A Project Recording and Managing Indigenous Knowledge - Report Example

Review of a Project Recording and Managing Indigenous Australian Knowledge Student’s Name Institutional Affiliation Review of a Project Recording and Managing Indigenous Australian Knowledge Background Information of the Project The project to be considered for this assignment is about the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Partnership Project implemented under the partnership of Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and The Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority. The partnership focused on recording and distributing indigenous environmental knowledge upheld by the Gunditjmara population. The knowledge would be shared with the aim of enabling this population to improve their recording capacity for recording. In addition, the project would also facilitate sustainable management of land in the entire catchment area. The Organizations Involved in the Project Caring for Our Country Initiative The funds for the project came from the initiative named ‘Caring for Our Country.’ The initiative is the Australian government initiative for managing natural resources[D]. The project was aimed as an integrated package with the precise objective, a business approach to investment, undoubtedly articulate products and priorities and advance responsibility. The initiative’s current natural resources control operates the natural heritage trust; national Landcare program; environmental stewardship program among others. The funding of the partnership project commenced in 2009 and would run for four years[Gle14]. The funding intended to achieve contemporary land management practices was facilitated by the presence of a freehold title over 3200ha and existing arrangements between Winda Mara Aboriginal Corporation and the Budj Bim Rangers Program. Besides this project, Caring for our Country supports the priorities of government to protect and conserve the biodiversity and adoption of sustainable farm practice[Lud12]. More information can be obtained from http://www.lrm.nt.gov.au/nht/caring#.VEgDY_ImH7E Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation Under the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006, the Gunditj Mirring is a Registered Aboriginal Party (RAP). The corporation promotes monthly meetings of Gunditjmara traditional owners in reaction to the notifications under Act 2006. The program is accountable for the provision of its constitutional facilities in innate title and social inheritance. The organization also participates in wide community through the Budj Bim Sustainable Development Partnership. The Gunditj Mirring project is aimed at researching, discovering, and recording ancient and contemporary. The two main prescribed roles of Gunditj Mirring project is a prescribed body corporate under the Native Title Act, and secondly, it is a registered aboriginal party under the Aboriginal Heritage Act[The09]. More information can be obtained from http://www.gunditjmirring.com/#!services/clcm The Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority This authority is Glenelg Hopkins CMA is a board obliged with the establishment of strategic direction for the management of land and water in Australia. Under the management of the board directors, leadership of the board is possible since they ensure that the strategic directions for combined natural resource management are set for the region. Some of the CMA Board functions include setting CMA policy and strategic direction; accountability to the community; developing land and water management vision in close consultation with stakeholders; answerable to the government on the condition water and land resources in Australia; and obliged to assess accomplishment of the objectives of managing resources[Gle14]. The board is also responsible for defining the vision, mission, and core values of the authority, and performing monitoring and review functions. Nation Group: The Gunditjmara Community The Gunditjmara people established the Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Corporation to represent Gunditjmara traditional owners. These people are native title holders of the southwest of Victoria, Australia. Over 25 years, the community owns 3200 ha along the Budj Bim National Heritage Landscape. The Mt. Eccles National Park is also a part of the Gunditjmara native title settlement in 2007 and the two own about 8375 ha along the Budj Bim Landscape[Gle14]. The Gunditjmara community is also closely connected to Winda Mara Aboriginal Corporation and Budj Bim Rangers Program. Geography of the Gunditjmara Country The Gunditjmara country is situated in the South-Western Victoria region. The country progresses over the state border to comprise of small area of South-East Southern Australia[Wei09]. This country borders Glenelg River. Some of the natural attractions in the area include volcanic plains, sea country, forests, rivers, limestone caves, and a dramatic coastline. In this area, there is also association with dormant and extinct craters that the construction of permanent fences. Additionally, the underground aquifers are in favor of courses for permanent fresh water. With the geothermal energy found in this coastal region, heated ground water is present. Although there has not been any recent volcanic activity in the region, tsunamis, volcanic activities, and earthquakes are critical aspect of this community[Wei09]. The two dearly held natural resources are the Island Deen Marr that is associated with hosting the spirits of the dead for their rebirth, and the Tyrendarra Lava flow that defined the opportunity to establish huge