Mainstream library practices have had a significant impact on the way concepts of history and knowledge have been constructed. With growing awareness of this, how can libraries take a more critical perspective on how they work with collections, the issues they created, and better prepare themselves to act as respectful and effective guardians of memory on behalf of Indigenous communities and societies.
Panellists: Rose Barrowcliffe, Desmond Crump and Kirsten Thorpe
Moderator: Te Paea Paringatai
Pre-reading Article:
Atkinson, P., Baird, M., & Adams, K. (2021). Are you really using Yarning research? Mapping Social and Family Yarning to strengthen Yarning research quality. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples, 17(2), 191-201. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801211015442
Rose Barrowcliffe
Dr. Rose Barrowcliffe is a Butchulla postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Critical Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University, an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at UQ, a member of the Global Centre for Indigenous Futures and the ENRICH Global Co-Chair for 2023-24. Rose was the inaugural First Nations Archives Advisor to the Queensland State Archives. Grounded in archival theory, Rose’s work and research examines the representation of Indigenous peoples and the enactment of Indigenous rights throughout the knowledge continuum.
Desmond Crump
Desmond Crump’s family and cultural links are from South-West Queensland, which is the top end of the Gamilaroi Nation – he has an extensive background in education, research and community language revival. Desmond has worked in archival and library settings researching collection materials for language content and making this more accessible to community. In 2022, Desmond received the State Library of Queensland Medal for his work with Queensland Indigenous language communities.
Currently Desmond is employed as the Industry Fellow (Indigenous Languages) for the University of Queensland support activities under the UQ Indigenous Languages Strategy. He is also employed on a casual basis for language research at the Queensland Strate Archives. Desmond is also a member of the Office of the Arts National Directions Group for the International Decade of Indigenous Languages and the AIATSIS Languages Advisory Committee.
Kirsten Thorpe
Dr Kirsten Thorpe (Worimi, Port Stephens), Associate Professor, is a Chancellor’s Indigenous Research Fellow at Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education & Research, UTS. Kirsten leads the Indigenous Archives and Data Stewardship Hub, which advocates for Indigenous rights in archives and data, and develops research and engagement in relation to refiguring libraries and archives to support the culturally appropriate ownership, management and ongoing preservation of Indigenous knowledges. Kirsten has broad interests in research and engagement with Indigenous protocols and decolonising practices in the library and archive fields, and the broader GLAM (Galleries, Libraries, Archives and Museums) sector. Kirsten advocates for the ‘right of reply’ to records, and capacity building and support for the development of Living Indigenous Archives on Country.
Te Paea Paringatai (Waikato, Ngāti Porou)
Te Paea Paringatai (Waikato, Ngāti Porou) is Programme Director, Strategy and Mātauranga Māori at the Department of Internal Affairs, New Zealand where she leads a programme of work that supports Te Puna Mātauranga o Aotearoa/National Library of New Zealand and Te Rua Mahara o te Kāwanatanga/Archives New Zealand. A LIS professional, spanning more than 25 years, Te Paea is also the current Chair of the IFLA Professional Council, and member of the IFLA Governing Board.