include Aboriginal values, recognising the importance of Uluru and Kata Tjuta to the Traditional Owners, the Anangu people. Today, the area is recognised for being one of the most ancient human landscapes in the world, including its spiritual dimensions. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250135/original/file-20181211-76977-yikeh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250135/original/file-20181211-76977-yikeh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250135/original/file-20181211-76977-yikeh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250135/original/file-20181211-76977-yikeh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250135/original/file-20181211-76977-yikeh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=416&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250135/original/file-20181211-76977-yikeh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250135/original/file-20181211-76977-yikeh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250135/original/file-20181211-76977-yikeh2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=523&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Rock art at Uluru.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/why-we-are-banning-tourists-from-climbing-uluru-86755">Why we are banning tourists from climbing Uluru</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Unlike Uluru-Kata Tjuta, and, later, Kakadu, the Tasmanian Wilderness and Willandra are recognised for their archaeological and rock-art sites, rather than for their living heritage. Willandra, for instance, celebrates archaeological evidence that demonstrates an Aboriginal presence more than 40,000 years ago, in what was then a lush environment quite unlike the present semi-arid conditions. </p>
<p>Such archaeological and rock-art sites are unquestionably important for the extraordinary history they contain, and Aboriginal people have a particular attachment to them as evidence of their ancient and continuing connection with their land. They are actively involved in management of these places for that very reason. </p>
<p>Yet the cultural value of these sites remains defined by non-Aboriginal archaeologists, rather than Aboriginal belief systems or political aspirations.</p>
<p>The Tasmanian Wilderness is recognised for being one of the last expanses of temperate rainforest in the world. It also includes evidence in limestone caves of Aboriginal occupation up to 35,000 years ago. Yet the listing fails to identify or formally recognise the relationship between that area – particularly the hand-stencil, rock-art sites – and Tasmanian Aboriginal people today.</p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/friday-essay-how-archaeology-helped-save-the-franklin-river-92510">Friday essay: how archaeology helped save the Franklin River</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>Outdated process</h2>
<p>We are investigating what World Heritage might better deliver to Indigenous people. One of our major cases is the popular tourist destination of K’Gari (Fraser Island), given a World Heritage listing for its natural heritage in 1992. Some members of the local Butchulla community want Aboriginal heritage included in the listing. </p>
<p>Many archaeological and Butchulla story sites at K'gari are unquestionably unique to the Butchulla people and have great significance for the community today. <a href="http://fido.org.au/moonbi/backgrounders/71%20Balarrgan.pdf">Takky Wooroo</a> (Indian Head), the rocky headland that anchors the vast sand island in place, is one well-known example.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250140/original/file-20181211-76956-bpc666.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250140/original/file-20181211-76956-bpc666.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250140/original/file-20181211-76956-bpc666.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250140/original/file-20181211-76956-bpc666.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250140/original/file-20181211-76956-bpc666.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250140/original/file-20181211-76956-bpc666.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250140/original/file-20181211-76956-bpc666.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250140/original/file-20181211-76956-bpc666.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Takky Wooroo (Indian Head) anchors the vast sand island of K'Gari (Fraser Island).</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>However the Butchulla face hurdles in having this heritage recognised. The first is proving that their heritage is “better” than examples of Aboriginal heritage elsewhere. The second is demonstrating a continuous connection to it.</p>
<p>Both of these criteria are central to the World Heritage process, but are legacies of an outdated approach to Aboriginal culture. The process lumps diverse Aboriginal people into one group, when we know that Australia was home to hundreds of different peoples. </p>
<p>While the connection of the Butchulla to their heritage has already been recognised under Native Title, we would never assume that European cultures must remain unchanged since 1700 to be recognised as heritage. </p>
<h2>How to do better</h2>
<p>Our research is consistently finding that Aboriginal people are deeply sceptical about the benefits of World Heritage listing, despite efforts by State and Commonwealth governments to ensure Aboriginal input. </p>
<p>One concern is that World Heritage is seen as universal, something for all people. But some Aboriginal people see this as diminishing their very particular attachment to places, such as the remains of Mungo Man at the Willandra Lakes, an ancestor of deep personal and community significance. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250143/original/file-20181211-76956-1kqsl12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250143/original/file-20181211-76956-1kqsl12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/250143/original/file-20181211-76956-1kqsl12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250143/original/file-20181211-76956-1kqsl12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250143/original/file-20181211-76956-1kqsl12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250143/original/file-20181211-76956-1kqsl12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250143/original/file-20181211-76956-1kqsl12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/250143/original/file-20181211-76956-1kqsl12.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Mungo Man’ was repatriated to the Willandra Lakes, where the remains were found, in 2017.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">PERRY DUFFIN</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>What can we do better? It is simple. <em>All</em> future heritage sites should canvass Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander involvement early in the nomination process, even those where there is no obvious Aboriginal link to the site. This process is already retrospectively underway for <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/publications/australian-heritage-strategy">Australia’s natural sites</a>
and in 2012, it meant the <a href="http://www.environment.gov.au/heritage/places/world/wet-tropics">Indigenous heritage values</a> of Queensland’s Wet Tropics were recognised at a national level, which is vital to having them recognised internationally.</p>
<p>We should also support Indigenous people to make their own nominations. This is what’s happening at Budj Bim. While non-Indigenous archaeologists are helping with the nomination, it is being driven by local Aboriginal people. They have linked the archaeological value to both ancestral stories, and to the Gunditjmara’s continuing efforts to maintain and protect their heritage today. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-detective-work-behind-the-budj-bim-eel-traps-world-heritage-bid-71800">The detective work behind the Budj Bim eel traps World Heritage bid</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<h2>What other possible sites are there?</h2>
<p>There are a great range of other amazing sites that we know are “out there”. Take the famed “Dreaming tracks” and “songlines” that criss-cross the continent, for instance. Tracing the <a href="https://theconversation.com/songlines-tracking-the-seven-sisters-is-a-must-visit-exhibition-for-all-australians-89293">travels of ancestral beings</a>, they encode the locations of living places and sacred spaces, mapping the disposition of resources across the landscape and through seasonal cycles. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/songlines-tracking-the-seven-sisters-is-a-must-visit-exhibition-for-all-australians-89293">Songlines: Tracking the Seven Sisters is a must-visit exhibition for all Australians</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>They encompass some of the nation’s most dramatic natural features as well as camping places, sources of water, food and other resources, art sites and Indigenous sacred places, thus combining natural and cultural, tangible and intangible, and ancestral as well as living heritage. </p>
<p>With suitable protection of secret-sacred information, as well as the routes themselves and the specific sites they incorporate, Aboriginal songlines and the routes of ancestor-heroes in Torres Strait could be a future World Heritage nomination. A number are already on various state government heritage lists.</p>
