Indigenous Heritage

Marika Behr - Assistant Director, Directorate of Heritage and Biodiversity Conservation (DHBC), EE Branch

Martin Rowney - Senior Consultant, Godden Mackay Logan (DEHP member)

What is Indigenous Heritage?

• ‘Indigenous’ vs ‘Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’.

• Indigenous heritage is the tangible and intangible aspects of Indigenous culture.

Tangible heritage

Tangible heritage is the visible aspects - rock art sites, stone artefact scatters, wooden objects, shell middens, and burials – these have been created by people.

• Artefact scatters • Rock art, engravings• Scarred trees • Middens• Burials

Intangible heritage

Intangible heritage is the invisible aspects - the stories, which are represented by places in the landscape, such as mountains, rivers, or pathways. To Indigenous people, these places have been created by the ancestors.

• Mountains

• Rivers or creeks

• Pathways

• Caves

• “Sickness Country”

Indigenous heritage• Intangible heritage is highly significant to

Indigenous people, and is often regarded by them as more important than tangible heritage.

• There are gender sensitivities in Indigenous culture. Aboriginal men will not talk to women about men’s business (ie. men’s sites or cultural information).

• Aboriginal women will not talk to men about women’s business.

• Don’t assume that if you have not been told there is a sacred site on a property, there isn’t one.

• Don’t expect to be told exactly where a site is or why it is important.

Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999

• Indigenous heritage is protected under the EPBC Act.

• Defence must not take actions that have an adverse impact on heritage values (s.341ZC).

• Heritage Management Plans (HMP) help Defence protect Indigenous heritage. HMPs are prepared by heritage consultants for Defence, in consultation with relevant stakeholders.

HMPs

• There is a heritage management plan for almost all the Defence-managed properties which are on the Commonwealth Heritage List – 136 individual listed places on 62 Defence properties.

• For example, there are HMPs for Amberley, Nurrungar, Point Cook, Garden Island (NSW), Jervis Bay, Learmonth AWR.

• A new HMP is being prepared for Yampi Sound Training Area, WA.

HMPs cont.• DHBC or Senior Environmental Managers and

Regional Environmental Officers can tell you whether a HMP has been prepared for a property.

• HMPs are important reference documents for your project. They contain information about the heritage values of the place and recommendations for how these should be protected during works.

• While HMPs can provide overall guidance, in many instances, additional information and consultation with Indigenous groups is required when specific projects are being undertaken.

• This additional information is usually provided in a Heritage Impact Assessment.

Consultation with Indigenous communities

• The Australian Government recognises that Indigenous people are the custodians of their culture and are only ones who can talk with authority about their culture.

• Under the EPBC Act, Defence must consult with Indigenous communities about their heritage.

• DHBC is preparing Guidelines for consultation with Indigenous communities about Indigenous heritage. The Guidelines will assist in engaging in consultation, and will provide a framework for engaging with Indigenous people.