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A demographic and socio-medical history of the Aboriginal People of Victoria 1800-2000: reconstitutions and epidemiological analysis. We have produced a world-first historical demographic and epidemiological database that will be of continuing cultural and professional value to the Indigenous and research communities, and which can be copied to capture elusive mobile populations that are better identified genealogically than via conventional census methods. We will index and digitise the papers ....A demographic and socio-medical history of the Aboriginal People of Victoria 1800-2000: reconstitutions and epidemiological analysis. We have produced a world-first historical demographic and epidemiological database that will be of continuing cultural and professional value to the Indigenous and research communities, and which can be copied to capture elusive mobile populations that are better identified genealogically than via conventional census methods. We will index and digitise the papers of the late Dr Diane Barwick. Through this innovative study of past life courses we seek to understand the unique experience of 'fourth world' people in the health transition, and the deep historical forces structuring the persistent health problems of Indigenous Australians.Read moreRead less
Rural women, cross-racial collaboration and life writing in the Country Women's Association of New South Wales, 1956-1996. In an era when race relations in Australia are usually characterised by misunderstanding and conflict, this project brings to light a story of co-operation and hope. Investigating six Indigenous branches of the Country Women's Association in NSW from the 1950s uncovers collaborations between rural Aboriginal and white women that transgressed social barriers and launched two ....Rural women, cross-racial collaboration and life writing in the Country Women's Association of New South Wales, 1956-1996. In an era when race relations in Australia are usually characterised by misunderstanding and conflict, this project brings to light a story of co-operation and hope. Investigating six Indigenous branches of the Country Women's Association in NSW from the 1950s uncovers collaborations between rural Aboriginal and white women that transgressed social barriers and launched two significant Aboriginal matriarchs and authors into their public lives. This timely social and literary history project revalues conservative rural women's writing and activism, contributing to the reconciliation process and to the social health of Australia.Read moreRead less
Reproductive Frontiers: The Twentieth-Century Sciences of Human Hybridity. The proposed historical research will enrich our knowledge of scientific debates about biological absorption and population management, placing Australian ideas and experiences into their appropriate international context. It promotes awareness of how past scientific concepts continue to inform controversies about the quality of the Australian population. In particular, this project will enhance our understanding of scien ....Reproductive Frontiers: The Twentieth-Century Sciences of Human Hybridity. The proposed historical research will enrich our knowledge of scientific debates about biological absorption and population management, placing Australian ideas and experiences into their appropriate international context. It promotes awareness of how past scientific concepts continue to inform controversies about the quality of the Australian population. In particular, this project will enhance our understanding of scientific attitudes toward Aboriginal people, especially their reproduction and health.Read moreRead less
The role of Queensland Museum collections in producing knowledge of Aboriginal people from Federation to the present day. The project will investigate the production of knowledge about Aboriginal peoples by the Queensland Museum since the late nineteenth century. The focus will be on the changing role of material culture collections in the construal of Aboriginality. The APAI will analyse material culture collection in the context of nation building and will investigate both the changing meaning ....The role of Queensland Museum collections in producing knowledge of Aboriginal people from Federation to the present day. The project will investigate the production of knowledge about Aboriginal peoples by the Queensland Museum since the late nineteenth century. The focus will be on the changing role of material culture collections in the construal of Aboriginality. The APAI will analyse material culture collection in the context of nation building and will investigate both the changing meanings and the contemporary relevance of such collections to Aboriginal communities. The project will produce a body of research that can be used in the design of new exhibitions that will reveal the true complexity of cross-cultural interactions in the development of the Museum's collections.Read moreRead less
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0775822
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$245,000.00
Summary
Elder Assessments of Early Material Culture Collections from Arnhem Land and Contemporary Access Needs to Them among Their Source Communities. There is enormous interest in Arnhem Land about the region's recorded history. In recent years, the return of digital materials from collections worldwide has become a significant and efficacious strategy for stimulating cultural maintenance there. The sense of history that these materials bring is proving invaluable in maintaining well-being and communit ....Elder Assessments of Early Material Culture Collections from Arnhem Land and Contemporary Access Needs to Them among Their Source Communities. There is enormous interest in Arnhem Land about the region's recorded history. In recent years, the return of digital materials from collections worldwide has become a significant and efficacious strategy for stimulating cultural maintenance there. The sense of history that these materials bring is proving invaluable in maintaining well-being and community in Arnhem Land amid the hardships of local life. Informed by custodians of the region's endangered languages and traditions, this project will produce findings of world heritage significance that will articulate the collections access needs of local people. It would be the first ARC project to be led by a Yolngu Elder.Read moreRead less
