How to (re) value Indigenous performing arts

In their paper on “Excellence and access: Indigenous performing arts” the problem that Hilary Glow and Katya Johanson describe is discursive, one that also has a discursive solution. An alternative can come from thinking through the process by which “value” is created, supported and circulated in the art world. Strategies to re-value Indigenous performance can thereby be directed to the various sites of institutional value which have long characterized Australian cultural policy – its importance to national identity, in the connection between culture and economics as well as to the debate over access and excellence – and come from artists as well as the communities they serve.

Indigenous performing arts and the problem of judging 'excellence': A discussion paper

In this paper we look at the persistent debate over notions of access and excellence and intrinsic and instrumentalist rationales for arts practice within cultural policy discussion. Recent research into the Indigenous performing arts in Australia underlines the particular difficulties faced by the sector in balancing the demands of community participation, social inclusion and high-quality aesthetic outcomes. The balancing act has proven unsustainable for some Indigenous performing arts companies and their viability is now in doubt. This suggests that a re-consideration of the question of the purpose and value of the Indigenous performing arts is timely.

Understanding success in indigenous entrepreneurship : an exploratory investigation

In Canada there are numerous studies about indigenous Entrepreneurship, most descriptive with little theory development or testing, This leaves a gap in the information available to researchers, policy makers and practitioners. In this paper we describe a research program intended to address this gap beginning with the activities of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band, considered an exemplar of successful indigenous entrepreneurship. From these activities, we draw propositions about indigenous entrepreneurship that are compatible with generic theory. Finally, we describe how we will move from these propositions to a model of indigenous entrepreneurship using grounded theory and structural equation modelling.

Barriers to indigenous education and educational research reform in Australia

Across all Indigenous education sectors in Australia there continues to be extensive debate about the appropriateness of proposed assessment criteria, curriculum content, language of instruction, pedagogical approaches, research practices and institutional structures. Until relatively recently, policy initiatives targeting these issues have been developed and implemented separately and without reference to the interrelated nature of the barriers that confront Indigenous peoples in their attempts to challenge mainstream educational and research practices that potentially marginalise their individual and collective interests. Increasingly, these issues are being linked under the banner of 'Indigenous education reform', and the potential for collective Indigenous community action is being realised. The current Indigenous education reform process in Australia is concerned with reversing the trend associated with patterns of academic underachievement by Indigenous students in the nation's school systems. Concurrently, reforms in the area of Indigenous education research are concerned with achieving fundamental changes to the way Indigenous education research is initiated, constructed and practised. Mainstream institutions. Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous peoples have different interests in the outcome of the resolution processes associated with proposals to reform Indigenous education and research practices. It is through investigation of stakeholder positioning in relation to key issues, and through reference to stakeholder interests in the outcome of negotiated resolutions, that a critical approach to analysing Indigenous education and research reform initiatives can be achieved. The three case studies contained within this portfolio represent an attempt to investigate the patterns of contestation associated with the delivery of primary school education for Aboriginal students in the Northern Territory and the problems associated with implementing reformed Indigenous education research guidelines. This research has revealed pervasive mainstream community and institutional support for assimilatory policies and a related lack of support for policies of Indigenous community 'self-determination1. This implies insufficient support within the Nation-State for Indigenous proposals for education and research reforms that legitimise the incorporation of Indigenous languages and cultural knowledge and that aim to re-position Indigenous peoples as central to the construction and delivery of education and educational research within their own communities. Common barriers to the implementation of reformed institutional structures and educational and research practices have been identified across each of the three case studies. The analysis of these common barriers points to a generalised statement about the nature of the resistance by mainstream Australians and their institutions to Indigenous community proposals for educational and research reforms. This research identifies key barriers to Indigenous Australian education and research reforms as being: Resurgent mainstream community and institutional support for assimilatory policies implies a lack of support for increasing the level of Indigenous community involvement in the construction and delivery of education and educational research; Mainstream institutional commitment to the principles of economic rationalism and the incorporation of corporate managerialist approaches reduces the potential for Indigenous community involvement in the setting of educational and research objectives; The education and social policy agendas of recent Australian governments are geared toward the achievement of national economic growth and the strengthening of Australia's position in the global economy. As a direct result, the unique cultural identities and linguistic heritages of Indigenous peoples in Australia are marginalised; Identified 'disempowenng' attitudes and practices of educators, researchers and institutional representatives continue to impact negatively upon the educational outcomes of Indigenous students; Insufficient institutional support for the development of mechanisms to ensure Indigenous community control over all aspects of the research project continues to impede the successful negotiation of research in Indigenous community contexts; The promotion of 'deficit' educational approaches for Indigenous students reinforces the marginalisation of their existing linguistic and cultural knowledge bases; The relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in Australia continues to be constrained by the philanthropically based 'donor-recipient' model of service delivery. The framing of Indigenous peoples as recipients of mainstream community benevolence has ongoing disempowering and negative consequences; Currently proposed national Indigenous education policies and programmes for the implementation of these polices do not adequately take into account the diversity in linguistic, political, cultural and social interests of Indigenous peoples in Australia; Widespread 'institutional racism' within mainstream educational institutions perpetuates the disadvantage experienced by Indigenous students and Indigenous community members who aim to derive benefit from education and educational research.

