Working with First Peoples Design Knowledge

Overview

First Nations have been living in contemporary Australia for between 45,000 and 67,000 years–the oldest continually practiced culture in the world. British colonisation occurred relatively recently, just over 200 years ago. First Nations were systematically and violently dispossessed of their lands and the colonisation of Australia has an ongoing, profound impact on the living memory and history of First Nations.

Since the beginning of colonisation, there has been an ongoing Indigenous-led effort to reclaim and assert First Nations voices through the proclamation of identities, languages, stories, memories and the rewriting of histories. There is a responsibility of the design professions to meaningfully engage with First Nations histories and living cultures as an essential input to understanding design contexts. Drawing on global perspectives of Indigenous knowledges, framings of sovereignty and self-determination as well as Indigenous-led design, this specialisation introduces students to how Indigenous forms of Knowledge can be incorporated into urban planning, design and creative projects and outcomes.

Through this specialisation, students will explore approaches to design that is inclusive of Indigenous histories and contemporary concerns and examine how Indigenous Knowledges and Knowledge Systems are valuable to global environmental and societal challenges. Students will develop their capacities to sensitively engage with Indigenous Knowledges, to inform their understanding of design and to enact responsible, culturally informed practices in the context of ongoing colonialism and settler colonialism

Last updated: 1 March 2024