<p>Similar nominations are appearing in other parts of the world, such as the recently-listed mixed site of <a href="http://pimachiowinaki.org/">Pimachiowin Aki</a>, co-developed by the Ojibwe (Anishinaabe) peoples “in the heart of Canada’s boreal forest” - not least because of precedents set by Australia over the years.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/82912/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Ian Lilley has a Discovery grant from the Australian Research Council for the study mentioned in the text. He is affiliated with ICOMOS and IUCN, the statutory Advisory Bodies to UNESCO on cultural and natural World Heritage respectively. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Celmara Pocock holds a Discovery Project grant from the Australian Research Council for the study mentioned in the text. Celmara is affiliated with ICOMOS the statutory Advisory Body to UNESCO on cultural World Heritage nominations.</span></em></p>Of 19 World Heritage sites across the country, only two, Kakadu and Uluru-Kata Tjuta, recognise the values of “living” Aboriginal culture. None of Australia’s three sites inscribed purely for cultural values recognises Aboriginal people.Ian Lilley, Professor in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies, The University of QueenslandCelmara Pocock, Associate Professor, School of Arts and Communication, University of Southern QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/995012018-09-09T16:30:24Z2018-09-09T16:30:24ZProtecting heritage is a human right<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235086/original/file-20180905-45175-czh5kp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A line of protesters against the construction of the Dakota Access oil pipeline on the Standing Rock Reservation in North Dakota head to a unity rally on the west steps of the State Capitol in September 2016 in Denver. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Technological advancements in archaeology in recent decades have produced amazing insights into the lives of ancient peoples. These range from <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-42916261">uncovering lost Mayan cites in Guatemala</a> to <a href="https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0455-x">identifying Neandertal-Denisovan offspring</a> to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/jan/03/ancient-dna-reveals-previously-unknown-group-of-native-americans-ancient-beringians">recovering early Native American DNA</a>.</p>
<p>Discoveries continue to reveal unexpected details about our shared human past. But the new information also brings new responsibilities and concerns about the political, ethical and social dimensions of archaeological research and heritage management. This is especially true for Indigenous peoples for whom heritage is about more than objects of scientific study or items to preserve in museum displays.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235096/original/file-20180905-45181-turgau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A leaf shaped slate point is one of over 490 artifacts found near an Indigenous burial site of at least 35 bodies of the ancestral lands of Ye'yumnuts in Duncan, B.C.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">The Canadian Press/Chad Hipolito</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Western ways of thinking about heritage seek universal truths about human behaviour and tend to focus on the material manifestations of the past. Indigenous conceptions of heritage, in contrast, <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-taken-thousands-of-years-but-western-science-is-finally-catching-up-to-traditional-knowledge-90291">are inclusive and include not only objects and places, but also customs, practices, relationships, stories, songs and designs</a>. These are passed between generations and contribute to a person’s or group’s identity, history, worldview and well-being. </p>
<p>One Yukon elder defined heritage this way: “<a href="https://www.sfu.ca/ipinch/sites/default/files/resources/reports/yfn_ipinch_report_2016.pdf">It is everything that makes us who we are.</a>”</p>
<p>Indigenous perspectives of heritage have become widely known over the past 30 years, and are being integrated into research projects and management practices. In some cases, divisive relationships between Indigenous and Native American communities and archaeologists, (sometimes labelled grave robbers), have been transformed into collaborative, mutually beneficial relationships. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/its-taken-thousands-of-years-but-western-science-is-finally-catching-up-to-traditional-knowledge-90291">It's taken thousands of years, but Western science is finally catching up to Traditional Knowledge</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>More importantly, a growing number of Indigenous archaeologists and anthropologists are discovering, interpreting and protecting their own ancestral sites. And there is a growing recognition of the legitimacy of Indigenous <a href="https://theconversation.com/its-taken-thousands-of-years-but-western-science-is-finally-catching-up-to-traditional-knowledge-90291">traditional knowledge</a>. For example, the Nyungar Cultural Rangers program <a href="https://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/parks/aboriginal-involvement/504-aboriginal-ranger-program">in Western Australia</a> is a community-driven program, in which Indigenous men and women train others in the traditional ways of caring for their own lands.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pl3M2gB42tI?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Nyungar Cultural Rangers.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Despite these incremental changes, Indigenous peoples continue to press for meaningful engagement with those controlling their heritage. Current policies in settler countries like Australia, Canada and the United States still provide only limited room for Indigenous input into decision-making on issues of heritage. </p>
<h2>The influence of economic development</h2>
<p>Development projects are claiming ancestral sites at alarming rates. This ineffective protection of Indigenous heritage is a violation of human rights, while the <a href="https://theconversation.com/threats-to-bears-ears-and-other-indigenous-sacred-sites-are-a-violation-of-human-rights-87609">continued destruction of ancient sites, burial grounds and sacred places can be considered a form of violence</a>.</p>
<p>While heritage is essential to all peoples, Indigenous peoples in colonized lands have historically had the least control over theirs. State-controlled heritage policies are a source of regular conflict, with substantial social, political and economic consequences. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/threats-to-bears-ears-and-other-indigenous-sacred-sites-are-a-violation-of-human-rights-87609">Threats to Bears Ears and other Indigenous sacred sites are a violation of human rights</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Fundamental differences in how heritage is valued raise tremendous challenges to establishing respectful, ethical and effective policies to protect objects, practices and places of local significance.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=393&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235091/original/file-20180905-45175-1auu1cs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=494&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Buildings are seen on the Jericho Lands, a 15.7-hectare parcel of land formerly owned by the Department of National Defence, in Vancouver, B.C., on April 8, 2016. The Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh First Nations have paid $480-million for the prime piece of real estate on the west side of Vancouver.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>In the U.S., there is extensive federal legislation, but archaeological sites on private land receive little protection. This is not the case in Canada, where most heritage legislation is provincial but no less problematic.</p>
<p>Economic pressures strongly influence heritage policies. Today, heritage site protection is largely the domain of professional cultural resource management, a $1-billion-a-year industry. Some critics say this profession helps commercial projects comply with heritage laws and effectively facilitates development more than it protects heritage.</p>
<p>Furthermore, protecting heritage sites may pit Indigenous peoples against private landowners and other interest groups. </p>
<p>In British Columbia, private landowners wishing to build are responsible for the cost of archaeological testing, as required by provincial legislation, raising loud complaints about protecting <a href="https://biv.com/article/2012/10/bones-discovery-threatens-to-sink-couples-life-sav">“a bunch of stones and bones.”</a> </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235093/original/file-20180905-45175-dxif5f.jpeg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Grace Islet, B.C. is the home to a sacred burial ground.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Flickr</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>At the same time, the public sees tax dollars being spent to rectify poor, ad hoc decisions regarding heritage preservation, for example, when threatened Indigenous burial grounds or sacred sites, such as Grace Islet in B.C., <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/british-columbia-pays-545-million-for-grace-islet/article23022593/">slated for destruction and development, are eventually purchased by the province</a>. </p>
<p>In South Dakota in 2016, the Standing Rock Sioux tribe led the resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline not only over lack of adequate consultation, but also failure to recognize the impact of the pipeline on the cultural, spiritual and environmental dimensions of the land and water. </p>
<h2>Ancestors vs. scientific specimens</h2>
<p>The unequal protection under the law for <a href="https://www.sfu.ca/ipinch/resources/declarations/ancestral-burial-grounds/">settler vs. Indigenous human remains</a> is especially problematic, with the latter often considered to be scientific specimens. </p>
