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USC fosters Indigenous links to anthropology
Anthropologists worldwide will be encouraged to modify their research methods and more closely involve Indigenous peoples to ensure history is not recorded through a “white lens”.
A University of the Sunshine Coast early childhood education lecturer will join more than two dozen leading international speakers at a symposium on the issue this month at Durham University in the United Kingdom.
Robyn Sandri, who is currently using Indigenous narrative research methods for a PhD at USC on the transition of Indigenous Queensland children into school, is delighted to be invited to present her views.
The Indigenous Studies and Engaged Anthropology symposium from 15-17 September will address a perceived gulf between traditional anthropological studies and Indigenous research methods.
Ms Sandri, who is a descendant of the Gungarri people of south-west Queensland, said the issue was about “engaging the voice of the Indigenous participant in research processes to ensure the data gathered is authentic”.
“In the past, research has been done about Aboriginal families, for example, rather than with those families,” said the USC academic.
“Now, rather than the data being viewed through the white lens of western culture, we’re realising that this ‘insider’s voice’ is needed to make it authentic.”
She said the scale of the symposium reflected a global desire to empower Indigenous people on many levels including academia.
The UK conference will follow Ms Sandri’s participation in the Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Advisory Council meeting in Cairns on 7-8 September to discuss the over-representation of Indigenous children in child safety issues.
– Julie Gatehouse