Aboriginal knowledge and connection

Tyronne and Wally Bell, along with Adam Shipp looking out over the Yass River. Photo Richard Snashall.

We pay our respects to the traditional owners and custodians of the country we work within, and acknowledge Aboriginal people, past, present and emerging, as the original natural resources managers of this land. Aboriginal communities have a spiritual and customary living relationship with water in all its forms, through creation stories, use of water as a resource, and knowledge about sharing and conserving water. Aboriginal people have a holistic view to land, water and culture and see them as one, not in isolation of each other. At Rivers of Carbon we try to develop strong and meaningful relationships with Aboriginal people so that we can share our knowledge, combine our strengths, and together, care for the land and water that sustains us.

Within the Rivers of Carbon team we prioritise personal relationships with local Aboriginal people living and working in our region. It is to these people that we look to for knowledgeable advice, culturally appropriate communication, and wisdom about who we need to talk to learn about areas of sacred significance. We also support Aboriginal people and businesses whenever we can, and look for practical, economic and emotional ways we can enable Aboriginal knowledge and voices can be heard throughout our work. As Rivers of Carbon continues to grow we are committing to providing more opportunities for Aboriginal voices and enterprise throughout all our activities. Some of the ways we will do this include:

Learning from Aboriginal people

We are fortunate to be guided in our efforts to genuinely engage with Aboriginal people by our friends Wally Bell, Aaron Chatfield, Adam Shipp and Bradley Moggridge.  Bradley led the former New South Wales Aboriginal Water Initiative team. This team did great work across New South Wales, and it was a sad day that saw their funding cut and the initiative disbanded. We are fortunate, however, to have access to the resources this team developed, and the Our Water Our Country Guide provided here as a free downloadable document, is one we highly recommend you explore to learn more about Aboriginal people, communities and their involvement in water management decision making. This film gives a snapshot of the guide.

Our Water, Our Country

This resource is an information manual for Aboriginal people and communities about the water reform process, designed to help communities make the most of these opportunities, including access to water for social, cultural and economic purposes, and a greater say in how water is used in general. This will help our people to meet their cultural responsibilities and protect Country, and it will benefit Australians as a whole through fairer distribution of resources, a healthier natural environment and a stronger, richer culture.

Download Guide

Bradley and his colleagues continue to do great work and, most recently, in partnership with the University of Melbourne’s Indigenous Knowledge Department, they have developed resources sharing Aboriginal knowledge and insight across three themes – Fire, Astronomy and Water. The Water theme provides highly relevant, accessible information and activities we can all be using in our waterway management work.

Rivers of Carbon Aboriginal connections:

We are currently working across a region that includes many Aboriginal groups and we are gradually building relationships with these communities.  We hope to share more of their knowledge about river management as these relationships strengthen and grow. We know that relationships take time, so we are not rushing to ‘tick a box’ called ‘Aboriginal consultation’, as we have seen the damage this does when people, not just from Aboriginal groups, feel used, rather than genuinely engaged. We want to develop lasting relationships, so Antia, Lori, Mary, and myself are prioritising meaningful Aboriginal engagement, with trusted relationships as the bedrock upon which this is built.

Another really great initiative is the Welcome to Country app which was created by Aboriginal company Weetianna Street Media with the intent of education people in the Traditional Owner’s culture and heritage protocols right across Australia. It uses GPS data to work out where you are in relation to the country you are entering.