<p>In B.C., human remains dating before 1846 (the date of Confederation) — predominantly ancestral First Nations — are considered part of the archaeological record, which is protected by the Heritage Conservation Act. Those dating after 1846 — predominantly white — are protected under the much stronger Cemeteries Act.</p>
<p>Not surprisingly, it has proven very difficult to redress the types of inequalities faced by Indigenous peoples because of Western notions of heritage and the guiding principle of stewardship. There is a lack of neutrality, with heritage management policies operating from a privileged, largely Western-centric position.</p>
<p>There is now some accommodation of Indigenous knowledge, but with limited credence given to oral histories, except when it concurs with archaeological sources. Some scientists have concerns of relinquishing any significant control over decisions about archaeological projects and policy development — lest the integrity of the archaeological record be diminished.</p>
<p>These concerns include fear of an “anything goes” non-scientific approach to heritage. The idea is that if we protect Indigenous heritage we will only operate from a stance of political correctness and will no longer engage in science. Yet this is challenged by recent studies that demonstrate the <a href="https://www.nps.gov/subjects/tek/george-nicholas.htm">complementarity of Western science and Traditional Knowledge</a>. </p>
<h2>Working together</h2>
<p>Despite these hurdles, there is increasing acknowledgement worldwide that protection of everyone’s heritage needs to be a fundamental human right. </p>
<p>Government agencies and NGO’s are increasingly joining with universities and Indigenous organizations to develop solutions. Protecting Indigenous cultural heritage is more than an issue of academic interest, however. </p>
<p>We urgently need a set of practical guidelines for addressing and preventing heritage loss by Indigenous peoples.</p>
<p>Significant strides have been made. The United Nations adopted the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007. In Australia, <a href="https://www.reconciliation.org.au/what-is-reconciliation/">the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation was established in 2001.</a></p>
<p>Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created in 2008. The U.S. established its commission in 1998 but with a much broader mandate and has yet to address specific Native American concerns.</p>
<p>It is another matter to transition these ideas from theory to practice to policy. There is uncertainty about what the acceptance of UNDRIP means and what the steps are for implementation, especially for Canada, the U.S. and New Zealand, the three countries that initially voted against it. </p>
<p>Only months after Canada officially removed its objector status to the UNDRIP Declaration, Justice Minister Jody Wilson-Raybould <a href="http://ipolitics.ca/2016/07/12/ottawa-wont-adopt-undrip-directly-into-canadian-law-wilson-raybould/">said, while speaking to the Assembly of First Nations, that its adaptation into Canadian law was “unworkable.”</a> In the U.S., there is much <a href="http://indianlaw.org/implementing-undrip/how-un-declaration-rights-indigenous-peoples-can-be-used-protect-against-trump-agenda">uncertainty about what will happen under the Trump administration.</a></p>
<p>The various initiatives launched in recent years offer at least nominal restitution for past harms suffered by Indigenous peoples, including the loss of land, language, cultural traditions and sovereignty due to colonialism.</p>
<p>But no matter how well-meaning “sorry” may be, reconciliation needs to involve changing how things are done. That change must extend to how heritage sites, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/postcolonial-blog/2017/oct/05/the-government-must-bring-the-stolen-indigenous-dead-home">especially burial grounds and sacred sites, are protected.</a></p>
<h2>Being hopeful, not fearful</h2>
<p>The passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in the U.S. in 1990 sent shock waves through the discipline of archaeology, but the world did not end as some archaeologists feared. </p>
<p>Instead it has contributed to new and productive relationships with Native Americans. It created opportunities for scientific research on the ancestors that has revealed their life histories, as well as connections between past and present-day communities. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/235097/original/file-20180905-45163-1ywrry5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">School District 79’s head of Aboriginal Education Program Rosanna Jackson is photographed during a cultural tour of the ancestral lands of Ye'yumnuts in Duncan, B.C., in July 2018.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chad Hipolito</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Some Indigenous Elders believe the ancestors let themselves be found so they can teach today’s Native youth about their history.</p>
<p>Herb Joe, a member of the Stó:lō House of Respect Caretaking Committee, <a href="http://www.sfu.ca/ipinch/sites/default/files/resources/reports/the_journey_home_ver2_may2016.pdf">said</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>What comes to mind for me is the gift of knowledge [and] awareness that is happening for us [in working] with the ancestors. The amount of knowledge that we’re acquiring and will continue to acquire with the DNA samples and all that, that’s going to be a gift to the Stó:lō people … our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, they’re going to be healthier people with the gift of this knowledge about who they are and where they came from. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>There can be no argument that colonialism robbed First Nations of much of their heritage. As a society today, we must support the restoration and protection of their cultural heritage beyond lip service.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/99501/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>George Nicholas has received funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council to support the research conducted by the Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage (IPinCH) project (2008-2016). <a href="http://www.sfu.ca/ipinch">www.sfu.ca/ipinch</a></span></em></p>Development projects are claiming ancestral sites at alarming rates. This ineffective protection of Indigenous heritage is a violation of human rights.George Nicholas, Professor of Archaeology, Simon Fraser UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/913102018-06-24T19:50:52Z2018-06-24T19:50:52ZThe ring trees of Victoria’s Watti Watti people are an extraordinary part of our heritage<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/222721/original/file-20180612-52434-1po6q1e.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ring trees were made by binding young branches of young trees with reeds. As the tree grew, it formed a ring. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tim Church/Timmy Church Films.</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In the forests of <a href="https://aiatsis.gov.au/explore/articles/aiatsis-map-indigenous-australia">Watti Watti Country</a> of north-west Victoria, you can find trees, typically ancient river red gums, with their branches trained by the Watti Watti people to form rings. There is little knowledge about these marker trees beyond the community, and they are currently afforded little in the way of formalised heritage protection. </p>
<p>Watti Watti (sometimes spelled Wadi Wadi) Elder Aunty <a href="http://www.veac.vic.gov.au/submissions/published/Nicholls_Marilyne.pdf">Marilyne Nicholls</a> describes family and community connections to the river red gum forests along the Murray in the following way:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Often we visit to pay respect to the sacred sites that are earthed on the land among the red gum trees. In the forest are some really old red gum trees that are known as markers and often can be seen near a heritage site. These huge old red gum trees have massive trunks and big branches that are joined together to make a ring. </p>
</blockquote>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/explainer-the-importance-of-william-baraks-ceremony-60846">Explainer: the importance of William Barak’s Ceremony</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>These significant trees would have had their young, supple branches fused together using string woven from <a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/32748843?q&versionId=39966584">cumbungi</a> reeds. The binding process trained the branches to grow in the form of a ring shape over time. </p>
<p>The number of rings in an individual tree varies. Sometimes there can be up to four rings in a single tree. My research on ring trees aligns with the goals of the local Traditional Owners, who are working to educate and build knowledge in the area.</p>
<p>There are other, more well known cultural practices in various parts of the country that involve trees, such as “dendroglyphs”, also called “<a href="http://handle.slv.vic.gov.au/10381/185419">carved trees</a>”, that had decorative patterns engraved for ceremonial purposes.</p>
<p>Other examples are scar trees that had sections of bark removed to make canoes, shields, coolamon (or carrying) vessels and for the construction of other timber objects. </p>
<h2>The role of ring trees</h2>
<p>Watti Watti Elder Uncle Doug Nicholls has explained to me that ring trees demarcate boundaries and mark special areas on Country. The trees mark significant cultural locations in the landscape and have been found at “water junctions and inlets, campsites and burial grounds.” </p>
