Re-imaging Aboriginal leadership in higher education – A new Indigenous research paradigm

Abstract

This article focuses on leadership by women in Indigenous research in the higher education sector of Australia. The research that provided the context for this exploration of Indigenous women’s leadership involved archiving ceremonial cultural knowledge from the Daly and Wagait regions of the Northern Territory. The article introduces the concept of Aboriginal corporeality and the struggle within colonial Australia and through to the present to prevent its erasure from Australia’s history. This struggle is referenced in the paradigm shifts underway in Indigenist research. The article acknowledges the past commitments of powerful Aboriginal women to the advancement of their clans’ people under the new circumstances that they had to confront from the 1880s. It is argued that the cultural agenda of these women prepared the ground for the advances in Indigenist research reported in this article. The article concludes with an example of the close, culturally significant partnership that was forged by the research project across two Aboriginal communities of the Northern Territory.

Introduction and background

Leadership facilitation in the higher education research space has shifted its paradigm and is providing the opportunity for intergenerational transfer of Indigenous research practices and knowledge. This article describes an intergenerational evolution of re-imaging leadership in higher education research. A very strong Mak Mak Marranunggu woman, the lead author’s ahla, ¹ instructed her daughter Payi Linda Ford ² and authorised her to record and document the songs, dances and rituals, as these were performed in the wangga ³ and wali ⁴ ceremonies at the time of her passing. This allowed Payi to preserve the cultural knowledge of the many ceremonial clans, knowledge that would have otherwise vanished when her ahla passed. The combination of these dances, songs and rituals had not been performed for nearly four decades by the clan groups involved. The research project central to this article enabled those practices to be captured and recorded. The clan groups involved in the ceremonies are from the Daly and Wagait regions of the Northern Territory and are referred to as the Marrawulgut ⁵ nation. Marranunggu, Payi’s clan, is one of the clans within Marrawulgut nation. The clans contributing to the wangga ⁶ and wali ceremonies recorded in this research came together on Payi’s ahla’s country, Kurrindju on the Finniss River coastal flood plain and at Meneling near Batchelor, Northern Territory.

The research project

The Australian Research Council (ARC) Indigenous Discovery Scheme funded the New Ways for Old Ceremonies – an archival research project. This allowed Payi Linda Ford as Chief Investigator of the ARC project to include Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal stakeholders in the shared project. The Indigenous studies multi-disciplines provided a higher education research framework to generate a space in a cross-culturally safe place that led to an intergenerational Indigenist research method. This method involved a qualitative and subjective approach to examine and reflect on Indigenist approaches to research. By engaging women’s knowledge and practices, and applying an Indigenist ethnological, narrative and feminist theoretical lens to examine the worldview of Aboriginal women, the research demonstrated the shifting paradigms in new ways to meet women’s needs in a neo-colonial society. Hence, re-imaging the Indigenist landscape of higher education research and its representation is through manifestations. These are presented as constructions of Aboriginal neorealism with the application of location images, local Tyikma ⁷ and Yolngu ⁸ people and researchers inclusively to embody Indigeneity in literature and text. Australian higher education authenticity and its locatedness are essential to these research projects as opposed to the juxtapositioning of a separate deficit paradigm, thereby asserting Aboriginal self-construction in higher education research making visible the presences as known to Indigenous Australians.

This re-imaging of the Indigenist landscape of higher education research by Indigenous researchers has demystified research practices and offers new Indigenist models for Indigenous engagement in higher education research.

For those who have not engaged with women’s practices on the higher education research landscape: be prepared for the challenges that may be confronting. In creating this space on the higher education research platform, Indigenous women are constantly challenged by the exclusive nature of dominant non-Indigenous histories in Australia as they reproduce colonial power structures in contemporary contexts (Moreton-Robinson, 2015).

Challenging the erasure of Aboriginal corporeality

The erasure of Aboriginal presence from Australia’s colonial past aimed to delegitimize the existence of Australian Aboriginality in contemporary contexts. Philip Morrissey (2007) describes Aboriginal subjectivities and intelligences as representations of Aboriginal corporeality – the Aboriginal body. Aboriginal subjectivities and intelligences are ingrained within Aboriginal corporeality (Morrissey, 2007).

‘ The land is my ahla and yours! ’ Payi was taught by her ahla, Ngulilkang Nancy Daiyi. Payi’s knowledge and relationships with her ancestors are interconnected through her presence and voice on country – in space, time, place and with people who are readers of this article.

