Cultural safety
- Cultural safety is a shared responsibility; you can create culturally safe environments by leading with awareness and respect.
- In a culturally safe environment, First Nations people:
- are respected and their perspectives are valued
- feel comfortable being themselves and expressing their culture and beliefs
- do not have their identity and culture challenged or denied.
- Culturally unsafe environments have a direct effect on the level of engagement on our building projects and the ongoing relationships between First Nations stakeholders and the VSBA.
Diversity of Victoria's First Peoples
There are 44 language groups and 12 Registered Aboriginal Parties (RAPs) (formally recognised Traditional Owners) that cover approximately 77.5% of Victoria. There are Traditional Owner groups across all of Victoria, even if they are not yet formally recognised.
Aboriginal identity is about connection to Country, community and family. Each Traditional Owner group has different cultures, languages, processes and aspirations. Learn more by checking out the Melbourne Museum's virtual tour of the First Peoples exhibition at Bunjilaka Aboriginal Cultural Centre.
It is offensive to question or suggest someone is only part Aboriginal or link Aboriginality to skin tone, particularly given the history of how Aboriginal people were researched and classified according to ‘blood quantum’.
How language fits into First Nations design engagements
- Recommendations about language are often made during our engagements.
- The VSBA should lead language requests with Traditional Owners when it relates to the infrastructure (e.g. room naming, wayfinding, Acknowledgements of Country, signage about cultural narratives etc.).
- Language requests normally need to be submitted to Traditional Owners in writing. VSBA project officers should ask Traditional Owners about their language request process during engagement meetings.
- You need permission from Traditional Owners to use their language.
- Many Traditional Owners are working to revitalise their languages which have been impacted by colonisation, the Stolen Generations and other assimilation policies.
- Traditional Owner groups have their own language request processes. This often includes linguistics research and consultation with Elders, community, linguists and Koorie peak bodies.
- You should not suggest language to use, even if you have found it in an Aboriginal language dictionary or the 50 Words Project.
- Traditional Owners do not provide a 'translation service'. They will work with you to understand the language request and what is relevant for the place, purpose and people. Sometimes a concept, rather than a single word, may be more appropriate.
- Use of language requires permission from Traditional Owners and usually has an associated fee and license.
- The VSBA is not responsible for new school and Early Learning Victoria (ELV) naming, although we coordinate with relevant areas to make sure the engagements run parallel. This helps to align the First Nations design with the name and engages Traditional Owners for the same project at the same time.
- New school and ELV centre naming engagements are overseen by the School Provision and Establishing Division (SPED) and ELV, respectively. ELV has developed a guidance note about their Aboriginal language naming program (link to come). Note: to simplify engagement with Traditional Owners about new schools and their co-located kinders, VSBA Communications often liaise with Traditional Owners on SPED's behalf.
- Naming of kindergartens on school sites at existing schools is overseen by the Kindergarten Expansion, Funding and Reform Division (KEFR), with support from VSBA Delivery where applicable.
- Building naming must comply with SPED's School and campus naming policy. Discuss how this might impact your project with VSBA Communications.
Why language is important
- Language is important to First Nations people because it is a way to express their identity, be proud of where they come from and who they are.
- If a person knows a word in their language, they are maintaining a link that has lasted thousands of years. They are keeping words alive that have been used by their ancestors – language is an ancestral right.
- Language is a part of culture, and knowledge about culture is a means of empowering people.
- Language contributes to the wellbeing of communities, strengthens ties between Elders and young people and improves education.
Source: Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages (you can also find a map of Aboriginal language groups in Victoria at this link).
Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP)
This section was prepared using guidance from the Queensland Department of Education. This is a good starting place to have conversations in VSBA First Nations design engagements.
Source: Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Protocol for the teaching of Aboriginal languages and Torres Strait Islander languages in Queensland State Schools is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Victoria is committed to finding better ways to engage with, and use, First Nations knowledge. We are doing this in ways that uplift and recognise the legacy, sovereignty and rights of First Nations peoples.
It is not okay to misappropriate culture by copying artworks from digital sources and using these in your work. Nor should anyone hear a language word for "peaceful" and use this to name a place. All cultural knowledge is specific to place (Country) and people.
There are few documented guides about ICIP, so always talk with First Nations stakeholders to understand their perspectives and processes.
ICIP acknowledges the value in the cultural knowledge and expression of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples
- ICIP protocols support the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to control and protect their languages, knowledge and cultural expression.
- ICIP rights are enshrined in international laws – Article 31 of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples states that Indigenous peoples have the right to maintain control of their cultural heritage and traditional knowledge, as well as the intellectual property of that cultural heritage and traditional knowledge.
Traditional knowledge does not fit neatly into the Australian IP system. Under that, IP rights belong to a particular person or legal entity for a specified period, rather than to a group of people collectively forever.
What ICIP looks like in practice
- First Nations people decide what to provide and consent for use in the project. They have the right to authorise or refuse use.
- First Nations peoples define the scope and how the ICIP is used.
- If use is authorised or consent given, First Nations People/s are recognised as the owners.
- VSBA project officers should be guided by Traditional Owners. They should discuss ICIP early in engagement. This allows First Nations people to fully consult, consent and recommend changes.
- We seek approval on a case-by-case basis for the use of language and cultural knowledge unless stated otherwise.
- We do not assume cultural knowledge or language provided on one project is appropriate to use on another.
10 principles for working with ICIP
| Principle | Practice |
|---|---|
| Respect | We will respect the rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples to maintain, control, protect and develop their ICIP. |
| Self-determination | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have a right to self-determination in relation to their ICIP and must be empowered and supported to make decisions about the use of their ICIP. |
| Collaboration and consent | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples must give their prior, fully informed consent for any use of their ICIP. Consent must come from individuals who share specific ICIP as well as at a family or community level. Consent should be recorded in writing as much as possible, using agreements, contracts, forms, or other instruments. |
| Interpretation | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples are the primary guardians and interpreters of their ICIP and have the right to decide how their ICIP is presented. Their perspectives and understandings must be prioritised to ensure portrayal of Aboriginal languages and cultures and Torres Strait Islander languages and cultures are accurate and empowering. |
| Cultural integrity | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have the right to guard the cultural integrity of their ICIP. |
| Secrecy and privacy | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have the right to keep secret their sacred and ritual knowledge in accordance with their customary law. The privacy of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals will also be respected. |
| Benefit sharing | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples have the right to share in any benefits, commercial or otherwise, that come from the use of their ICIP. |
| Attribution | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples be given full attribution for sharing their ICIP. This includes individual language and culture specialists. |
| Cultural maintenance | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are dynamic. The long-term management of ICIP in school infrastructure projects should respect the continuing customary use, development, exchange and transmission of ICIP so that it is properly maintained and protected for the use and benefit of future generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. |
| Recognition and protection | The department will use Australian laws, as well as contracts, protocols and policies to recognise and protect ICIP rights of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. |
Engaging artists for First Nations design engagements
Traditional Owners usually have an expression of interest (EOI) process for engaging their network of artists. They may also prefer to engage an artist from their community, rather than the broader First Nations community. VSBA project officers should discuss the artist EOI process with Traditional Owners on a case-by-case basis for school and kinder building projects.
Typically the first step is to prepare an artist brief with the scope and budget for the work. Once the brief is shared, EOIs will be evaluated, often by Traditional Owners and the VSBA. Project officers should expect to have an ICIP discussion with the artist, which will be formalised through a written agreement and payment.
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