Research Abstract; Design and Education; Indigenous Cultural Survival

Indigenous Australians are not traditionally considered sedentary; rather aboriginal culture defines its people as responsible for the land such that they are obliged to continually traverse it in an almost cyclic nature – not unlike nomads. This new manner of habitation, forced sedentism, is a result of systematic social, political, economic, and even physical pressure imposed by Western society post European colonisation. However, having been separated from their land and denied cultural freedom, sedentary communities such as the Wakathuni community in the Pilbara region present an opportunity for cultural survival. Since they represent a concentrated centre of cultural connections otherwise not found in modern Australia.

The purpose of this study is to explore the potential impact that design and architecture could have in assisting to preserve the local indigenous culture of the Pilbara region; focusing specifically on the facilities which enable learning and foster family and spiritual connections within the Wakuthuni community. This study will use the Wakuthuni community as its primary case study where the vast majority of research will be qualitative; involving interviews within the community and periods of extended observation throughout a planned visit to the site. The theoretical framework for this study is based on two primary converging sources regarding cultural survival and design; Stephen Harris’s book Two Way Aboriginal Schooling; Education and Cultural Survival, and the collection of work exploring design in indigenous Australia in the RAIA journal “Take”. However, a review of other valued literature and the use of rigorous design processes on site will further inform the design opportunities within Wakuthuni community that this research attempts to prepare.

References

Fantin, Shaneen. 2003. “Yolulngu Cultural Imperatives and Housing Design: Rumaru, Mirriri and Galka.” Take 2; Housing Design in Indigenous Australia: 72-79. Red Hill, ACT: The Royal Institute of Architects.

Green, Neville. 1983. Desert School. South Fremantle, WA: Fremantle Arts Centre Press.

Harris, Stephen. 1990. Two-Way Aboriginal Schooling; Education and Cultural Survival. Canberra: Aboriginal Studies Press.

Dunn, Kevin. 2000. “Interviewing” in Qualitative Research Methods in Human Geography, edited by Iain Hay, 101-138

Heppell, Michael. 1979. A Black Reality: Aboriginal Camps and Housing in Remote Australia. Canberra: Australian Institute of Aboriginal Studies.

Kaberry, Phyllis Mary. 1939. Aboriginal Woman: Sacred and Profane. New York: Gordon Press.

Memmott, Paul. 2003. “Customary Aboriginal Behaviour Patterns and Housing Design.” Take 2; Housing Design in Indigenous Australia: 26-39. Red Hill, ACT: The Royal Institute of Architects.

Pascoe, Bruce. 2014. Dark Emu: Black Seeds Agriculture or Accident? Broome, WA: Magabala Books Aboriginal Corporation.

Wigley, Barbara and Julian. 2003. “Remote Conundrums: The Changing Role of Housing in Aboriginal Communities.” Take 2; Housing Design in Indigenous Australia: 18-25. Red Hill, ACT: The Royal Institute of Architects.

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