Lester-Irabinna Rigney

“They Planned Their Calendar… They Set Up Ready for What They Wanted to Feed the Tribe”: A First-Stage Analysis of Narungga Fish Traps on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia

ABSTRACT This article outlines “first stage” research into Aboriginal fish traps located on Yorke Peninsula, South Australia. The project was undertaken by Flinders University researchers in collaboration with the Indigenous traditional owners of the region—the Narungga people. The research aimed to achieve a range of objectives including obtaining basic data as to the location and types of fish traps in the region as well as contextualizing these fish capture facilities in a variety of ways via traditional knowledge and contemporary perspectives, a consideration of temporal issues, a reflection on the role of traps in the Narungga coastal economy, and through reference to broader discussions (both nationally and internationally) concerning the timing and economic/socio-cultural importance of these technological innovations. Narungga knowledge systems and perspectives recorded in relation to the fish traps reveal multifaceted relationships between the community and their environment as well as associated religious/ritual engagement and cosmological knowledge. Comparison with neighboring areas reveals that the role of fish traps in coastal economies in the broader South Australia region is differential. Our observations also align with the conceptual approaches of prior researchers who have used fish traps to infer the existence or at least emergence of detailed socio-cultural organization in a late Holocene context.

Indigenous at the heart: Indigenous research in a climate change project

Indigenous involvement at all stages of research has been called for over several decades and is now an increasingly accepted requirement. This paper outlines the research approaches of the Community Based Adaptation to Climate Change: The Arabunna, South Australia project, which in the initial development phase identified a number of basic tenets. The intent is to outline these tenets, discuss the level of Indigenous involvement and activity within this project and analyse the approach taken in the context of key features articulated within Indigenous research over previous decades. Finally, this paper reflects on future research directions, particularly the importance of informed Indigenous involvement, the need for respectful relationships in multi-knowledges and multi-disciplinary research and the importance of communication.

The ‘very stillness of things’: object biographies of sailcloth and fishing net from the Point Pearce Aboriginal Mission (Burgiyana) colonial archive, South Australia

ABSTRACT This article details the discovery of early twentieth-century sailcloth and fishing-net samples pertaining to the lives of Aboriginal peoples on Point Pearce Aboriginal Mission (Burgiyana). Biographies for the samples are explored, from which it is argued that these objects may have many viewpoints assigned to them. The sailcloth and fishing-net samples allow the telling of complex stories from the past and present. These stories include the resilience, adaptability and strength of Narungga culture when exposed to colonial contextual risk. Indeed, these objects reveal the efforts of missions and government agencies to control the lives of Aboriginal peoples (through the lenses of ‘racism’, paternalism and self-interest), as well as agency and the involvement of Aboriginal peoples in capitalist economies. Objects as subjects can also reveal ongoing struggles for traditional and commercial fishing rights – with the aforementioned being informed by the traditional knowledge and lived experiences of Narungga peoples.

Educators’ understanding of young children’s typical and problematic sexual behaviour and their training in this area

Abstract As part of a wider study, this paper reports on Australian educators’ understanding of children’s typical and problematic sexual behaviour and their source of training in this area. A sample of 107 educators from government, independent and Catholic primary schools, preschools and care organisations across Australia answered an online questionnaire regarding their understanding of and experiences with children’s problematic sexual behaviours and their management strategies. The majority of educators were able to identify children’s age-appropriate typical sexual behaviour and some elements of problematic sexual behaviour; however, individual knowledge was not extensive. Approximately 35% (n = 35) of educators said they had not been trained in identifying and responding to children’s problematic sexual behaviour. Of those who said they had received training, the majority (82%, n = 53) described having participated in a compulsory course on reporting suspected abuse to government (a mandated reporting course). Ninety per cent (n = 89) of educators reported that courses specific to children’s problematic sexual behaviours should be offered. This suggests that mandated reporting courses do not offer in-depth training specific to problematic sexual behaviour. Implications for professional development are discussed.

A Design and Evaluation Framework for Indigenisation of Australian Universities

This chapter reports on the development and implementation of the University of Adelaide’s whole of institution Indigenous Education Strategy between 2012 and 2014. Analysing multiple change efforts generated across five academic faculties and four administrative divisions, the research has developed a ‘Design and Evaluation Framework for Indigenisation’ that aims to consider and evaluate university change practices beyond single isolated approaches towards innovative whole of university approaches to improve Indigenous participation.

Collaboration, Collision, and (Re)Conciliation: Indigenous Participation in Australia’s Maritime Industry—A Case Study from Point Pearce/Burgiyana, South Australia

This chapter investigates maritime cultural landscapes of Point Pearce Mission/Burgiyana, in the Yorke Peninsula/Guuranda region of South Australia . Burgiyana is home to the Narungga peoples. This research investigates the participation of Aboriginal peoples in Australia’s maritime industry, an important component of Australian maritime heritage. Maritime activities at Point Pearce/Burgiyana have contributed to Australia’s maritime industry through engagements that include in-kind transactions, employment within the fishing economy, and shipping trade labor—both at sea and on land. This research uses a maritime cultural landscape framework to explore Indigenous themes previously rarely employed in archaeological research. In addition, most maritime archaeological studies have neglected Aboriginal missions as potential sites/landscapes for analysis and, similarly, archaeological research at missions has largely ignored maritime aspects. The outcomes of the project illustrate that Aboriginal maritime cultural landscapes are not only a prominent part of the Australian landscape, but also provoke reconsiderations regarding how archaeologists see the relationship between the maritime and Indigenous archaeological record. The findings propose that maritime archaeologists could employ a maritime cultural landscape framework within other themes of cultural contact that include missions situated on waterways.