With the 2018 NAIDOC theme being ‘ Because of her, we can ’, it is clear, that Payi’s ahla, followed ancient customary law to build the transfer of her knowledge onto her daughter, then to be passed onto her Mak Mak Marranunggu grand-daughters, Chloe Ngelebe Ford, Emily Tyaemaen Ford and Nicole Dirrmirrpena Thompson.

Women of past generations of the Marrawulgut nation, Bayi, Ngulilkang Daiyi, Kirol Bilawuk and others, are the shoulders on which the children of these women stand. Payi stands with the next generation preparing them with knowledge and understanding of their shared histories.

The dominant Australian historical discourse has constructed the history of the nation (Birch, 2005; Peters-Little, 2010) and the representation of Aboriginal people through the interpretation and reproduction of historical narratives creating national ‘mythscapes’ (Bell, 2003) for non-Aboriginal Australians.

The continued existence of Aboriginal peoples challenges all the systematic erasure of Aboriginal corporeality in both colonial histories and contemporary realities. Therefore, dominant non-Indigenous narratives produce and perpetuate understandings about Australians colonial past in which Aboriginal peoples are virtually absent.

For example, historically, Aboriginal women have been positioned in demeaningful ways in Australian society. But, since white settler societies colonised the Northern Territory Aboriginal women have struggled and, despite their harsh treatment, many Indigenous communities have a history of active women with strong voices, and these voices are growing in number and strength (Bradley, 1987). The strength and determination of Aboriginal women has prevailed and they continue to overcome many challenges.

The exclusivity of Australia’s historical narratives exposes how Australian Indigeneity was rhetorically done away with. These historical narratives along with their stories, myths and legends are ideological means of conveying past events and actions. This is highlighted as Aboriginal voices are silenced in the historical documents used by non-Aboriginal historians to reconstruct the colonial past. An example of this erasure dear to the Tyikma people is the recordings of the Daly River Copper Mine Murders in the late 1800s.

This was a major historical episode for the authors’ family members who, over the generations, passed on this knowledge of this tragic episode. The events that led up to the murders and what happened to the Aboriginal people in the Northern Territories of South Australia before and after were immoral. The episode encapsulated the cruelty to the authors’ Aboriginal family. Payi was taught that near Rum Jungle at several places known by her family as ‘Tubali’, ‘Malawoerr’ and ‘Woentjitji’ are sites where horrible, despicable atrocities occurred. As she travelled through these sites she recalls being hushed by her ahla Daiyi to show respect for those relatives who perished. Ahla’s teaching of such atrocious events were gentle, although there was the pain in her eyes and in her voice. She informed Payi that she could write about these events after her passing as these were painful lived memories from her own father and aunties. Payi too feels the pain as do her children, husband and friends when she shares her local oral history and what the research in the ARC project has revealed. ⁹

In the Finniss River Land Claim from 1976 to 1981, Payi’s senior Elders told the Land Commissioner these stories. Ahla Daiyi informed Justice Michael Maurice presiding over the Wagait Dispute Hearing and Dr David Ritchie, the Chair of the Wagait Hearing Committee (1994), of these stories while presenting evidence for her clan’s land claim. However, during this period of the land claims, there was no documented proof tabled of the despicable horror that took place at these sites. In the past, these sites were locations where Aboriginal women, children and old men were shot, and burnt. The co-researchers in this ARC project, Ngelebe, Tyaemaen and Dirrmirrpena, along with Payi, were unaware of these incidents being reported to the authorities, until recently.

In 2017, as Tyaemaen, Ngelebe, Payi and Mark Ford were going through the Jesuit Missionary archive collection in Melbourne, they found the only piece of textual evidence of this massacre. It was written by a guest of the Jesuit Missionaries at Daly River referring to the massacre of their family members included in ‘D.E.K.’s journal notes’ (see below the excerpt).

… amusing incidents. Among the tragedies with the fatal poisoning of the teamster: the shooting of a man named MacDonald by one of the players in a card game over an argument and the murderer got 10 years goal; and the shooting of a number of Aborigines – men, women and children by some teamsters who were camped near the Jungle on 27 September 1884. When the police went there to investigate they found that the bodies of the victims had been burnt. This shooting of the blacks was out of revenge and for the massacre by Aborigines of the four whites out of five at the Daly River Copper mine a few weeks previously. The Daly River Copper mine party consisted of five of the very early pioneering prospectors and were well known and respected all over the Territory and were kind to the Aborigines. The surviving member of the party being Mr Harry Roberts. If the history of Rum Jungle was recorded, it would make some very interesting and colourful reading, D.E.K. (D.E.K., 1888, p. 111)

The Jesuit Missionaries had established a mission settlement at Rapid Creek in early 1882. They relocated to Daly River later in that same year and stayed in the region until 1891 (Ganter, 2009) (Ganter, 2009) (Ganter, 2009). The Jesuit missionaries were serving their cause to ‘reform and Christianise the blacks’.

