As we ask ourselves how to live and work sustainably for the benefit of future generations, looking back at earlier generations’ practices could help to provide some answers. It’s time to consider what we might learn from one of the world’s oldest living cultures.
Australia’s First Nations people have a continuous and deep connection to Country that has lasted at least 50,000 years. In that time, indigenous people have adapted to massive environmental changes. Key to this adaptation is First Nations peoples’ close spiritual relationship with the land.
To care for the land, indigenous cultural and environmental practices acknowledge human impacts on nature, biodiversity, food security and other aspects affecting the well-being of future generations.
“With climate change steadily progressing to a tipping point, continued large-scale land clearing, recurring droughts, catastrophic bushfires and invasive pest species reducing Australia’s biodiversity and long-term prosperity, navigating our challenging future will require wider sources of knowledge to guide our strategies and environmental management practices. First Nations people’s connection to Country provides a rich source of knowledge.” Landcare Australia
Here at Green Street, we’re keen to encourage people of all cultural backgrounds to explore First Nations approaches to sustainability. To this end, we recently updated some of the Green Street badges to include actions related to understanding, learning from, or sharing First Nations perspectives. Read about the badge updates here.
How can we learn from indigenous knowledge?
First-hand contact through respectful conversations and cross-cultural collaboration is the best way to share cultural perspectives, practices, skills and information. People’s lived experiences are highly valuable and hard-earned. We can learn from each other’s stories and may be able to apply that learning in the context of our own lifestyle or workplace.
However, it is important to remember that indigenous knowledge and wisdom have been gained over many generations. It can’t just be taken and applied without considering the context and acknowledging where it came from.
“Too often Indigenous knowledge has been commercially exploited without benefits flowing to communities, used without consent and in ways that are considered harmful by Traditional Custodians.” CSIRO, ‘Our Knowledge Our Way’ Guidelines
To empower indigenous traditional owners, the CSIRO worked with the North Australian Indigenous Land and Sea Management Alliance (NAILSMA), with support from the Australian Committee of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to develop best practice guidelines for sharing indigenous knowledge. It’s called ‘Our Knowledge Our Way‘ and provides guidance and case studies to help indigenous people strengthen knowledge and build partnerships for sustainable land and sea management.
For non-indigenous people who want to learn about indigenous culture, a number of educational, cultural and tourism experiences are available. Look for some in your local area or research online to find relevant destinations and experience types.
There are also numerous websites, research projects and educational resources promoting a better understanding of First Nations culture or environmental practices. We’ve listed a few links below to kick things off, but if you know of other useful resources, please share them in the comments.
Information and resources
Supply Nation: Support indigenous businesses
Supply Nation is a verified national directory of indigenous-owned businesses. It is particularly useful for companies, government and non-profit organisations who want a diverse supply chain that supports Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander businesses. You can search for First Nations businesses by name, ABN, category or location.
>> Visit Supply Nation
If you run an indigenous-owned business, you can register on Supply Nation for free. You can also visit Indigenous Business Australia (IBA) for guidance and resources.
Supply Nation helps organisations work with indigenous-owned businesses and suppliers
How Aboriginal culture can teach us how to live with less and tread more lightly
“Aboriginal wellbeing practices don’t judge people on their journey but encourage them to look around their environment to see what they can change. … If everyone started doing a little thing each day to take care of water, to take care of our air, it’s going to make a massive difference.” Jamie Thomas, executive director of Wayapa Wuurrk
This ABC article gives perspectives from First Nations people who want to help everyone live more sustainably and protect the environment. It discusses how people can connect better to the Earth and consider the impact of individual actions on the future of humanity. >> Read the article
Landcare: Cultural Land and Sea Management
“The First Nations Landcare Working Group focus on how together we can provide economic and productivity benefits, restore the landscape, improve biodiversity and support sustainable agriculture.” Landcare Australia
Landcare Australia consults and works with indigenous people to better manage the land. Their website provides a wealth of resources related to topics such as cultural burn practices, soil management, biodiversity, and practical case studies of proactive land and sea management.
>> See Landcare’s Cultural Land & Sea Management Resources
Collaborating to understand adaptations to climate change
“Climate change is Country, or nature, responding to what we are doing. Country will go on without us. But Aboriginal people are living proof that people can live through climate change and come out the other side. That gives us hope that we can change.” Mal Ridges, Team Leader Cultural Science, NSW Government
This NSW Government case study discusses how governments and traditional owners are collaborating to understand how First Nations people have adapted to climate change in the past. Caring for Narran Lakes is a collaborative project between the Narran Lakes Joint Management Committee, the Worimi Lands Conservation Board and the NSW Government. >> Read more here
Caring for Narran Lakes is a collaborative project between the Narran Lakes Joint Management Committee, the Worimi Lands Conservation Board and the NSW Government. Image: Darling River Run
Other links and resources
- Indigenous grasslands for grain (University of Sydney research project to develop sustainably produced food from Australian native grains)
- Indigenous sustainability practices and processes (University of Sydney podcast with David King, a respected Gundungurra Aboriginal elder, 2018)
- Australians Together (school and professional learning resources for learning about First Nations culture)
- Discover Aboriginal Experiences (Tourism Australia site promoting indigenous cultural experiences)
- CSIRO Indigenous Science (researching/sharing indigenous knowledge of ecology and land management to support sustainable futures)
- First Nations Engagement Guide for the Renewables Industry (principles for meaningful engagement and benefit sharing on renewable energy projects, by the Clean Energy Council and KPMG)
“The food practices of First Australian peoples enabled them to sustain productivity, to nurture country, nurture their bodies, nurture their spirits and culture for 2500 generations (and counting). In the face of these growing challenges, there is a need to include First Nations people and their knowledge of food and Country.” University of Sydney (podcast with David King, a respected Gundungurra Aboriginal elder, 2018)
Top image: Rock Aboriginal Art, Goulburn River National Park Source: Bushmanbob, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
