Desert
Catalyst
The
desert seemed eternal to the people who were timeless. White society
brought the clock. Now the descendants of those who lived for thousands
of years in harmony with the arid environment need new skills to survive
in this European-changed desert. Aboriginal
people have been expected to learn from white Australia but until now,
white Australia has not expected to learn much from them. Yet their
desert knowledge allowed them to live sustainably for centuries. What
new skills do they need if they are to live sustainably again? What new
knowledge do white Australians need to live sustainably alongside them? A
Desert Peoples Centre, to be a catalyst for renewal in the desert, has
been a dream of Aboriginal leaders and educationalists for many years.
Plans are now coming to fruition. A site has been chosen to the south of
Heavitree Gap on land that the local Arrernte people identify as theirs.
The Centre will foster the sharing of knowledge and skills between
Aboriginal and white Australians and among Aboriginal peoples
themselves. The aim is to allow all in the desert to live sustainably
and happily. Desert
covers more than two thirds of Australia. A vast area of 3.5 million
square kilometres supports a population of 179,000. Of these, 40,000 are
Aboriginal people, spread out in some 290 communities, while the whites
cluster in a handful of towns, such as Alice Springs and Tennant Creek. The
Indigenous population is growing fast. The 15-19 age-group will increase
20 per cent by 2006 while the adult
population will be up 34 percent by 2016. Over this period, the
white population is projected to remain almost static. The Aboriginal
people, while moving within the desert according to their nomadic
traditions, are here to stay. The whites generally come and go from the
arid inland. It is not yet their permanent home, at least not for the
majority. Compared
to other parts of the world with deserts – the Middle East, Africa and
Central Asia -- Australia has relatively few people living the arid
lifestyle. In proportion to our overall size, we have twice as much
desert as other desert countries. Yet while 16 per cent of the world’s
population live in deserts, only 0.9 per cent of Australians live away
from coast. Many more people could live in our deserts and if
immigration is to increase, they will have to do so. So we must prepare
for this likely expansion now. A good place to start finding out how to
live in the deserts is to learn from those who have done so successfully
in the past. Poor
roads and infrastructure stymied earlier growth. Expansion is possible
now, as never before, thanks to the knowledge revolution. Digital
communication among communities, between the communities and the towns
and with the Desert Peoples Centre is the way forward. Teaching at the
hub in Alice Springs will be important but the Centre must also base its
activities on what can be achieved in the communities, using digital
technology. People learn better at home, so we must be able to teach
them effectively there. Consultation
with desert residents has convinced us that a Desert Peoples Centre is,
indeed, the best way of guaranteeing
quality tertiary education and training for the communities in future.
Western-style courses, created for the economic demands of the eastern
seaboard and with their standard modules and fixed outcomes, do not fit
the kind of social, economic and cultural development that Aboriginal
communities seek for themselves. Therefore, we must change the learning
environment. Aboriginal
people will govern the Desert Peoples Centre and form a majority on its
Management Board. Two existing organizations that have served Aboriginal
people well over the years -- Batchelor Institute for Indigenous
Education and the Centre for Appropriate Technology – will operate
jointly. Both are currently in substandard facilities and will come
together on the new site. At
the Desert Peoples Centre, due to open in 2006, Aboriginal languages
will be used and learning will take place in a context of Indigenous
culture. Feeling at ease, Aboriginal people will be able to study in
their own style. Rose
Kunoth Monks, a well-known Aboriginal leader from Utopia, a community
some 200 km from Alice Springs, describes the Desert Peoples Centre as: “A
beginning of a new era, where the Indigenous people can have their say
in their education. The Desert Peoples Centre can and will have an
influence in our development as a people. Whereas we attended school
because we had to, now we will attend because we want to learn and gain
skills we can utilise in our communities. The Desert Peoples Centre can
be as big as our visions and aspirations take us…” Governments
will provide most of the funding. The Northern Territory government has
been supportive and the project is on the forward estimates for the next
financial year. The Commonwealth sees the Centre as a national
initiative. States that adjoin the NT and share deserts with it can also
see the relevance of the Centre, which will serve all desert people,
regardless of whether they live in the NT or over its borders. Exciting
developments may come at the intersection where science, technology and
the arts of the Western paradigm meet knowledge derived from Aboriginal
social systems, environmental understanding and creative activities such
as visual arts, dance, writing and music. Language
and culture are fundamental because learning is impossible without an
effective base, whether in an Aboriginal language or in English. Then
the students can begin to develop the tools for further education. This
might be in “Wellbeing and Human Services”, aiming to achieve a
healthy body and mind, or in “Human Expression”, encompassing desert
peoples’ creativity. Or it might be in “Land and Resources”, which
Aboriginal people know so well, or “Technology and Infrastructure”,
adapting Western knowledge for desert communities. The
point of all this education is to inject new life into depressed
Aboriginal communities, using simple technology and bearing in mind the
nature of the arid environment. We hope that small enterprises will
spring up to improve community livelihoods and that art and other
creative pursuits will give pleasure to all. If
Aboriginal people see that the Centre belongs to them and is dedicated
to meeting their aspirations to become full members of Australian
society, then this can only be good for the nation as a whole.
Gregor
Ramsey
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