<p>Knowledge of these important places which the ring trees mark could then be conveyed to visitors to Country involved in trade and ceremony. A defining feature of the Watti Watti landscape is the mighty Murray River (<em><a href="https://trove.nla.gov.au/work/32748843?q&versionId=39966584">miilu</a></em> is the traditional language term of this area for river), its tributaries, and associated floodplains. </p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221101/original/file-20180531-69487-15ydmx0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/221101/original/file-20180531-69487-15ydmx0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221101/original/file-20180531-69487-15ydmx0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221101/original/file-20180531-69487-15ydmx0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221101/original/file-20180531-69487-15ydmx0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221101/original/file-20180531-69487-15ydmx0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/221101/original/file-20180531-69487-15ydmx0.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Ring trees were often made from river red gums around the Murray River.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Tim Church/Timmy Church Films.</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Water remains an important story associated with the ring trees, including “<a href="http://www.mldrin.org.au/what-we-do/cultural-flows/">cultural flows</a>” - the right to water for cultural purposes. Elder Aunty Marilyne Nicholls has explained that the ring trees all hold stories and have spiritual and cultural significance.</p>
<p>There is one ring tree that is recognised by the broader community and even sign-posted. It is located in the township of Koraleigh on the New South Wales side of the state boundary. Its context has been disrupted by colonisation, cut-off from the broader environmental and cultural landscape, and is flanked by a road and a paddock. </p>
<p>Due to the disruption of its context, this tree has become a single “site”, rather than part of the wider cultural landscape - isolated and dislocated from its complete story. It is now a stranger in an agrarian landscape. The tree is no longer alive, impacted by the drought and lack of access to the river, although its heart-shaped ring remains visible. </p>
<h2>Connecting past and present</h2>
<p>Many ring trees that can be found in the forests of the Watti Watti landscape have been killed because of the colonial practice of ring barking. Ring barking describes the forestry practice of cutting into a tree’s trunk to kill it and was used for <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/system/user_files/Documents/av/Scarred-Trees.pdf">opening the land up for grasses</a> and to source timber for paddle steamers. While we don’t know how long the Ring Tree making practice has been taking place, it is likely that it halted during colonisation, which proved destructive to the continuation of cultural practices. </p>
<p>However, ring trees continue to play an extremely significant role for the Watti Watti community. According to Uncle Doug Nicholls, ring trees form a recognised place where important cultural ceremonies can take place. </p>
<hr>
<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/where-art-meets-industry-protecting-the-spectacular-rock-art-of-the-burrup-peninsula-72964">Where art meets industry: protecting the spectacular rock art of the Burrup Peninsula</a>
</strong>
</em>
</p>
<hr>
<p>Building knowledge and understanding in the broader community of these trees is important for their future protection. While formal heritage processes enable one avenue for protecting culturally significant sites, such as listing <a href="http://www.veac.vic.gov.au/documents/352-VEAC_RRGF_final_report-all.pdf">earth ovens and middens in the forests</a>, Watti Watti Traditional Owners have been working to foster collaborations and space for dialogue about culture. </p>
<p>In the 1990s, the Indigenous Land Corporation, the federal agency which assists with Indigenous land acquisitions, purchased the Tyntyndyer Homestead in Swan Hill which is built on the traditional lands of the Watti Watti. Listed on the <a href="http://vhd.heritagecouncil.vic.gov.au/places/2066">Victorian Heritage Register</a> this colonial homestead has two stories to tell – a colonial one and a much older one – the story of the Watti Watti people. </p>
<p>This homestead provides a place for the coming together of Watti Watti Traditional Owners, as well as others in the community who support the goals of preserving the colonial heritage of Tyntyndyer Homestead.</p>
<p>The ring trees exist beyond the curtilage of this property. However the homestead is a focal point to connect with and tell the stories that weave through and across the landscape that is Watti Watti Country, and are manifest in the ring trees.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/91310/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jacqueline Power does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In the forests around the Murray River, Victoria’s Watti Watti people have trained trees to mark significant cultural locations in the landscape.Jacqueline Power, Lecturer, University of TasmaniaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/863172017-11-21T19:28:56Z2017-11-21T19:28:56ZWhy scientific monitoring of the effects of industry on our priceless WA rock art is inadequate<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195374/original/file-20171120-18578-1y881mz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The Burrup Peninsula, or Murujuga, contains over a million individual works of rock art by the Yaburara people. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock.com</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Scientific studies used to monitor the impact of industry on Aboriginal rock art in north west Western Australia are inadequate, potentially exposing more than a million individual artworks to damage, according to a <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/theconversation-assets/assets_for_articles/2017-11-20-inadequacies-of-research-to-monitor-change-to-rock-art-and-regulate-industry-on-murujuga.pdf">recent paper</a> published by myself and co-authors in the journal <a href="http://www.ifrao.com/rock-art-research-journal/">Rock Art Research</a>. </p>
<p>The rock art is located near the towns of Dampier and Karratha and is known as the Burrup Peninsula, or Murujuga. It is a priceless, irreplaceable, cultural and archaeological treasure. The peninsula is also home to industry including an iron ore export port, natural gas processing, liquefying and export facilities, an ammonia-urea fertiliser plant and most recently, an ammonium nitrate production facility for explosives. </p>
<p>The industry and port produce thousands of tonnes of acid-forming emissions each year, permitted under environmental regulations. The impact of these emissions has been monitored through several scientific studies, which claimed there was no consistent impact on the rock art. </p>
<p>However our paper shows that the four main studies cannot be used to monitor the impact of industry on the art due to methodological errors. For example, one study subjected rocks to acid-forming emissions and concluded that there was no consistent change in colour. But there were just not enough repeat measurements to gain any sensible conclusion about the effect of emissions on rock colour. </p>
<p>Another experiment examining the effects of varying acid and other chemical concentrations was conducted using iron ore, which has no relevance to the rocks on which the art is situated. Measurements of colour change between 2004 and 2014 were also made on the rock art and background rock at seven different sites. But the instruments used for measuring change in rock surface colour were designed for indoor use and were inappropriate for the highly variable, hot rock surfaces of Murujuga. Typically, instruments were located at only one place on the rock surface during a measurement each year and this was insufficient to represent the highly variable rock surface. </p>
<p>These studies form the basis for government regulation, which permits industry to release acid-forming emissions. While there is no conclusive evidence that industry emissions have damaged the rock art, recent measurements of the surface of rocks near industry by Dr Ian MacLeod, former Director of the Western Australian Maritime Museum, found acidity to have increased 1,000 times above pre-industrial levels.</p>
<p>We showed in another scientific paper published earlier this year that acid dissolves the outer surface layer of the rocks causing them to become thinner, lighter in colour and to flake away. Once the outer surface layer is removed, the rock art is lost.</p>
<p>The federal government is conducting a <a href="https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Environment_and_Communications/BurrupPeninusla">senate inquiry</a> into the health of the Murujuga rock art, with a delayed final report due in late November. I argue that, at the very least, industry must install technology to reduce acid emissions and ammonium nitrate dust particles to virtually zero. Other rock art experts have called for a cessation of all industry on the peninsula in a recent editorial in Rock Art Research. </p>
<h2>Priceless history</h2>
<p>The Murujuga rock art captures over 45,000 years of human culture, activity and spiritual beliefs through ever changing environments from when the sea was more than 100 km from its current position and through the last ice age, 20,000 years ago.</p>