and complicated aquaculture network. Aquaculture was due to the reformation of the landscape that led to channels that diverted water, fish, and eels to the inland wetlands and holding ponds. For the Gunditjmara Traditional Owners, the landscapes within the area include Sea country, forest country, River Country, and Stone country. These landscapes connect the owners to the country through language, dreaming stories, oral histories, customs and cultural law[Ngo12]. The Knowledge Collected and Recorded Ecological Knowledge The knowledge collected in the project was ecological in nature. This information was available given the fact that the Gunditjmara population values close relationship with the environment and the fact that their culture values and prioritizes the natural world more than they do to material wealth. The connection of the people to the ecology is a tradition handed down from one generation to the other and with information regarding used or nature of sites, objects, and knowledge[Bel]. For the Aboriginal people, the Gunditjmara land is more than just land but a terrain that nourishes them by giving them and receiving life. The country means everything including plants, people, water, earth and animals. Consequently, they sing, talk, praise, feel sorry, and worry about their country, their land. Traditional Knowledge Traditions are part of the aboriginal people especially those living Gunditjmara people. The people’s traditional knowledge focused on wetlands, forested, and grassland areas maintenance. According to Glenelg Hopkins CMA [Gle13], the Glenelg Hopkins Region comprises of approximately 5,400 wetlands that form 44% of the wetlands in Victoria. Relevant traditional information about the Wetlands was therefore welcome given that they were part of the project’s priority areas. Other priority areas include communities, soil, land, species populations, marine, coasts, and rivers. In addition, information about wetlands is beneficial given that they are identified as best farming lands. Consequently, relevant information from the indigenous community will facilitate in their modification for agricultural and urban land use. Other crucial traditional information collected during the project included hunting techniques, procedures for making tools, and knowledge founded on the traditional language. As the recognized traditional owners of the Southwest Victoria region, the Gunditjmara people possess rich traditional information about their culture and other economic activities. Some of the available and useful information for the Ginditj Mirring Partnership Project included the fact that they were traditionally and are the oldest aquaculture farmers for the eel or kooyang. In addition, the Gunditjmara people are known for developing farming and tourism industries in the Southwest region. Beside framing and tourism, some Gunditjmara people have engaged in businesses while majority of them have not for lack of confidence to start, develop, run, and grow a business successfully (Bell, 2008). As fishermen, the Gunditjmara people set fish traps using baskets and the placed in weirs created by the volcanic rocks. With fish for food, the people managed to settle permanently in the area by first constructing stone shelters. Besides harvesting fat and mature fish and eels for consumption, excess harvest led to the adoption of smoking fish for preservation, and trade in exchange for other goods. Today, the fishing area is generally known as Lake Condah, while the Gunditjmara country is also known as Kerup, Tea Rak, and Koon Doom[Wei09]. Besides fishing, the country was also associated with rich and fertile volcanic soils that together with the water ecologies made the region viable for farming. Calendar System Other knowledge collected from the Gunditjmara people is that of the Gunditjmara traditional seasonal calendar. This was identified as a crucial element of the people’s culture, traditions, and aquaculture. The calendar was identified as different from the ordinary Western understanding and demonstration of seasons. As a valuable aspect of the Gunditjmara people, the seasonal calendar would be used to gain intense insight of the local environment[Tra141]. Like was before, the Bunditjmara seasonal calendar is used to design special events such that they coincide with the existing seasonal events like Port Fairly Folk Festival, Wine and Roses Festival, and Heywood Wood. These events are very special and are designed in relation to the Gunditjmara landscape. From the calendar, knowledge about changes occurring in that given environment throughout the year is present. Such knowledge include seasons referred to as ‘the big wet’, ‘the fattening up’, ‘the big dry’, ‘flowering time’, and ‘the early wet’ and in itself portrays how deeply the Gunditjmara people understood their environment based on observations. What Collecting and Recording Methods and Protocols Have Been Used? Knowledge Collection Methods Like in any research, knowledge collection for the Gunditj Mirring Partnership Project was crucial and its accuracy meant the intended impact on the results could be obtained and leads to valid results. In this project the researchers decided to use multiple knowledge collection and knowledge recording techniques while putting in mind the overall significance of the knowledge to the research. Surveys administration collection methods involved interviews and face-to-face methods. During fact-to-face meetings, indigenous knowledge sharing involved oral discussions with the land owners. The advantages of face-to-face interviews include ability of the researcher to establish rapport with the possible participants