ICS Seminar - Madison Shakespeare

YarnCountry / Foundations for Belonging: First Nations and Refugee Collaborations through Place and Technology

Presenter: Madison Shakespeare

Discussant: Bhavya Chitranshi

Chair: Louise Crabtree-Hayes

Abstract

There is a need for more than mere acknowledgement of divergent belief systems that exist between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples in research practices (Sherwood, 2013). Building upon prior collaborations with the partner organisation Settlement Services International (SSI), Foundations for Belonging Project 4: Refugee Understanding of Indigenous Lands and Contemporary Issues connects newly arrived refugees with Indigenous Country and First Nations Custodians. Involving an interface methodology (Durie, 2005) this project harnesses MAPIMO YARNCOUNTRY – an Indigenous-led project within MAPIMO, a digital emotion mapping tool, to engage refugee participants in Indigenous Australian cultural yarning on and about Country. Privileging an Indigenous epistemological approach (Rigney, 2017) to engage refugee participants in yarning on Country and employing decolonising methodologies that involve refugee participants in online Indigenous-led focus groups, evoked enriching insight on the nexus between First Nations and refugee experiences. These findings are essential in informing relationships and shared encounters between Australian First Nations and refugee peoples.

Presenter Bio

Madison Shakespeare is an Indigenous artist, filmmaker, poet, novelist, and musician. Identifying proudly as a Gadigal saltwater woman, Madison seeks to ensure she lives her life as a Custodian of Country where education founded on creative, open-teaching and learning forums provides contextually meaningful ways to understand and address the impact of Colonisation in Australia. As a lecturer in the Indigenous Major Degree at Western Sydney University, she has a diverse career as an educational mentor, teacher and consultant for students, teachers, and executive staff in Primary, Secondary and Tertiary arenas.

Event Details

Date & Time: Thursday, 13 April 2023, 11:30 am – 1:00 pm

Venue: EB.3.38, Parramatta South Campus & Via Zoom

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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.