<p>The petroglyphs include some of the oldest known representations of the human face in the world. There are images of extinct mammals including megafauna, the fat-tailed kangaroo and thylacine. There are elaborate geometric designs that could have been used for navigation or an early form of mathematics. There are many depictions of hunting and cultural ceremonies as well as existing animals, birds and sea creatures.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195953/original/file-20171122-6027-mqpbau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195953/original/file-20171122-6027-mqpbau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195953/original/file-20171122-6027-mqpbau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195953/original/file-20171122-6027-mqpbau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195953/original/file-20171122-6027-mqpbau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=320&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195953/original/file-20171122-6027-mqpbau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195953/original/file-20171122-6027-mqpbau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195953/original/file-20171122-6027-mqpbau.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=403&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Artwork depicting a thylacine, a species which has been extinct in the Pilbarra for 3,000 years.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Friends of Australian Rock Art</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>The Murujuga inhabitants created this rock art until February 1868, when virtually the entire Yaburara indigenous population was exterminated in a massacre. </p>
<p>Massacre of the Yaburara, only three years after European settlement in 1865, has deprived us from knowing the storylines and cultural meaning of the petroglyphs. Equally significantly, the massacre broke continuous inhabitation of the area, which has allowed successive Western Australian governments to develop in the midst of the rock art one of the largest industrial complexes in the Southern Hemisphere.</p>
<h2>Industry and art</h2>
<p>Construction of the industries is estimated by archaeologists working on Murujuga to have resulted in the destruction of over 30,000 petroglyphs through removal and physical damage. Atmospheric emissions from the industries are immense. </p>
<p>Dampier port, which is adjacent to the petroglyphs, is one of the busiest bulk-ports in the world with over 19,000 ship movements each year. These ships burn high sulphur bunker fuel, with one ship emitting as much as 5,000 tonnes of sulphur dioxide per year. </p>
<p>The gas and fertiliser plants emit around 34,000 tonnes of acid forming compounds into the air each year. The recent starting up of the ammonium nitrate plant revealed a huge yellow-orange cloud of nitrogen dioxide with concentrations of over 1,000 parts per million. The emission of nitrogen dioxide from the plant will occur around six times each year, whenever certain industrial chemicals needed for ammonium nitrate production require replacing. </p>
<p>These emissions are permitted under state and federal environmental regulation. Both nitrogen and sulphur dioxide react with water to form acids which are deposited on the rock surfaces. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195955/original/file-20171122-6072-4f46ef.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195955/original/file-20171122-6072-4f46ef.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/195955/original/file-20171122-6072-4f46ef.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195955/original/file-20171122-6072-4f46ef.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195955/original/file-20171122-6072-4f46ef.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195955/original/file-20171122-6072-4f46ef.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195955/original/file-20171122-6072-4f46ef.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/195955/original/file-20171122-6072-4f46ef.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The construction of the LNG facility in 2008.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Friends of Australian Rock Art</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Extraordinary origins</h2>
<p>The rock art at Murujuga is threatened by acid because of its unique geological properties. The natural blue-grey rock, formed from cooling magma, weathers very slowly to form a yellow coloured weathering rind, which may grow by 5 mm in 30,000 years. </p>
<p>The yellow coloured rind is covered with a dark brown-black coating called a patina or rock varnish. The petroglyphs were formed by using hard pieces of rock to break through the patina and expose the rind. </p>
<p>This patina is an extraordinary substance. It is formed by specialised bacteria and fungi on the rock surface, where there is seldom moisture and rock temperatures can exceed 70°C. To survive the harsh conditions, the organisms build a mineral sheath. When they die, their body and sheath combine with clay from the dust to form the hard, dark-coloured patina.</p>
<p>Destruction of the outer patina results in disappearance of the rock art. There is evidence that the patina is flaking on some rocks with petroglyphs. The patina becomes thin and flakes away under acidic conditions.</p>
<h2>Protecting the art</h2>
<p>Elsewhere in the world countries have been vigilant in protecting natural and cultural heritage from acid emissions. In the US cars are banned or severely limited in many national parks because the acid formed from nitrogen dioxide, produced from vehicle exhaust, will damage the forests.</p>
<p>In France, the 1.4 million annual visitors to the 17,000-year-old Lascaux cave paintings do not see the actual paintings, but a replica in an adjoining cave because of the damage caused by emissions from human breath. </p>
<p>Similarly, the UK government announced in January this year they are building a £1.4 billion tunnel to remove cars form the vicinity of their 4,500-year-old heritage in Stonehenge. </p>
<p>While removing industry may be the best solution to ensure the rock art’s safety, it may not be practical. Governments and industry must recognise their social responsibilities and ensure sufficient technology is in place to reduce acid forming emissions to near zero.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/86317/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John Black is affiliated with Friends of Australian Rock Art. </span></em></p>New research has cast doubt on the effectiveness of scientific studies monitoring industry impact on rock art in the Burrup Peninsula.John Black, Honorary Research Fellow, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/454262015-07-31T04:15:38Z2015-07-31T04:15:38ZAdam Goodes, dignity and Aboriginal men: what the research says<p>Dignity is a concept that has been discussed for approximately 1500 years. Over the past ten years, various Indigenous leaders have called for the dignity of Indigenous Australia to be restored. </p>
<p>One of these leaders is the former Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner, Tom Calma. As commissioner, Calma would finish <a href="https://www.humanrights.gov.au/news/speeches/still-riding-freedom-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-human-rights-agenda-twenty">many of his speeches</a> with:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Please remember, from self-respect comes dignity, and from dignity comes hope.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The research I have been conducting focuses on restoring dignity to Aboriginal men as seen through the eyes of some senior elders from around Australia.</p>
<p>During my research the elders expressed the belief that dignity is a very important quality to possess and display. One of the prevalent attributes that Aboriginal men were dispossessed of was their dignity. This loss occurred through racist government policies, the stealing of their children, and the creation of a welfare mentality. </p>
<p>When thinking about Aboriginal men specifically we see the disempowerment through unemployment and the loss of their community land. This causes an inability for them to fulfil their cultural responsibilities to the land. One of the elders I have spoken to for my research, Uncle Larry Kelly, told me: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>But becoming a man carries a lot of respect and dignity that you have to practice. You don’t just talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Another elder, Uncle Ossie, concurs with this. He emphasised that a dignified man needs to fulfil three aspects – to provide for your family, protect your family in the community and fulfil your cultural responsibilities.</p>
<p>Over the last several years Sydney Swans AFL player Adam Goodes has demonstrated that he is a very proud Aboriginal man, as well as being culturally aware and culturally sensitive. Goodes has carried himself with dignity, demonstrating his prowess both on and off the field and as an advocate and spokesman for Aboriginal players and for Indigenous communities in general.</p>
<p>It is possible that Goodes’ celebratory dance has once again reminded a minority of the football-watching public that he is an empowered Aboriginal man, and that Goodes’ empowerment is the cause of the racist response that has manifested itself in the constant booing of him on the playing field. As a dignified man, Goodes has a number of choices in how to deal with these racist taunts. </p>
<p>The first choice is for Goodes to try and ignore these attempts to put him off his game and not engage with the offending crowd in the hope that the rest of the fans would intervene and stop this unsportsmanlike behaviour. Unfortunately, this tactic has not worked in the crowds. The booing of Goodes has continued. </p>
<p>Another choice – which Goodes has made – is to withdraw from the game temporarily. By doing this Goodes is making a statement that he is a dignified and proud Aboriginal man and doesn’t need to put up with or tolerate this form of racist behaviour. The response to this action is that a number of high-profile media personalities, other Indigenous players and sporting organisations have come out and condemned this form of racist behaviour. </p>