Helena Bayi was one of these ‘blacks’. Ahla informed Payi that ‘ Bayi is your tjamila (great-aunt) – your tjabutj’s wungala (my grandfather’s sister), you’re named Payi because of her’ (N Daiyi, personal communication in oral tradition). In 1882, Bayi was a young girl.

The Jesuits found it easier to talk to the Aboriginal women about God. Father Strele, a Jesuit priest, took great interest in Helena Bayi as a ‘religious’ conduit to broker their way into the Aboriginal communities in Darwin and, soon after, to start the Daly River mission sites. ¹⁰

Aboriginal women’s strength: It is because of her, we can

The story that is shared here is through the female lens. This gendered context brings forth enlightenment of a time and space when Aboriginal women were brutalised and stigmatised and, thereby, silenced and marginalised in a country that was being colonised by white settler societies.

Tjamila Helena Bayi demonstrated huge courage against great odds for her ‘uncivilised race’ as portrayed by the white settler societies that moved onto and took over country without payment to Aboriginal land owners across Australia. Bayi’s optimistic leadership continued to flow onto her family despite these harsh and cruel circumstances. Payi’s two ahlas, ¹¹ Ngulilkang Nancy Daiyi and Kirol Bilawuk, along with their siblings, were encouraged by Bayi to continue to make requests for the return of their traditional country from the white men at the Mission and elsewhere who were seen by her to have authority under the new regime that she and her clan were attempting to understand.

Standing on prior women’s shoulders has gone on for millennia as described by Payi’s ahla: ‘ Awa Angolmi putjkimi murriya awa ngirwat woewa ngunggu Melambalinggu ma! ’ (Translated as ‘The ancestral creation being “awa Angolmi” laid down the lore, laws and ceremonies at the place known as “Melambalinggu”’, NN Daiyi, personal communication – oral tradition). This female hunter ancestor had laid down the law on the land for the women of the Mak Mak Marranunggu people. Today, she remains in view as a reminder to Tyikma of her achievements through her performance and song as she sings and glides across the country searching for her quarry. This is her legacy to Mak Mak Marranunggu women talking up strong for their country.

Helena Bayi, as the initial spokesperson, was requesting a station from the Jesuit Missionaries at Daly River in 1888. Her request was ignored. In the years that followed, Bayi and her family members continued to request land for a cattle station from the successive officials who arrived from Adelaide and then, the South Australian government. In 1911, the Northern Territory was no longer the responsibility of the South Australian Government and the Commonwealth became the responsible party. A 1912 Commonwealth commissioned report paints a dismal picture from a non-Aboriginal colonial perspective.

Despite a number of government initiatives, by the beginning of the 20th century most measures to develop the Territory had had little effect. Industries were losing money or failing completely, and there was a lack of new settlers. By 1901 the population stood at 3,894, comprising 3,493 men and 401 women. This comprised Europeans, Chinese, Japanese, Malays and others, but not Aboriginal people. (Northern Territory Report of the Administrator for the Year, 1912, p. 65)

Helena Bayi, an amazing woman for her time of early white settlement, passed. Her legacy continued through her siblings and their children, many of whom worked in the pastoral industries in the Top End ¹² as stockmen and stockwomen, ringers and stock-camp cooks. Her family stood on her shoulders to look for a pathway ahead. Eventually, after many years of painstaking energy and patience, the Mak Mak Marranunggu finally had a window of opportunity.

In the early 1950s, Payi’s ahla Daiyi ‘married’ Max Sargent, a cattle station owner whose station was on her traditional country.

Payi was raised on pastoral properties owned by her father and his first wife Ada, with her ahla Daiyi. There was ‘reasonable’ freedom of Tyikma cultural practices on the station. But Payi was instilled by her ahla with the belief of owning and operating a Mak Mak Marranunggu cattle station of their own.

