Traditional recording project mob, Arakun Photo: Victor Steffensen
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The Traditional Knowledge Recording Project was initiated by the
Kuku Thaypan elders who wanted their knowledge, beliefs and
practices recorded and preserved for present and future use by
their families and youth. The project recognises elders as mentors
and knowledge holders and their desire to revitalise youth and
culture.
Elders are concerned that identity, culture, language and inherited
knowledge of Indigenous clans are rapidly disappearing.
George Musgrave demonstrating plants as part of the traditional
knowledge recording project Photo: Victor Steffensen
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The Traditional Knowledge Recording Project pilot program involved
Kuku-Thaypan elders George Musgrave (Snr) and Tommy George (Snr)
and Victor Steffensen recording, demonstrating, documenting and
utilising their traditional knowledge to address key areas of
concern for their community.
The project has developed a recording database that potentially can
be used in all communities across Australia to record traditional
knowledge and to implement traditional practices in a contemporary
setting. Addressing issues relating to poor land management
practices, by developing traditional protocols for land management
and cultural management.
Activities already underway include conducting burns in traditional
style to promote regrowth and prevent destructive large fires
around ceremony and rock art areas, monitoring of a scared lake
area and story place based in the Lakefield National Park, and the
monitoring of waterways, lagoons and fish stocks.
The project has already gained international recognition for its
fire management practices through the University of California.
Kuku-Thaypan elders have demonstrated to other groups that the TKRP
and digital technology was easy to use, trustworthy and
cost-effective. Kuku-Yalanji, Djabugay and groups from Aurukun have
adopted the methods of the project and are undertaking their own
knowledge recording on country.
Young people are being trained in how to use cameras for recording
and the database for storing knowledge collected, to deliver the
project in their own homelands.
With more clan groups interested in taking on the methodology, the
main concern is ongoing project support. The opportunities
surrounding the TKRP are too valuable to lose as the elders are
providing direction through sustaining their knowledge for all
future generations.
Project Coordinator Victor Steffensen said, if the knowledge is not
saved in a few more years’ time we might be saying,
“If only we got our act together when our old people were
still alive.”
The project is funded by Balkanu, NHT, Envirofund, Cape York
Peninsula Development Association, CRC Tropical Savannas
Management, The Christensen Fund, University of California, James
Cook University, ACF, University of Technology – Sydney,
NAEA, Indigenous Enterprise Partnerships, Telstra and Questacon.