<p>This action, in lieu of Goodes so far not making an official comment, is a very strong statement in defence of the Indigenous players and their rights to be proud Indigenous people. </p>
<p>Uncle Ossie says that:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>When a man has been stripped of his potential, then dignity slides, pride of life and lots of other things slide with it. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>In this situation Goodes has refused to allow his potential to be stripped away. He continues to demonstrate through dignity and presence of mind that he is an empowered Aboriginal man. This needs to be celebrated by the people around him and by the wider community.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/45426/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Stuart Barlo does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Adam Goodes’ actions – from his celebratory dance to his decision to temporarily withdraw from the AFL – epitomise the concept of male Indigenous dignity.Stuart Barlo, Lecturer in Indigenous Studies at Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples, Southern Cross UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/359852015-01-14T10:29:52Z2015-01-14T10:29:52ZCrazy Horse: leader, warrior, martyr … artist?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68883/original/image-20150113-28434-k3xmfl.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The unfinished Crazy Horse memorial in Custer County, South Dakota.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/de/4/4f/Crazy-Horse-Memorial.jpg">Bernd00/Wikimedia Commons</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>More than a century after he died, the Lakota warrior Crazy Horse, who famously fought General Custer in the Battle of Little Bighorn, is thought of as transcendent force – attuned to the universe in a special way – though he’s often commemorated in ways that are somewhat odd. He’s the subject, for example, of a gargantuan (<a href="http://www.cnn.com/2012/11/05/us/crazy-horse-memorial/">and controversial</a>) mountain-top sculpture in South Dakota which – if ever finished – will be bigger than Mount Rushmore. And his name is the inspiration for a <a href="http://www.lecrazyhorseparis.com/en">strip joint</a> in Montmartre that has billed itself as “the most sophisticated cabaret in Paris.” </p>
<p>It’s easy to forget that Crazy Horse was once actually a real person, even if the historical record is often frustratingly incomplete. But Castle McLaughlin’s latest publication brings readers into the world of the real Crazy Horse. Her book, titled A Lakota War Book from the Little Bighorn, also delves into one of the more intriguing art historical “Who-Done-Its” in recent memory.</p>
<h2>Drawings by Natives, for Natives</h2>
<p>In 1930 the estate of Boston philanthropist George White donated a ledgerbook filled with drawings by Native American artists to Harvard’s Houghton Library. For 70 years it sat on the shelves, unnoticed, until the late Tom Ford, a member of the library’s staff, brought it to the attention of McLaughlin, the curator of North American ethnography at Harvard’s Peabody Museum. </p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68602/original/image-20150109-23786-vbvxnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/68602/original/image-20150109-23786-vbvxnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=861&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68602/original/image-20150109-23786-vbvxnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=861&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68602/original/image-20150109-23786-vbvxnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=861&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68602/original/image-20150109-23786-vbvxnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1082&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68602/original/image-20150109-23786-vbvxnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1082&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/68602/original/image-20150109-23786-vbvxnf.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1082&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">In 1930, the estate of Boston philanthropist George Robert White donated a ledgerbook of Native American paintings to Harvard’s Houghton Library.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:George_Robert_White.JPG">John Singer Sargent Gallery</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Ledgerbooks by Native Americans are relatively common, but most of them date from after the Indian Wars, when Native prisoners in Florida composed and sold them to tourists for much-needed cash. This book stands out because of its early (and quite specific) production date. As McLaughlin documents in detail, a US soldier discovered the book near the scaffold burial of an Indian Chief on the Little Bighorn battlefield, shortly after Custer’s defeat. It was made not for tourists, but rather is an actual Native American “War Book,” made by Native Americans, for Native Americans, and filled with drawings of war exploits. </p>
<p>The 77 drawings in the book record warfare and horse stealing on the plains; 11 show the protagonist killing, wounding, or striking a US Soldier or civilian, often with uniforms or guns that are rendered so precisely that we can date the drawing to its conception. Most of the drawings are clearly autobiographical, showing diary-like depictions of day-to-day warrior life. </p>
<p>For Native American warriors, such drawings recorded history. They acted as a means to boast about their battlefield accomplishments and to improve their status among fellow warriors. They also believed the images resulted in “good magic” for future conflicts. </p>
<p>This specific book contains drawings that portray episodes from Red Cloud’s War (1866-1868), during which Cheyenne and Lakota warriors – including Crazy Horse – defended the Yellowstone and Powder River Valleys. It was the only war ever “won” by western Native Americans, who forced the US military to retreat from the Bozeman trail.</p>
<p>At first glance, the drawings may look childish. But as Picasso has pointed out, a drawing’s intelligence isn’t simply a matter of academic technique. Under McLaughlin’s masterful guidance, we come to recognize that, in fact, the drawings in this book exhibit extraordinary intelligence of observation. Every detail is telling, whether it’s a dragonfly painted on a shield or the way war paint was applied to the horses. </p>
<p>As McLaughlin explains, these drawings are as rich and informative as any Euro-American literary text, although they speak in the language of images rather than letters, and shape reality within parameters set by a very different cultural framework. It’s a remarkable lesson in the importance of examining something very closely, of learning to look at images in new ways.</p>
<h2>Who is artist D?</h2>
<p>Since no names accompany the drawings, McClaughlin designated each artist with a letter – A through F – and, through careful analysis, set out to discover who the artists might have been. Artist E, for example, drew himself connected to a bird in the sky with a wiggly line. He may well have been the warrior Thunderhawk, who, after the murder of Crazy Horse, returned the body to Crazy Horse’s wife. Then there’s artist B, who showed himself killing a bugler. This could be High Backbone, a friend of Crazy Horse’s who appears to have killed a US Army bugler in the <a href="http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/indians-massacre-fetterman-and-eighty-soldiers">Fetterman fight</a>. </p>
<p>But the focus of McLaughlin’s detective work is artist D, who, in one drawing, drew himself streaked with yellow body paint, and depicted his horse with lightning bolts lining its legs. It’s just how Amos Bad Heart Bull – a nephew of Red Cloud – portrays Crazy Horse and his mare in a separate drawing of Crazy Horse in the Battle of the Little Bighorn. </p>
<p>Could artist D be Crazy Horse? The episode shows the death of a US army officer and sergeant, which precisely corresponds with a December 1866 skirmish in which Crazy Horse killed Lieutenant Horatio S. Bingham and Sergeant Gideon R. Bowers.</p>
<p>There’s also something about the drawings that fits with what we know of Crazy Horse: they seem to possess a peculiar and distinct energy. Even among his peers, Crazy Horse was known for possessing a mystical aura – a presence that set him apart from the others. As his cousin and contemporary Black Elk once <a href="http://books.google.com/books/about/Black_Elk_Speaks.html?id=1oStxQNmteEC">explained</a>: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>Crazy Horse dreamed and went into the world where there is nothing but the spirits of things. That is the real world that is behind this one, and everything we see here is something like a shadow from that world…. It was this vision that gave him his great power, for when he went into a fight, he had only to think of that world to be in it again, so that he could go through anything and not be hurt.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>Likewise the work of artist D differs from the other drawings. As McLaughlin notes: “His drawings testify that he is a deeply spiritual man whose success in war follows from his relationships with higher powers, especially the thunder beings…Artist D’s dynamic, colorful, well-executed drawings…seem to express a contained inwardly focused energy that sets them apart from the rest of the images in the book.” </p>
<p>While the evidence is circumstantial, McLaughlin’s patient accumulation of evidence is powerfully persuasive. By the time you reach the end of her account, it’s hard to avoid the eerie feeling that you’re in the presence of drawings by Crazy Horse himself.</p>