This storyline context is steeped in the connections, relationships and levels of commitment and solidarity that allows Payi, her eldest wungala (sister) Ngulilkang Rose Jansan (deceased and Dirrmirrpena’s birth ahla), Dirrmirrpena, Ngelebe and Tyaemaen as Mak Mak Marranunggu feminists to see and recognise actions for what they are and to identify an appropriate response in this new era within which they have new opportunities. The Mak Mak Marranunggu obtained Land Rights through their efforts to restore natural justice. They claimed what was theirs in the first instance by applying Aboriginal law under western law. They have been able to achieve things upon which the old people laid the foundations for future generations. Mak Mak Marranunggu were able to access their homelands commercially in their own right. And further, they now have access to a nation-state education system which was denied to their clan’s prior generations.

The Aboriginal Land Rights Act (Northern Territory) 1976 Commonwealth is administered by the statutory body known as the Northern Land Council (NLC). This was the start of an era where social justice was the light that sparkled in the lens of Mak Mak Marranunggu Elders.

The following events are Payi’s lived experiences and memories. In 1991, the NLC Full Council recognised Mak Mak Marranunggu as Traditional Owners for Area One of the Finniss River Land Claim. In 1993, the NLC Full Council recognised Mak Mak Marranunggu as Traditional Owners for Area Two. In 1995, the Wagait Dispute Hearing Report was underway. In 1995, the NLC Full Council recognised Mak Mak Marranunggu as Traditional Owners for the area now referred to as E2 on the Delissaville, Wagait, Larrakia Aboriginal Land Trust, a small portion of their traditional estate.

Several associations were established from the 1970s to 1980s which provided essential services to the Mak Mak Marranunggu families associated with the country that was eventually recognised by the NLC in the 1990s. In 1985, White Eagle Aboriginal Corporation was registered after a dispute between clan groups on the Big Wagait (Aboriginal ‘Reserve’). The corporation continues to maintain essential services for Mak Mak Marranunggu and their families. Twin Hill Aboriginal Corporation was registered in 1997 and Twin Hill Station was established on E2 of the Delissaville, Wagait, Larrakia Aboriginal Land Trust from 1997 to 2018.

Over 100 years after white settlement, Twin Hill Station cattle business has been successfully operated by Mak Mak Marranunggu Traditional Owners as members of the Twin Hill Aboriginal Corporation.

The resilience and enduring nature of Aboriginal people truly is amazing if not short of a miracle.

Survival of Aboriginal corporeality

The survival of Aboriginal people represents the survival of histories, stories, cultures, languages, philosophies, spirituality and connections to country that significantly pre-date the arrival of British people (Attwood, 1996). Additionally, Patrick Wolfe (1994) argues that the historic erasure of these key elements of Aboriginal corporeality through violent means of dispossession and oppression are being challenged by legislative means, such as Aboriginal Land Rights and Native Title. However, the continuity of dominant settler narratives and progression of settler identities produces the conclusion: ‘ invasion is a structure rather than an event; that expropriation continues as a foundational characteristic of settler-colonial society ’ (Wolfe, 1994, p. 128). Consequently, the erasure of the Aboriginal body from Australian history challenges the legitimacy of Aboriginal corporeality in contemporary contexts.

To reflect on the knowledge passed down to Payi in her lived memory and lived experiences, she felt honoured to uphold the ethos of her past Elders and to pass on their legacy to the current generations.

These amazing forward thinking and innovative women knew what to do, how to behave and how to direct and instruct their descendants. Past, present and future Elders such as Bayi, Ngulilkang, Kirol Bilawuk, Gotha-Kathy Guthadjaka and other Elders’ instructions have resonated and continue to resonate with ancestral protocols. These protocols dictate the way women look after the land, people and specific women’s business. This knowledge is important for Payi and for her other female family members in higher education research now and into the future. With their adopted Warramiri family from Yolgnu country, Gotha-Kathy Guthadjaka and Bettina Danganbarr, the research group can re-image their Indigenist position to be innovative, creative and ethical in their research practices. They can continue these practices of old in a new era where they emancipate Tyikma or Yolngu or Aboriginal women’s epistemological theories and practices. The group is gaining traction. The nalan – or pathway ahead – is constructed on solid foundations. The destination is unknown but group members anticipate the excitement at the emerging cross-cultural interface within the higher education research landscape.

Aboriginal corporeality in this higher education context encapsulates a visual representation of ongoing Aboriginality in Australia’s higher education research producing a new image of scholarly Indigeneity publications.

