PublishedSydney University Press, February 2020 |
ISBN9781743326725 |
FormatSoftcover, 372 pages |
Dimensions25.4cm × 17.8cm |
Place-based cultural knowledge - of ceremonies, songs,
stories, language, kinship and ecology - binds Australian Indigenous societies
together. Over the last 100 years or so, records of this knowledge in many
different formats - audiocassettes, photographs, films, written texts, maps,
and digital recordings - have been accumulating at an ever-increasing rate. Yet
this extensive documentary heritage is dispersed. In many cases, the Indigenous
people who participated in the creation of the records, or their descendants,
have little idea of where to find the records or how to access them. Some records
are held precariously in ad hoc collections, and their caretakers may be
perplexed as to how to ensure that they are looked after.
Archival Returns:
Central Australia and Beyond explores the strategies and practices by which
cultural heritage materials can be returned to their communities of origin, and
the issues this process raises for communities, as well as for museums, galleries, and
other cultural institutions.
