Podcast: Communicating Indigenous culture and heritage through maps

“There’s an aspect of reclaiming & taking ownership of our stories, whether they are cultural stories, historical stories or contact stories. Some of those aren’t ‘feel good’ stories but they need to be out there and I think Aboriginal people reclaiming that space and telling our stories in a way that we want to share with the general public is the way forward.” 

- Merindah Bairnsfather-Scott, GIS Analyst at Winyama.

When it comes to communicating the stories, culture and heritage of Indigenous communities, maps are an incredibly effective tool. The deep connection Indigenous people have to lands and waters that they have inhabited for thousands of years means that there is an intrinsic connection to place. Therefore, maps are a natural fit for telling Indigenous stories, not only in Australia but around the world. 

Maps can be used to communicate Indigenous knowledge and stories in many ways, such as: 

• Sharing songlines: a Dreaming story in the form of a song that reflects the journeys of Dreaming ancestors across the Australian landscape. .

• Dispossession and the gradual and forced shift of generations of Indigenous people off country.

• Contemporary uses of traditional land management: showing how land is managed in Native Title Organisations or Indigenous Ranger Groups. 

These examples are just a few that Winyama’s managing director, Andrew Dowding and Winyama’s GIS Analyst, Merindah Bairnsfather-Scott cover on the NGIS Location Matters podcast episode “Communicating Indigenous culture and heritage through maps”. 

Hear more about Andrew and Merindah’s mapping experiences both in Australia and other Indigenous communities around the world here:

Find out more about our Mapping services or get in touch with us directly here.