Beginnings of a new nalan

After Payi received instructions from her late ahla Ngulilkang Nancy Daiyi and her brother, or manar, Atu Frank Dumoo, she was directed to ensure the safe keeping of her clan’s ceremonial songs, performances and rituals recorded by colleagues, family, other people and herself as a cultural duty. This duty was one that was not taken lightly. Payi undertook this duty with deep respect for her ahla and manar as they were her senior mentors of the cultural knowledge of wali and wangga ceremonies for the Marrawulgut to be enacted at the time of their passing in 2007 and 2012 respectively. She found the courage and strength from them, her country, family, close friends, her colleagues, and archivists to ensure that their wishes were fulfilled.

As a senior research fellow at Charles Darwin University, Payi was encouraged and supported by her Mak Mak Marranunggu family and colleagues, Linda Barwick, Allan Marett and Deborah Rose, to apply for an ARC grant in 2012. In 2015, she won a grant to undertake the research project ‘New ways for old ceremonies – an archival research project’. Payi, as the Chief Investigator, undertook work to safeguard the delicate and fading boxes of materials for digitisation. The women co-researchers, paigu, worked as Indigenous cultural consultants and volunteers alongside Payi to examine documents in public and private archives. Recorded materials and documents have been bequeathed to Payi to archive in her collection. Her kin were engaged to participate as colleagues with co-non-Indigenous researchers in adopting a framework based on her ‘Mirrwanna and Wurrkama’ principles drawn from Mak Mak Marranunggu high cultural knowledge (Ford, 2005, 2010, 2012).

The New ways for old ceremonies – an archival project collection is invaluable and is accessible and supported by Linda Barwick and Jodie Kell at the University of Sydney where Payi is an adjunct fellow in the Pacific and Regional Archive for Digital Sources in Endangered Cultures (PARADISEC). Specific family materials will not be able to be accessed by all Australians but limited to family members only. Some restricted materials are secret and sacred, some gendered for male only and female only, all duly attending to the protocols of PARADISEC. The repository provides a safe keeping place for the collection. The Land Claim data sets are provided courtesy of Deborah Rose from the Wagait Hearing Dispute. The land claim documents and materials are accessible through Australian libraries, the National Archives in all capital cities and the Northern Land Council.

The research offered multiple pathways to examine Mak Mak Marranunggu histories, collecting materials to deposit in the repository and to create a live e-space for this repository of documents. Accessing archival materials from known collections is not always easy for those that live far away from the collections. Payi has planned with the archivists at PARADISEC and with members of the Mak Mak Marranunggu clan to assist her in the management of this collection. The allocation of assigning of the responsibility has been completed.

The Warramiri connection

Gotha Kathy Guthadjaka is a senior Warramiri elder from Gäwa. She is also a senior research fellow and an Elder on Country at the Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University. Gotha, her dhuway Colin Baker, James Walung Daymangu, yapa Bettina Danganbarr, and their Warramiri family agreed to host the final bungul (ceremony) on country at Gäwa in August 2017 for the New ways for old ceremonies – an archival research project. Also launched at this time was another ARC project won by Payi, ‘Aboriginal Cosmology – what this means for women and gender policy’ (2017). A significant outcome of this shared co-researching amongst Aboriginal peoples was when Gotha, Colin, Walung, Danganbarr, and other Warramiri families adopted Emily Tyaemaen Ford, Chloe Ngelebe Ford, Mark Ford, and Ruth Wallace into their clans. This result of Aboriginal engagement in higher education research and in high ceremonial performance demonstrates what can happen when people with authority respectfully share their djanma or work responsibilities with ‘research partners’.

The vignettes below describe the experiences of participants in the cross-cultural interface of western higher education research practice and ancient ceremonial practices. The first describes the movement and impact.

I find myself in a small plane going to a very isolated and remote island community to meet mari Gotha’s Mirinyungu-Whale family at Gäwa and soon to be mine. I am a Junior Research Assistant at Northern Institute for the New Ways for Old Ceremonies and Aboriginal Cosmology research projects. Mari Gotha wants to make my adoption and graduation for my certificate IV Business (Governance) public for all the Warramiri family to witness. This was an amazing and grounding experience for me. Elders then prepared me for my bungul. I am a Warramiri clan member. I feel very humbled. Mari says, ‘this is re-connecting our old ways’. E. Ford (personal communication), 11 August 2017.

The second expresses the sheer amazement of the total experience.