hence facilitating cooperation. Face-to-face interviews are also associated with attaining highest response rates, and allow the researcher to clarify answers they perceive as ambiguous. The researcher also has room to follow-up information. For this project where time is not limited, the disadvantage of dealing with large samples is minimal. Knowledge collection also involved obtaining relevant documents from numerous libraries and archives concerning traditional land practices and use. The documents obtained provided knowledge of land use for over 150 years. Knowledge Recording Methods Recording involved creation of a nine volume literature review or the Gunditjmara Indigenous Ecological Knowledge Literature Review. Some of the archived documents included field naturalist diaries and relevant historical documents and references. Additionally, collected knowledge was recorded in reviews that were accessible to the Gunditjmara people, and fact sheets there are currently available from the Gunditj Mirring Project website (Gunditj Mirring Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation 2011). What Purposes has This Knowledge Been Recorded For? There were two main reasons for collecting this knowledge. First, knowledge collection would reinforce the ability of the Gunditjmara community with regard to recording and distribution of indigenous ecological knowledge[lan11]. This knowledge would be a significant source of information necessary for in the consideration of the region’s status in National Heritage Listing and when considering the area’s rich biodiversity and cultural relevance. As a heritage listing, significant resources include Lake Condah and the Budj Bin Landscape that is inhabited by numerous nationally fundamental species and source of evidence of stone trap system that was used over thousands of years ago by the owners. The second reason was to obtain relevant knowledge that can be incorporated in the future practices involving land management in the area[gun14]. This knowledge is recorded in form of guides like the Budj Bim field guide; Fact sheets; Gunditjmara seasonal calendar; and knowledge literature. By obtaining relevant knowledge about Gunditj Mirring area, the non-indigenous people have also began appreciating the value of biodiversity especially given the global concern on the elevating global warming. Consequently, most people have taken up sustainability as a larger focus in the use of resources and managing land. Why is this Knowledge Important to the Community? For the Gunditjmara community, the project is accredited for opening up the region by offering a means of sharing, issuing to land owners, and a tool that could be used by land owners on their property as they cared for the environment. Consequently, both indigenous and non-indigenous people have gained real affinity with the landscape making and this knowledge can easily be transferred to other generations. The Gunditjmara community also obtained an effective way of being linked to the non-indigenous people with regards to traditional knowledge. In making the Gunditj Mirring Partnership Project’s information was made available from the website, this means that even the non-indigenous people had access to it[gun14]. This led to the feeling of mutual respect for among the Gunditjmara people. Additionally, working hand-in-hand with non-indigenous people elevated the mutual respect feeling. For the non-indigenous people involved in the project, the opportunity was an eye opener given the depth and breadth of the ecological knowledge obtained. Through this project, non-indigenous people have gradually changed their opinion regarding the indigenous people and indigenous knowledge. Finally, the project offered the community members the right skills and experience especially since those working along mappers, planners, ecologists, botanists, mappers, and researchers[gun14]. In addition to sharing the knowledge obtained from the research, the researchers also shared relevant information about western ecological knowledge with the community. This way, the community was open to multi-dimensional perspectives concerning the management of natural resources. How is the Knowledge Situated in Relation to Western Knowledge by the Project? As for the knowledge collected from the project, it was crucial for contemporary environment management practices in various ways. First, the knowledge and inclusion of the indigenous practices would complement the western knowledge by the project[lan11]. Conversely, the indigenous population had the opportunity to formally record their traditional knowledge and preserve it like the western knowledge of the project had been recorded and shared to them and would be with future generations. Recording the people’s oral history provided an opportunity to have this knowledge accepted and even held in high regard like the western had, and having their knowledge enforced by others especially when it comes to caring for the country. With this knowledge, the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) aimed at recognizing, implementing, and integrating indigenous traditional knowledge; Protecting the indigenous knowledge for both non-indigenous and indigenous people; and protecting the knowledge from exploitation. References D: , (Department of Land Resource Management, 2014), Gle14: , (Hopkins, 2014), Lud12: , (Ludwig, 2012), The09: , (The Environment and Natural Resources Committee, 2009), Wei09: , (Weir, 2009), Ngo12: , (Mara, 2012), Bel: , (Bell & Johnson, 2007), Gle13: , (2013), Tra141: , (Tract Consultants, 2014), lan11: , (Landcareonline, 2011), gun14: , (Gunditj Mirring, 2014), Read More