National Reconciliation Week: Telling Our Truth
Merindah Bairnsfather-Scott is a Noongar woman who was born and raised on Whadjuk country and acknowledges her blood ties to Menang country.
Merindah is a GIS analyst for Winyama and a trainer at the Indigenous Mapping Workshop, an initiative that empowers Indigenous people to use spatial technology such as Google Earth Pro and Esri ArcGIS.
In light of National Reconciliation Week, we sat down with Merindah to talk about what reconciliation means to her and how esteemed Aboriginal activist and leader, Mary Cowley, empowered her to understand the importance of Aboriginal people telling their truth.
Merindah, where did you meet Ms Mary Cowley?
I began working for the Western Australia Department of Aboriginal Affairs as a receptionist in my final year of high school. After I graduated, I stepped into a full time position as the Heritage Information Officer.
At this point, Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP) were first being developed. As someone who held senior positions within the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Ms Cowley was responsible for meeting with other government agencies and private organisations to help them develop a RAP.
Ms Cowley, whom myself and my young colleagues referred to as Aunty Mary, gathered the young Aboriginal people working within the Department of Aboriginal Affairs and appointed us as the Advisory Group to the RAP Committee.
How did Ms Cowley change your perspective of your role in reconciliation?
The Advisory Group was given a lot of responsibility and I quickly became worn out by this. I confided in Aunty Mary that I felt tired and defeated and she quickly changed my perspective.
Aunty Mary explained to me that reconciliation is so important as it’s a chance for Aboriginal people to tell our truth. Reconciliation must begin with us telling our stories, and our stories must be heard. Only then, can we work together and collaborate for a better future.
It was inspiring to hear those words spoken by Aunty Mary, and it reminded me that while working in reconciliation can be very tiresome, it is important.
What does telling your truth mean to you?
I believe that telling our truth is about cutting stereotypes.
Throughout my time working in Reconciliation and GIS, I have seen negative stereotypes prohibit Aboriginal people from reaching their full potential in the digital economy.
Aunty Mary has encouraged me to ask myself where the truth lies when confronted with a stereotype and to question why it has been presented in that way. When it comes to our own truths, we must question how we choose to expose it and how we want to elicit change.
That is why I am passionate about representing Aboriginal people in the digital and GIS sector. I want to actively remind Aboriginal people that we are valued in this space because we are inherently people of our land and our country, mapping provides us with a unique way to tell stories about our culture and history.
The Noongarpedia is one resource that is used for truth telling. Can you tell me what it is and why it resonates with you?
I recently watched UWA Researcher and 2019 Indigenous Mapping Workshop steering committee member, Professor Leonard Collard on Curtin University’s Sorry Day program. He spoke about the local project, Noongarpedia that has been gaining recognition as a digital platform used to engage with Noongar culture.
Professor Collard explained that Noongarpedia is a tool for all people to engage with Noongar knowledge systems. It is a legacy that has been left for future generations to develop and add value to, just as we have always done with knowledge.
His comments of knowledge sharing really resonated with me, and I encourage others to engage with similar Indigenous knowledge sharing tools to broaden their perspective.
Sharing knowledge through digital tools such as Noongarpedia is an excellent way for Aboriginal people to tell our truth all while participating in the digital economy.
At Winyama, we create pathways for Aboriginal people to take on digital careers. We care about our team, their stories and what drives them. If you want to tell your story digitally or join a team that will support and enable you to start a unique career, get in touch to learn more about our careers and Intern pathway.
“In 2013 Ms Cowley became the inaugural Co-Chair of Reconciliation WA and was honoured as the organisation’s only lifetime member. Mary made vast contributions to reconciliation not only in Western Australia, but also more broadly throughout our nation. Her passing in January 2018 was a very sad loss for the WA community, and her legacy will not be forgotten.” Cited: Reconciliation Australia