I was adopted into the Mirinyungu-Whale Warramiri clan by my mari Gotha. In 2017, mari Gotha arranged a bungul at Gäwa community for me. As a Junior Research Assistant at Charles Darwin University I was honoured to attend the adoption and graduation bungul. After lunch, I was adorned with tassels and sacred ochre. Each piece of material had been carefully prepared in accordance with the sacred stories that had been and continue to be passed down in the Warramiri clan. The ochre connected me with the country and family. The ancient bungul celebrated its unique teaching philosophies and the acquisition of new knowledge of the community receiving the testamur. I left Gäwa with a new world view and sense of belonging. C. Ford (personal communication), 11 August 2017.

The third identifies iconic cross-cultural milestones.

Gäwa is layered with many different facets of the interconnection with contemporary living and the old ways. As I prepared for my adoption bungul for the Mirinyungu-Whale Warramiri ceremonial regalia was fitted then the sacred ochre was applied. The performances were choreographed and respectful, it followed ancient rules, protocols, and paid respect to country and people. At the end the preparation and ceremonies brought ancient philosophies and ideologies together in new ways. There are cross cultural boundaries that needed to be honoured and respected by everyone for the integrity of identity and place to allow for cultural survival and modern living bringing new ways for old ceremonies. M. Ford (personal communication), 11 August 2017.

The fourth describes the benefits of the approach used as follows

Gäwa is a place that promotes education and learning about Indigenous culture. My son Jonas and I sat in a classroom for half a day and we learnt so much. This was an incredible experience. Jonas and I were curious and excited about the bungul. The children from Gäwa were also curious about us, about where Jonas was from, where his country was and why we were there, questioned what our connection to Gäwa and them was. The adoption ceremony signified the beginning of a working connection which laid down foundations for the future. The more positive experiences we have participating in bungul and community life will strengthen us as Aboriginal people. N. Thompson (personal communication), 11 August 2017.

The lessons learned from our Tyikma and Yolngu female family representatives are significant only to and for Aboriginal women. Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal men, and non-Aboriginal women also engage, however their engagement is different. Colleagues have reported that powerful Aboriginal women exude leadership, respectful authority and engender a ‘sharing culture’. ‘ I’m learning so much working with you and Gotha ’ M. St Clair (personal communication), 2018.

Tyikma and Yolngu women’s knowledge has been passed on cross-generationally for millennia involving over hundreds of thousands of Aboriginal women. The intergenerational transmission of knowledge has been and continues to remain at the pinnacle of many cultures and societies of First Nations peoples. Often, Elders of a family or society are trusted with this women’s knowledge. ‘ Knowledge is often reserved for family members they trust ’ K. Guthadjaka (personal communication), 2018.

Gotha and Colin adopted Payi as their damarrandji waku-daughter. Danganbarr accepts Payi as her yapa (sister). Through the formalised adoption on 8 August 2017 at a Warramiri ceremony, her dhuway, husband, Mark Ford was adopted by Daymangu’s family along with their two waku-daughters into the Warramiri clan. At the same ceremony, Ruth Wallace was adopted into the Muthali-Duck clan, which is comprised of a significant portion of the Warramiri. Dirrmirrpena and Wigma witnessed the event with the Warramiri and their families. Gotha and Payi led the research project and both consulted and received instructions from senior family members about all aspects to achieve identified milestones. The project is still important to Gotha, Daymangu, Danganbarr, and Colin as their legacy to their Gawa community.

Conclusion

The technology and digitisation used to produce posters, publications and a documentary of last year’s ceremonies at Gawa represent significant changes to how knowledge is recorded. In 2017, Payi negotiated with Gotha to incorporate the Djurrwirr conceptual framework with the Mirrwanna and Wurrkama principles (Ford, 2005, 2010, 2012) to integrate Mak Mak Marranunggu and Warramiri high cultural knowledge into her third ARC project, Aboriginal Cosmology – What this means for women and gender policy. These ‘new’ knowledge are now part of the leadership and collaborations in Indigenist research. New innovative ways enable the transfer of intergenerational knowledge showing culture as a changing reaction to environment and new influences. Collaborative and culturally sensitive leadership of research teams involving both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal men and women in wider generative cross-cultural and multi-disciplinary collaboration can lead to ‘trans-disciplinary outcomes’ (Gray, 2008, pp. 124–132). Importantly, it can also lead to trans-cultural outcomes.

As Aboriginal females, we are taught to be nurturers, taught how to build resilience and overcome our fears. This research work in higher education shows that the development of a strong cultural identity which conceptualises Tyikma/Yolngu traditional and western knowledge together is challenging yet achievable.