<p><em>The image from the ledgerbook appears in A Lakota War Book from the Little Bighorn: The Pictographic “Autobiography of Half Moon,” by Castle McLaughlin (2013). Houghton Library Studies 4, Houghton Library of the Harvard Library and Peabody Museum Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35985/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Henry Adams does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>More than a century after he died, the Lakota warrior Crazy Horse, who famously fought General Custer in the Battle of Little Bighorn, is thought of as transcendent force – attuned to the universe in a…Henry Adams, Ruth Coulter Heede Professor of Art History, Case Western Reserve UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/343662014-11-21T01:10:52Z2014-11-21T01:10:52ZSBS’s First Contact is the real ‘festering sore’ of the nation<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65142/original/image-20141120-4472-waerxm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">The First Contact cast members' transformation over the series is an optical illusion of Australian race relations.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">SBS</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The SBS/Blackfella Films production <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/programs/first-contact">First Contact</a> – that takes six non-Indigenous people and immerses them into Aboriginal Australia for the first time – captured the <a href="http://www.bandt.com.au/media/sbs-tv-event-first-contact-ratings">nation’s attention</a> this week amassing a television audience nearing 1 million viewers, while the program’s Twitter hashtag <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/firstcontactsbs">#FirstContactSBS</a> trended worldwide. </p>
<p>Over the three episodes, we saw the participants get their “first contact” with Aboriginal Australia as they were welcomed into the homes of Aboriginal people in the city and in the bush. </p>
<p>Clearly the television series hit a nerve, sparking a plethora of conversations around the country. </p>
<p>These conversations tell us more about the relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia than the racist soundbites in the show’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3x_tcqYRr8">promo clip</a>. </p>
<p>TV viewers were understandably outraged at the views expressed by First Contact’s cast members. But as the nation gathers to vilify them, we must remember they are a product of the nation they live in … that we all live in.</p>
<p>A nation that <a href="https://theconversation.com/pyning-for-indigenous-rights-in-the-australian-curriculum-30422">struggles</a> to teach its own history in its schools.</p>
<p>A nation which <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-racial-discrimination-act-may-be-too-wide-but-changing-it-has-disproportionate-dangers-24809">suspends</a> the Racial Discrimination Act to “protect” Aboriginal people.</p>
<p>A nation that <a href="https://theconversation.com/race-act-changes-are-what-you-get-when-you-champion-bigotry-24782">asserts</a> its right to be bigots.</p>
<p>A nation that insists Aboriginal people celebrate the day their country was invaded. </p>
<p>A nation where its Prime Minister declares himself the PM for Aborigines and <a href="https://theconversation.com/abbott-is-quietly-failing-on-his-pm-for-aboriginal-affairs-promise-26948">cuts funding</a> to Indigenous communities; who believes Australia was “<a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/11/14/pms-nothing-bush-comments-slammed">nothing but bush</a>” before white settlement; who defines the authenticity of his colleague’s Aboriginality based on where they live and who <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2013/08/16/comment-abbotts-views-indigenous-women-escape-scrutiny">believes</a> that “Aboriginal women are cowering in their huts”. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65147/original/image-20141121-4464-26qv64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65147/original/image-20141121-4464-26qv64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65147/original/image-20141121-4464-26qv64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65147/original/image-20141121-4464-26qv64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65147/original/image-20141121-4464-26qv64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65147/original/image-20141121-4464-26qv64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65147/original/image-20141121-4464-26qv64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65147/original/image-20141121-4464-26qv64.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">First Contact.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">SBS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Gee, when Abbott finds out that the Aborigines live in houses (albeit it, ridiculously overcrowded ones), he will be as disappointed as First Contact’s <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2014/11/20/first-contacts-bo-dene-i-cant-believe-i-was-so-naive-and-ignorant">Bo-Dene</a> was when she realised the mob in north-east Arnhem Land wore shoes! </p>
<p>The cast-members reflect who we are as a nation. But their transformation over the series is an optical illusion – or delusion – of Australian race relations.</p>
<p>For a moment we are led to believe that the oppressive hierarchical relationships between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australia could be refigured. But this momentary shift was short lived, as Channel Nine’s Today Show demonstrated earlier this week, in their review of the first episode.</p>
<p>I assumed The Today Show’s <a href="http://www.9jumpin.com.au/show/today/videos/">The Grill</a> was going to reflect on the racism revealed in the show. </p>
<p>Commentator Miranda Devine launched a critique of the show by expressing her concern about the portrayal of negative stereotypes. I was about to agree, until she clarified that she meant the negative portrayal of the (white) women as racist. </p>
<p>Devine argued that it is not racist to complain about Aboriginal welfare because even Aboriginal people (or in her words “these people”) agree that welfare is not good for them. Okay, but the cast said quite a few negative things about Aboriginal people that were unrelated to welfare dependency. </p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65148/original/image-20141121-4475-11w76sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65148/original/image-20141121-4475-11w76sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/65148/original/image-20141121-4475-11w76sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65148/original/image-20141121-4475-11w76sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65148/original/image-20141121-4475-11w76sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65148/original/image-20141121-4475-11w76sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65148/original/image-20141121-4475-11w76sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/65148/original/image-20141121-4475-11w76sn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">First Contact.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">SBS</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Also, in episode one we didn’t actually meet welfare-dependant Aboriginal people; we met Aboriginal people in Redfern leading crime prevention initiatives, while paying off their mortgage, and barbecuing like real Aussies (as opposed to munching out on bugs). </p>
<p>We also witnessed the cultural resilience of Marcus Lacey and his extended family in north eastern Arnhem Land who graciously engaged with these “outspoken Aussies”. </p>
<p>Despite this, the Today Show focused their analysis on “the problem of Aboriginal dysfunction” rather than the cast members’ ignorance. The “Aboriginal problem” is a pervasive discourse used by white Australia to absolve itself of any responsibility to past and present injustices experienced by Aboriginal people. </p>
<p>It is this discourse that Aboriginal activist and actress Rosalie Kunoth-Marks so famously challenged on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vCYhO6yRWgU">ABC’s Q&A</a> program earlier this year. </p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vCYhO6yRWgU?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
<figcaption><span class="caption">Rosalie Kunoth-Monks on ABC’s Q&A: ‘I am not the problem’.</span></figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But alas, even First Contact’s host Ray Martin explained the show by <a href="http://www.theage.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/first-contacts-casting-reveals-australias-festering-sore-20141119-11pjnt.html">stating</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>I think every Australian realises that the Aboriginal problem, quote unquote, is our festering sore. </p>
</blockquote>
<p>The discourse of the “Aboriginal problem” demonises Aboriginal people and is a dangerously alluring concept that we as Indigenous people sometimes perform to.</p>
<p>Demonisation leads us to believe that we are culpable for the racial oppressions inflicted upon us. It is the belief (often instilled in us by our parents) that if we work hard (or 10 times harder) we can prove ourselves to white Australia.</p>
<p>Yet, many of us have done just that, and now are subjected to a different brand of Australian racism - the one that tells us that our success and accomplishment voids our claim as “real Aboriginals”.</p>
<p>Suggesting that Aboriginal people remedy the racism we encounter is like telling the battered woman that she can escape domestic violence by just behaving better. Racism cannot be cured in this country by enlisting Aboriginal people to perform palatable, perfect or culturally pure renditions of Aboriginality. </p>
<p>Racism is not about the capacity of Aboriginal minds or bodies – it is about the psyche of the racist, and the psyche of a nation which has yet to “recognise” or “reconcile” Indigenous sovereignty and their own illegal occupation. </p>
