Leading Australian University Seeks ‘Micro Treaty’ With 11 Indigenous Communities

Students enter the University of New South Wales (UNSW) in Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 22, 2016. AAP Image/Dean Lewins

The University of New South Wales (UNSW) has committed itself to working with the 11 different Aboriginal mobs (tribes) across the area it serves, to draft and agree on what it’s calling a “micro treaty.” The move is its response to the Uluru Statement from the Heart.

The university had promoted a “yes” vote in the Voice referendum and admitted it was disappointed when a 60.06 percent “no” vote sank that initiative.

“The need for a voice for communities didn’t dissipate after the referendum. It’s as urgent today as it was on October 14, and there are many ways to give Aboriginal people a voice—this is one very innovative and nation-leading way,” said Professor Megan Davis, Pro Vice-Chancellor Society at the university.

She created the process of dialogues, which shaped the Uluru statement and will be used by the university to structure its engagement.

These dialogues will enable communities to identify their “priorities, needs, and hopes.” The community will then negotiate with UNSW representatives to create commitments (similar to the articles of macro-treaties) from the university in the form of a micro-treaty.

Process Will Be Led by the Community

As a community-led process, the outcomes will be varied, but UNSW imagines the commitments could include:

• Acknowledging and recognising the sovereignty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, “crucial for establishing a foundation for equitable relationships.”
• Cultural respect and recognition, “which can contribute to cultural preservation and revitalisation.”
• Education and research, “the recognition of Indigenous knowledge and its continued contribution to society today as one of the oldest living knowledge systems in our world.”
• Social and health development, “ways that the treaty can support social, health or economic development for Indigenous communities.”
• Reconciliation and healing, “engaging in the process can be a step towards reconciliation and healing, fostering a sense of justice and fairness.”

The dialogues will be led by a representative council comprising of Indigenous undergraduate and postgraduate students, professional and academic staff, along with alumni and members of UNSW-connected Aboriginal communities across the state.

“Having communities come together to look at self-empowerment through education and research will be very powerful,” said Professor Leanne Holt, inaugural Deputy Vice-Chancellor Indigenous.

“In the process, the community will be sharing their voices, expertise and knowledge, and how they would like to see themselves positioned into the future.

“A micro-treaty means the communities will have an authentic voice in outlining what the commitments will be. And through a process of negotiation they will define their relationship with UNSW.

“We are using the language of treaty because it is a pillar of the Uluru Statement, and the process of community dialogue and then negotiation and agreement is a healing and empowering process,” Prof. Holt said.

UNSW hopes the micro-treaty will be ratified by the end of the year, and the university will respond with specific actions and targets under each commitment.

“It means we will be able to see how the treaty makes a difference, because we can measure and track the commitments. And we will have continued to build respectful and reciprocal relationships with our communities that have real impact,” Prof. Holt said.

The micro-treaty will be the first of its kind in Australia.

“We hope that other university communities will take note and follow our lead to seek treaties with their own Indigenous communities,” she said.