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2.1 Indigenous governance and culture
- What is culture?
- How do governance and culture interact?
- Indigenous governance and culture
- Indigenous governance values in Australia
- Building and maintaining cultural legitimacy
What is culture?
Culture is made up of such things as:
Culture can change over time—sometimes slowly, sometimes quickly—through people's choice or design, or because change is imposed from the outside. Some elements of Indigenous traditional culture have stayed the same – like dances and some ceremonies. Other parts have changed or been ‘updated’ to match the way people live today. Mostly, Indigenous culture today is a mix of traditional and contemporary elements and is different from place to place.
How do governance and culture interact?
Culture shapes a ‘right’ way of exercising authority and governing, and a ‘wrong’ way.
Sometimes changes in culture and systems of governance are supported by members of a group or society, especially when the change came from within the group itself. This kind of change is seen as culturally legitimate.
Sometimes when changes are imposed from the outside, they are seen to lack cultural legitimacy and are unlikely to be accepted by community members.
An example of how culture can influence governance arrangements and make them more suitable to a community, is outlined below:
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Last year as result of a series of ORIC funded workshops, the community decided to have 14 directors to represent the 14 major family groupings in the community. People decided themselves that this was how they wanted their corporation to be structured. I think for remote communities this representative model is far more meaningful than electing a first past the post system or having a council made up of people who are the best talkers. It is inclusive and ensures that all the families have a seat at the table. From The Balgo Community Capacity Building Model, a paper presented by Maggie Kavanagh to the Desert Knowledge Symposium, Alice Springs, 3-6 November 2008. |
Indigenous governance and culture
Indigenous Australians have had their own systems of governance for tens of thousands of years. These systems of laws, traditions, rules and codes of conduct are still used by many communities, clans, families and groups today.
Although they may seem to be very different, many communities and groups have based their systems on the same cultural values and principles.
Your governance—internal and external environments
See: Resource 2.1 Tips—Embedding cultural values in your organisation
Indigenous governance values in Australia
Indigenous people across Australia often use similar cultural values to design their governing arrangements.
1. Networks
A network is a group of people or organisations that are connected to each other and help one another by sharing knowledge and new ideas. Networks enable people and organisations to manage and organise their own affairs and reach their goals.
Networks can be found in extended family, communities, ceremonial traditions, kinship relationships or in groups of leaders.
For a network to be effective there needs to be clearly identified and agreed layers of:
- power
- decision making
- responsibility
- accountability
See: Chapter 9 Networks and relationships
See: Resource 2.2 Different models of Indigenous governance
2. Relationships and shared cultural connections
Relationships and shared cultural connections are central to governance networks.
Local groups and community organisations try to protect their close relationships, while still keeping connections to regional structures, like the state or local government.
Strong internal relationships and a clear idea of group membership are important for good governance.
3. Governance histories
The different histories of Indigenous groups or organisations shape their governance arrangements and the challenges they face today.
Often, going through your organisation or community’s governance history can shed light on the issues you’re facing today and give you a clear understanding of the type of governance you want for the future.
4. Cultural geographies
Indigenous people often regard ‘cultural boundaries’ (such as land ownership, family or traditional owner groups) as the more rightful basis for their governance arrangements.
These boundaries are often different from non-Indigenous administrative, town and state boundaries.
Using cultural geographies to build governance structures helps give greater legitimacy to new governance arrangements, especially ones about land issues.
5. Leadership
Leaders help people use resources to get things done.
Indigenous leaders form connections both within communities and regions, and between them.
To be effective, leaders should have:
- cultural legitimacy
- networks of social support
- respect from members for their skills and knowledge
- accountability and care for their members and followers
6. Decision-making authority
The authority to make decisions should be located closest to the group who will be affected by the outcome.
This means that some decisions need to be made at the local level.
Other decisions involving larger groups and communities will need to be made by a higher, more centralised decision-making authority.
7. Accountability
Accountability involves being responsible to a person, to family or to wider groups and networks.
Accountability is based on rules, and checks and balances, to make sure people do the things they should and don’t do the things they shouldn’t.
Governance will be better if it is clear who should be making decisions and then telling other parts of the organisation or community about those decisions.
See: Resource 2.3 Template—Our culture scan
Building and maintaining cultural legitimacy
Today, Indigenous organisations and leaders need to be aware of both new governing demands and traditional cultural values, and systems of authority.
Some of the things you can do to build and keep cultural legitimacy are:
See: Resource 2.4 What can we do?—Cultural legitimacy
Read next: 2.2 Two-way governance
Read previous: 2. Culture and governance