<p>That, Ray, is the deep festering sore of this nation. </p>
<p><br></p>
<p><em>You can watch First Contact on <a href="http://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/">SBS On Demand.</a></em></p>
<hr>
<p><em>Editor’s note: Chelsea will be answering questions between 4 and 5pm AEDT on Friday November 21. Ask your questions about First Contact in the comments below.</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/34366/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Chelsea Bond is an Australian Learning and Teaching Fellow and affiliate member of the National Indigenous Research and Knowledges Network. </span></em></p>The SBS/Blackfella Films production First Contact – that takes six non-Indigenous people and immerses them into Aboriginal Australia for the first time – captured the nation’s attention this week amassing…Chelsea Watego, Senior Lecturer in the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies Unit, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/303082014-08-20T20:16:07Z2014-08-20T20:16:07ZFrustration rises over changes to the WA Aboriginal Heritage Act<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/56836/original/46qrthkf-1408494408.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Indigenous groups are concerned about proposed changes to the process for determining heritage sites in Western Australia, including the location of the Nyoongar Tent embassy.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Allen Stewart/Newspix</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>In June, the Western Australian Government released draft amendments to the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. This is the legislation that determines what qualifies for heritage protection in the state – and what does not. The amendments have been met with increasing concern by Aboriginal people and scholars who see the <a href="http://www.daa.wa.gov.au/Documents/HeritageCulture/Aboriginal%20Heritage%20Legislative%20Changes/Aboriginal%20Heritage%20Amendment%20Bill%202014%20-%20public%20consultation%20draft.pdf">Aboriginal Heritage Amendment Bill 2014</a> as a threat to the objects and sites that it claims to protect.</p>
<p>A <a href="http://www.daa.wa.gov.au/PageFiles/1836/Discussion%20paper%20APRIL%202012v1.pdf">review</a> of the Aboriginal Heritage Act began in May 2011. This resulted in two rounds of public consultation. The <a href="http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/StatementDetails.aspx?StatId=5761&listName=StatementsBarnett">first round</a> focused on the government’s intention to reform the legislation and <a href="http://www.daa.wa.gov.au/en/Heritage-and-Culture/Aboriginal-heritage/Aboriginal-Heritage-Legislative-Changes/Submissions-recieved/">the second round</a> concentrated on the draft amendments.</p>
<p>If the Bill becomes law after parliamentary debate expected later this year, the rights of people to engage with Aboriginal heritage can be ignored within government bureaucracy. Its obliviousness to Aboriginal heritage may become much more efficient.</p>
<p>One of the amendments authorises the chief executive officer of the Department of Aboriginal Affairs to issue a declaration that “there is no Aboriginal site on the land”. This declaration may be at “the CEO’s own initiative”. There is no administrative tribunal mechanism for reviewing the CEO’s decision. </p>
<p>On June 11, when the amendments were published, Aboriginal Affairs Minister Peter Collier <a href="http://www.mediastatements.wa.gov.au/Pages/StatementDetails.aspx?StatId=8395&listName=StatementsBarnett">said</a> that the changes were needed to keep pace with rapid economic development, particularly in mining and construction. Several resource companies have expressed support for the changes.</p>
<p>The Law Society of Western Australia, however, has <a href="http://www.daa.wa.gov.au/Documents/HeritageCulture/Aboriginal%20Heritage%20Legislative%20Changes/Submissions/Law%20Society_AHAB2014_20140731.pdf">criticised the bill</a> for not ensuring transparent reasoning of CEO determinations and for not guaranteeing Aboriginal people a voice in the decision-making process.</p>
<h2>Indigenous voices respond</h2>
<p>In an August 6 submission on the bill, filed during the government’s eight-week consultation period, Aboriginal MLA Ben Wyatt <a href="http://www.daa.wa.gov.au/Documents/HeritageCulture/Aboriginal%20Heritage%20Legislative%20Changes/Submissions/Ben%20Wyatt%20MLA_AHAB2014_20140806.pdf">wrote</a> that: </p>
<blockquote>
<p>It is extraordinary that the government’s proposed amendments actually contemplate a reduced involvement for Aboriginal people than the original Act drafted in 1972.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>The Bill fails to address the concerns articulated by many Aboriginal people during this consultation process. </p>
<p>In another submission, Aboriginal academic Blaze Kwaymullina and Aboriginal author Sally Morgan <a href="http://www.daa.wa.gov.au/PageFiles/1842/Aboriginal%20Heritage%20Act%20Submission1%20%282%29.pdf">wrote</a> that the government’s plan would “weaken a piece of legislation which is already failing to achieve the purpose of protecting Aboriginal heritage”. Indeed, the architects of the bill seem to have ignored the opinions of experts such as Professor Mick Dodson and Gary Toone of the Australian National University.</p>
<p>In Perth, Aboriginal community groups and land councils are up in arms. </p>
<p>Elders and Traditional Owners of the Swan River People native title claim group see the amendments as “a return to the days of the Chief Protector of the Native Welfare”. In a <a href="http://www.daa.wa.gov.au/Documents/HeritageCulture/Aboriginal%20Heritage%20Legislative%20Changes/Submissions/Swan%20River%20People_AHAB2014_20140804.pdf">submission</a> to government on August 5, the group said it would “be very damaging” for one person to decide “the fate of all Aboriginal people without asking what they want”. </p>
<p>This group and their ancestors have been struggling to protect their land and culture since the 1830s in the Perth metropolitan area. They worked hard to secure three of the six successful prosecutions under the 42-year-old Act.</p>
<h2>The problem with weakening the Act</h2>
<p>The Act has a poor record of protecting Aboriginal heritage. Only in rare cases has a determined group of Aboriginal people been able to use it to prevent damage to their heritage. With the proposed legislative change, even such slim hope may be lost.</p>
<p>Blaze Kwaymullina and Sally Morgan say that the government’s archaic approach to Aboriginal heritage “does not acknowledge Aboriginal culture as a living and ongoing concern, an approach sometimes described as ‘museum mentality’”. </p>
<p>Aboriginal heritage sites are places for contemporary Aboriginal politics. This was demonstrated in Perth in 2012 when <a href="http://www.nyoongartentembassy.com/matagarup-heritage.html">an Aboriginal tent embassy</a> was established at heritage site ID3589 on Heirisson Island to raise awareness of a state plan to radically extinguish native title to Nyoongar <em>boodjar</em> (country). </p>
<p>The Nyoongar Tent Embassy chose this location because it had been used to support Aboriginal demands in the past and because the state had recognised it as Aboriginal heritage. Despite the embassy’s engagement with state recognition of Aboriginal heritage, it was criminalised by senior politicians, bureaucrats, police and media workers.</p>
<p>Criminalisation worked because no official outside the Aboriginal community acknowledged that the embassy had been set up at a registered Aboriginal heritage site (see <a href="http://www.ctrl-z.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Setting-Up-the-Tent-Embassy-Kerr-Cox.pdf">Setting up the Nyoongar Tent Embassy: A Report on Perth Media</a>).</p>
<p>When asked in Budget Estimates about a series of increasingly violent police raids on the embassy, Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Peter Collier <a href="http://www.parliament.wa.gov.au/parliament/pquest.nsf/969994fcf861850d4825718d002fe7fb/10708fac49675eaa48257c05001ffa3d?OpenDocument">responded</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There is no provision within the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. (sic) to investigate the legitimacy of people who were gathered at the Tent Embassy. The Department of Aboriginal Affairs did not receive a request to provide any advice to the Western Australian Police on any aspects of the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972.</p>
</blockquote>
<p>With the Bill not yet before parliament, there is still time to prevent a <em>carte blanche</em> authorisation of the CEO and disempowerment of Aboriginal people. </p>
<p><br>
<em>The image illustrating this article is the cover image of the authors’ book <a href="http://www.ctrl-z.net.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/Setting-Up-the-Tent-Embassy-Kerr-Cox.pdf">Setting up the Nyoongar Tent Embassy: A Report on Perth Media</a>. This photograph was taken by Allen Stewart, reproduced with permission (Newspix).</em></p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/30308/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Thor Kerr is affiliated with The Greens.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Shaphan Cox does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>In June, the Western Australian Government released draft amendments to the Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972. This is the legislation that determines what qualifies for heritage protection in the state – and…Thor Kerr, Lecturer in the School of Media, Culture and Creative Arts, Curtin UniversityShaphan Cox, Lecturer, Department of Planning and Geography, Curtin UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.