Indigenous peoples and governance
The term ‘governance’ is used to describe the way a group of people organise themselves in order to achieve goals and share responsibilities. When discussing the relationship between Indigenous peoples and governance, the term ‘cultural governance’ is also used. Cultural governance refers to the structures people create to make decisions about how culture is maintained, managed and promoted.
Cultural governance can include:
Indigenous governance: The structures, systems and processes an Indigenous community uses to make decisions, engage in economic and social activities, and define the roles and responsibilities of its leaders.
Corporate governance: The structures, systems and processes those responsible for a company use to manage operations and achieve particular objectives.
Strong cultural governance is an important foundation not only for economic development but for the strength of communities as a whole. It is also important to recognise that each Indigenous nation will have its own governance structures, as will government organisations, community groups and others. All these modes of governance will interact in their own specific ways.
The importance of governance +
At the 2019 ANZSOG conference ‘Reimagining Public Administration: First Peoples, governance and new paradigms’, University of Melbourne Associate Provost and Foundation Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies Professor Marcia Langton discussed the themes of economic empowerment, returning growth to communities and the role of governance in her keynote speech:
‘Indigenous people must be in control, take risks and learn from the lessons of the past. Indigenous people need to set their own priorities, rather than have them set by the Canberra bubble.’
– Professor Marcia Langton, ANZSOG 2019 keynote speech: ‘Give money & power to the Indigenous sector’
See the Indigenous Governance Toolkit for more on definitions of Indigenous governance and culture and governance.
Cultural governance and Australian law +
In Australia, there are many different cultural governance structures at work in different Indigenous nations, communities and groups. The ANU Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research’s Indigenous Community Governance Research Project found seven culturally-based principles common in the governance structures of Indigenous people in Australia. These are:
- networks
- relationships
- governance histories
- cultural geographies
- leadership
- decision-making authority
- mutual accountability.
See the Indigenous Governance Toolkit’s information on Indigenous governance and culture for a detailed definition of each of these principles.
While some of the structures outlined above have legal elements, others are more flexible and informal. This mix of legal and non-legal structures means that when cultural governance comes into contact with non-Indigenous governance structures, the differences between these two approaches must be taken into account.
Two-way governance: Indigenous governance and non-Indigenous law +
Two-way governance refers to the practice of using both Indigenous and non-Indigenous practices to create a governance structure. As Michael Cawthorn explains, effective two-way governance relies on Indigenous communities first having the ability to make decisions, set priorities and define their own governance processes:
‘A lack of cultural ‘fit’ between organisational governance arrangements and the local cultural system, has often been identified as the cause of governance problems (see Productivity Commission and CAEPR). Strong and effective two-way governance practices are seen as key factors in successful Indigenous organisations.’
– Michael Cawthorn, ‘Two-way governance’, PBC website
Governance and management of Country: A view from Victoria +
The link between cultural governance and management of Country, resources and native title is particular to each Indigenous nation. Discussing the experience of the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation, which manages native title rights for the Eastern Maar Peoples (the Traditional Owners of south-western Victoria), Jamie Lowe talks about the central role of nation building.
‘For the last 18,000 years we've had governance models, and in 2018 that's no different,’ Lowe says. 'Forming the governing model was always central to the success of the Eastern Maar people.’
‘We went through a process of what best fits the past and the present and came up with a governing structure where all our families have an equal right and an equal voice in any conversation that we have,’ Lowe adds. ‘Each citizen needs to see themselves reflected within the governing system as both individual citizens, families and as the whole nation.’