Indigenous participation in the Australian colonial economy: an anthropological and historical investigation. The main benefits of the research to the Nation and community lie in the new information generated by the project, and the enhancement of our understanding of past relations between Indigenous people and the wider community. The proposal has the potential to mediate the extreme positions in the 'history wars' by investigating the various types of accommodation and mutuality of interests ....Indigenous participation in the Australian colonial economy: an anthropological and historical investigation. The main benefits of the research to the Nation and community lie in the new information generated by the project, and the enhancement of our understanding of past relations between Indigenous people and the wider community. The proposal has the potential to mediate the extreme positions in the 'history wars' by investigating the various types of accommodation and mutuality of interests which informed many early encounters on and beyond the frontier. It will also widen the focus of settler-Indigenous relationships from those between Indigenous people and Anglo-Celtic Australians to include relations with other ethnicities including Afghani settlers.Read moreRead less
Aboriginal Visual Histories: Photographing Indigenous Australians. This project will strengthen our understanding of Australia's place in the world and enhance our capacity to interpret ourselves by showing how we have been perceived internationally through visual imagery - and specifically what is unique about Australia and its indigenous people through international eyes. It will explore how we have represented ourselves and the place of Aboriginal people, both historically and in the present. ....Aboriginal Visual Histories: Photographing Indigenous Australians. This project will strengthen our understanding of Australia's place in the world and enhance our capacity to interpret ourselves by showing how we have been perceived internationally through visual imagery - and specifically what is unique about Australia and its indigenous people through international eyes. It will explore how we have represented ourselves and the place of Aboriginal people, both historically and in the present. It will help us to engage with our neighbours and the wider global community. Collaboration with Aboriginal descendant communities will address their current aspirations regarding this important aspect of their heritage. Read moreRead less
Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI100100145
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$155,000.00
Summary
Through travellers' eyes: Foreign observations of Aboriginal people and British colonisation, 1800-1850. This project will enhance our historical understanding of a crucial stage in the colonisation of Aboriginal people. It will uncover a new corpus of historical sources which has not been subject to sustained study, and bring to light instances of nineteenth-century Aboriginal agency. Most importantly, it will highlight nineteenth-century discourses on the colonial treatment of indigenous peopl ....Through travellers' eyes: Foreign observations of Aboriginal people and British colonisation, 1800-1850. This project will enhance our historical understanding of a crucial stage in the colonisation of Aboriginal people. It will uncover a new corpus of historical sources which has not been subject to sustained study, and bring to light instances of nineteenth-century Aboriginal agency. Most importantly, it will highlight nineteenth-century discourses on the colonial treatment of indigenous people, and therefore enable a deeper knowledge of Indigenous Australian history to inform public debates on matters of policy, identity, and culture.
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Discovery Indigenous Researchers Development - Grant ID: DI0347624
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$20,022.00
Summary
Dreaming Tracks and Trading Paths - a study of Aboriginal trading routes through Queensland. Aboriginal song lines and trade routes became the foundation for stock routes, coach ways and bitumen highways because successful European exploration used the expediency of Aboriginal guides who travelled along the routes already familiar to them. These routes are documented in instruments of land management such as churingas, toas or shields, and in the mnemotic memory of songs and stories. By reading ....Dreaming Tracks and Trading Paths - a study of Aboriginal trading routes through Queensland. Aboriginal song lines and trade routes became the foundation for stock routes, coach ways and bitumen highways because successful European exploration used the expediency of Aboriginal guides who travelled along the routes already familiar to them. These routes are documented in instruments of land management such as churingas, toas or shields, and in the mnemotic memory of songs and stories. By reading together these two types of knowledge - of European exploration and of Aboriginal authorship of country - popular ways of 'knowing Aborigines' become fundamentally reinscribed and much popular knowledge about Aboriginal societies is deeply challenged.Read moreRead less
A history of Aboriginal Sydney since 1788. This project will illustrate the complex nature and history of Sydney's Indigenous population. Striking benefits will flow from tracing the historical relationships between the non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples of the region, particularly in mutual understanding. Reconciliation cannot take place without a full understanding of how the first inhabitants and the newcomers have interacted for more than 200 years. Mutual comprehension will help to build ....A history of Aboriginal Sydney since 1788. This project will illustrate the complex nature and history of Sydney's Indigenous population. Striking benefits will flow from tracing the historical relationships between the non-Indigenous and Indigenous peoples of the region, particularly in mutual understanding. Reconciliation cannot take place without a full understanding of how the first inhabitants and the newcomers have interacted for more than 200 years. Mutual comprehension will help to build healthy, productive and fulfilling Aboriginal lives. A comprehending and cohesive Australia will be all the stronger to tackle complex social issues within and outside our national borders.
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