University of Queensland
Kathryn Seton
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Fieldwork with Yanyuwa Elders (L-R: Jemima
Miller (behind) Rosie Noble, Thelma Douglas, Dinah Norman, Kathy
Seton and daughter Tulli. Photo: Steve Johnson
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Summary | Rationale |
Supervisors |
My thesis pivots on an investigation of the epistemological
issues surrounding cultural frontier interactions in management
arenas, with a particular view to ethnographically grounding
Yanyuwa women’s management choices and their implications for
management action. The activity of turtle-hunting by Yanyuwa women
provides the back drop to explanations of Yanyuwa relations to
country, kin and Dreamings. Through an exploration of
turtle-hunting activity I will unpack Yanyuwa women’s
knowledge of country and species to demonstrate a number of key
issues:
-
Yanyuwa women have a vast (but largely untapped by Western
science) knowledge of savannah landscapes and riparian environments
– predominantly their hunting/gathering grounds;
- Yanyuwa knowledge of country and its resources cannot be easily
broken down into neat categories like ‘traditional ecological
knowledge’ and ‘resource management strategies’,
as ecology, resources, strategies and knowledges are interconnected
in complex ways;
- Yanyuwa women’s knowledge and strategies (economic,
ceremonial, political, everyday, etc) are culturally embedded
choices, legitimate in Yanyuwa milieus but less accepted in
‘cultural frontier’ situations; and
-
The consideration of gender constructs in different societies
adds a further dimension to management endeavours and
strategies.
By exploring Yanyuwa women’s relations to (and with)
country – through discussing the interconnectedness of
ceremonial activity, hunting activity, politics, gender roles, etc
– I in turn relate these issues to the larger picture of
current land management initiatives in the Borroloola area. We move
here from the micro-scale (Yanyuwa people and culture) to the
larger macro-scale analysis (no neat dichotomy) of Yanyuwa
interactions with country and management initiatives which impact
on these interactions. I will argue that current endeavours in
management arenas must work to understand the cultural embeddedness
of Yanyuwa women’s management choices and why these may
differ to Western scientific choices. Without an adequate
understanding of these issues, Aboriginal knowledges will remain
negatively labelled as ‘anecdotal’ by Western
scientists and Aboriginal management strategies will continue to be
seen as static and unyielding.
The title on my thesis does not specify co-management or joint
management, instead I have used the term ‘land rights’
to reflect a further underlying premise of my thesis; that is,
Yanyuwa people’s current (sceptical) attitude towards working
collaboratively with Western science/scientists is largely
underpinned by their more recent experiences with land claims (of
course, all contact has had a impact and will be drawn out briefly
but my own thesis will concentrate on developments since land
claims began). Whilst land claims, and Yanyuwa experiences of and
outcomes from these claims, was the initial area for exploration in
my thesis, fieldwork has informed the growth of my topic to a more
pressing issue – the management of country.
I will explore this growth in what has been called the
‘new land rights era’ – indigenous involvement in
the management of their country and resources – unpacking the
issues at stake and the epistemological hiccups likely along the
way. It will be argued that Yanyuwa management knowledge and
strategies are integrated at a fundamental level - ‘resource
management’ cannot be separated from the ‘management of
humans’, the ‘management of the spiritual world’,
the ‘management of the environment” etc in Yanyuwa
ontology and epistemology. I extend this argument to explore what
barriers exist in current co-management initiatives with Indigenous
people and why these barriers may exist (by extension I hope to
pose some solutions to these problems).
This investigation is underpinned by the belief that whilst
Indigenous people aren’t necessarily “natural
conservationists”, their relations with country have proven
to be more sustainable and holistic than current Western practices,
and that Indigenous knowledges are equally as valid as scientific
knowledges when it comes to understanding cultural and ecological
interactions. Merely explaining that things differ between cultures
doesn’t solve the problems faced in inter-cultural exchanges,
the reality of everyday life for Yanyuwa people. I wish to extend
my discussions, through the active voice of Yanyuwa people, to
demonstrate the potential solutions Yanyuwa people (particularly
women) themselves pose for inter-cultural exchange problems, as
well as delineate both theoretical considerations and practical
measures for consideration in future management endeavours with
Indigenous people.
Through joint work with Dr John Bradley and Mr Steve Johnson of
the University of Queensland and the TS-CRC, my study will
contribute to redressing gaps in our current management analyses
and interpretations and provides benefits to both the Yanyuwa
community and professionals/individuals by advancing our knowledge
of what factors and processes intersect when Aboriginal management
strategies and relationships with country are interpreted in
development and management arenas.
I have previously noted that contestation exists when discussing
how best to integrate Indigenous resource management knowledge, and
associated traditions and techniques, into effective and useful
national management, development and conservation endeavours
involving sustainable resource management and protection (Seton
1999). By developing a greater understanding of how such processes
affect Indigenous communities, we have a base from which to start
working towards better negotiation between stakeholders and the
differing cultural attributes at play when discussing notions of
healthy savanna landscapes in this region.
John Bradley UQ
Dr David Hyndman UQ
Mr Peter Cooke NLC
Dr Barbara Hocking UQ
