Hazards, Culture and Indigenous Communities

Within the context of reducing natural hazard risk and increasing socio-ecological resilience in southern Australia, ‘Hazards, Culture and Indigenous Communities’ focuses on the intercultural engagement between Aboriginal communities and the emergency management sector. This project analyses current practice, drawing on co-designed research activities and products in order to map out possibilities for better engagement. This includes two case studies on cultural burning.

Researchers: Dr Jessica K. Weir (ICS), Dr Timothy Neale (Deakin University), Dr Will Smith (Deakin University), Dr Brian Cook (University of Melbourne), Mr Oliver Costello (Firesticks Initiative), Associate Professor Tara McGee (University of Alberta), Adjunct Professor Jeremy Russell-Smith (Charles Darwin University)

Funding: Bushfire and Natural Hazards Cooperative Research Centre, Commonwealth Department of Industry, Innovation and Science

Period: 2017–2021

Project website: Hazards, Culture and Indigenous Communities (opens in a new window)

Projects

Research at ICS

People at ICS

Contact ICS

Contact ICS

The Institute for Culture and Society is located in Parramatta, “the place where the eel sets down” in Dharug language,
along the north bank of the Parramatta River. It sits on the traditional lands and waters of the Burramattagal people of the Dharug Nation,
who have been stewards and caretakers of these territories since time immemorial, in what today is referred to as Greater Western Sydney,
one of the most diverse cultural communities in the world and home to the largest number of Indigenous Australians in the country.
The Institute for Culture and Society acknowledges the Dharug, Eora, Dharawal (also referred to as Tharawal)
and Wiradjuri peoples as traditional custodians and Indigenous knowledge-holders, whose storytelling serve
as historical record, a form of teaching and learning, a way to care for Country,
and an expression of Indigenous culture and identity.