Mixing metaphors : differences in the language and understanding of development policy in the Pacific Islands

The use of metaphors in the Pacific Islands reveal a discourse of representation and containment, which emphasizes ‘smallness’ in geographic, political and cultural aspects of development. Heather Wallace contrasts the language and strategies used by policymakers, particularly from Australia, to the understanding and knowledge of Pacific Islanders.

Controlling and developing native people : anthropology, government and the management of indigenous peoples in Australia and its territories 1920 to 1950

Examines the relationship between anthropology and native administration in the Australian territories of Papua and New Guinea and the Northwest of Australia between 1920 and 1950. Is is argued that anthropology needed colonialism rather than colonialism needing anthropology.

A societal knowledge management system : harnessing indigenous wisdom to build sustainable predictors for adaptation to climate change

As the climate changes globally time-honoured climate in a region may change and shift to another region. Consequently, local predictors of climate may no longer apply to the area where they were born, but may be invaluable in new regions where previously reliable predictors have become outmoded This paper is set on the proposition thaI traditional (indigenous) know/edge can be a strategic source in adapting to climate change, in these changing times. The research reported in this paper takes the Societal Knowledge Management approach where knowledge that rests within local communities, is harnessed to inform local communities and scientists regarding climate change impacts, so as to adapt to them accurately. A phased study was conducted that aimed at acquiring, synthesising and disseminating traditional knowledge regarding change in monsoon patterns in India. Traditional wisdom prevalent among fhe myriad communities of India, was collected, collated and classified into knowledge spheres such as Bio-Indicators, Wind Movement, Atmospheric Pal/ems, Astrological Methods, Festivals and Rituals, Direction, Characteristics of the Rain, Characteristics of Celestial Bodies etc and incorporaled into a knowledge portal, which is the basis for building the Societal Knowledge Management System (SKM). Subsequently, the SKM is to be harmonised with scientific predictors on seasonal weather patterns will allow researchers to identify if the existing indicators and monsoon pattems are subject to change, and if so how. Research in progress is aimed at integrating the knowledge with modern science and disseminating this knowledge through local knowledge centres, at village levels. Furthermore, this study is to be replicated in Australia, by harnessing indigenous knowledge, to build the SKM for Australia that could assist in building a better understanding of the factors that impact the environment, methods of building sustainable predictors for climate and approaches for adapting the climate changes. The research reported is expected to inform policy makers, scientists, governance institutions as well as researchers regarding the applicability of indigenous knowledge in building sustainable predictors for adaptation to climate change in the two countries cited and can be extended into other countries.

Reinstating indigenous landscape planning curatorship : the Lake Condah restoration project

While contemporary Western planning traditions in Australia talk of the last 200 years of innovation and transposition of European and North American planning traditions upon the Australian landscape, they neglect to mention some 40-50,000 years of Indigenous landscape planning initiatives and practice. The ancestral country of the Gunditjmara people is in the Western District of Victoria focused upon the Lake Condah and Mount Eccles localities. The Gunditjmara had, and continue to have a strong social, cultural and land management and planning presence in the region, in particular linked to environmental engineering initiatives and aquaculture curatorship of eel and fish resources. Archaeological evidence confirms that some 10,000 years of pre-European contact landscape planning practice has been applied by the Gunditjmara to construct resources management infrastructure to service a regional food need as well as a community need. Within contemporary reconciliation discourses, the Gunditjmara have activity sought over the last 25 years the rehabilitation of Lake Condah, which is now coming into fruition, and the restoration of their traditional landscape planning and management responsibilities. This paper reviews the restoration of Indigenous landscape planning and management theory and practice by the Gunditjmara, pointing to significant policy and practice success as well as the need to better appreciate this culturally-attuned and ecologically-responsive approach to landscape planning borne out of generations of knowledge.

Journalists, remote Indigenous sources and cultural competence

This is the report of the Australian news media and Indigenous policymaking 1988-2008 Australian Research Council Discovery Project.

Reciprocity and Indigenous knowledge in research

This book reports the findings of the Australian news media and indigenous policymaking 1988-2008 ARC Discovery Project.

Contemporary planning education and Indigenous cultural competency agendas : erasing terra nullius, respect and responsibility

As noted in Universities Australia’s (2011a, 2011b) investigations into Indigenous Cultural Competency, most universities have struggled with successfully devising and achieving a translation of Indigenous protocols into their curricula. Walliss & Grant (2000: 65) have also concluded that, given the nature of the built environment disciplines, including planning, and their professional practice activities, there is a “need for specific cultural awareness education” to service these disciplines and not just attempts to insert Indigenous perspectives into their curricula. Bradley’s policy initiative at the University of South Australia (1997-2007), “has not achieved its goal of incorporation of Indigenous perspectives into all its undergraduate programs by 2010, it has achieved an incorporation rate of 61%” (Universities Australia 2011a: 9; http://www.unisa.edu.au/ducier/icup/default.asp).

Contextually, Bradley’s strategic educational aim at University of South Australia led a social reformist agenda, which has been continued in Universities Australia’s release of Indigenous Cultural Competency (2011a; 2011b) reports that has attracted mixed media criticism (Trounson 2012a: 5, 2012b: 5) and concerns that it represents “social engineering” rather than enhancing “criticism as a pedagogical tool ... as a means of advancing knowledge” (Melleuish 2012: 10). While the Planning Institute of Australia’s (PIA) Indigenous Planning Policy Working Party has observed that fundamental changes are needed to the way Australian planning education addresses Indigenous perspectives and interests, it has concluded that planners “! perceptual limitations of their own discipline and the particular discourse of our own craft” were hindering enhanced learning outcomes (Wensing 2007: 2). Gurran (PIA 2007) has noted that the core curriculum in planning includes an expectation of “knowledge of ! Indigenous Australian cultures, including relationships between their physical environment and associated social and economic systems” but that it has not been addressed. This paper critiques these discourses and offers an Indigenous perspective of the debate.

Planning research and educational partnerships with Indigenous communities : practice, realities and lessons

Increasingly planning practice and research are having to engage with Indigenous communities in Australia to empower and position their knowledge in planning strategies and arguments. But also to act as articulators of their cultural knowledge, landscape aspirations and responsibilities and the need to ensure that they are directly consulted in projects that impact upon their ‘country’ generally and specifically. This need has changed rapidly over the last 25 years because of land title claim legal precedents, state and Commonwealth legislative changes, and policy shifts to address reconciliation and the consequences of the fore-going precedents and enactments. While planning instruments and their policies have shifted, as well as research grant expectations and obligations, many of these Western protocols do not recognise and sympathetically deal with the cultural and practical realities of Indigenous community management dynamics, consultation practices and procedures, and cultural events much of which are placing considerable strain upon communities who do not have the human and financial resources to manage, respond, co-operate and inform in the same manner expected of non-Indigenous communities in Australia. This paper reviews several planning formal research, contract research and educational engagements and case studies between the authors and various Indigenous communities, and highlights key issues, myths and flaws in the way Western planning and research expectations are imposed upon Indigenous communities that often thwart the quality and uncertainty of planning outcomes for which the clients, research agencies, and government entities were seeking to create.

Experiencing indigenous East African dance songs : reflections from North West University (South Africa)

After democracy (1994) the doors of teaching and learning in music opened widely to include local indigenous music and culture in South Africa. Since 2005, African music has been a vibrant aspect of the music curriculum within the School of Music, North West University, South Africa. Globally tertiary music educators are challenged to include informal pedagogy of indigenous musics within the formal context of university courses. University music courses in South Africa are still predisposed towards ‘western’ music pedagogies. In October 2012, the School of Music invited a visiting expert in African music and dance to offer onsite teaching and learning of Ugandan dance songs to tertiary students. The initiative to include Ugandan music as part of the teaching and learning workshops on African music at the School of Music was funded by the South African Music Rights Organization. The School of Music has an ongoing policy to invite and include culture bearers to share their skills and expertise with students and academics. Such sharing provides culture bearers the opportunity to transmit much needed skills, which are not often offered by academics. UNESCO (2012) identifies scarce knowledge and skills as intangible heritage.

Learning from rural planning development to encourage urban and regional planning ; indigenous villages versus city development in Bali province

The most important crises in the planning system is related to the significance of "capitalist state" influences [3]. In the global context, Bengs states that there is a matter partiality between "global capitalism" and "national democracy"[4]. Bengs stresses that planning is closely related to the economy of a country, which is in one side the government wants to reduce taxes, while on the other side there is a dilemma of the global and indefinite solicitation of assets. Hall (2002) discusses the problems of the city; those are city planning, history of planning, and geographical setting. City planning is not only planning in one region but also including the district around the city, such as river basin and a certain regional culture. The urban planner should involve all those aspects in the city planning. Friedmann (2003) distinguishes planning theory into three types. First, planning theory is related to planning in particular fields such as land utilization, transportation, urban design, regional development, environmental planning etc. Second, the type of theory related to planning tout court, and the third type is the theory about planning itself. Sanyal (2002) states that although planners have limited autonomy, their actions affect policy result [5]. Friedman (2003) supports Sanyal's argument stressing that planners learned from their actions not from theories.

Indigenous media practice

This article introduces the Indigenous Media Practice special issue through a discussion of the aims and scope of the edition. It identifies three major currents in contemporary international research on media and indigeneity, which are reflected in the suite of scholarship presented here. The first is the importance of continuing to critically analyse media systems, institutions and policies that enable and constrain the production and dissemination of information for, by and about Indigenous populations. The second emphasises media-related practices in specific media production and social policy contexts, and the third underlines the importance of interrogating underlying and pervasive societal discourses in understanding Indigenous media practice. The contributions to this themed issue highlight that there is a vibrant body of research among a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, typically working in teams in the pursuit of better understanding the relationships between media and indigeneity in both global and local contexts.