Dja Dja Wurrung Agreements

7/23/2019 Dja Dja Wurrung Agreements

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/dja-dja-wurrung-agreements 1/15



Statement of the topic.

Community-level agreements within the Dja Dja Wurrung people

towards the conformation of the joint management boards after the

Traditional Owners Settlement Act !"!#

Aims.

Problem statement.

There is an increasing concern on how to improve indigenous wellbeing

through the implementation of public and social policies $Closing the %ap

Clearinghouse $A&'W( A&)S* !"+*# Also( involvement of &ndigenous people

in decision-ma,ing about their own development has been ac,nowledged

as critical for improving their wellbeing $Tsey et al# !" 'unt !"+*#

&ndigenous people have addressed their interest to participate in the

decision-ma,ing processes related with traditional lands( highlighting that

their claim is not for .Western-style/ land ownership rights# &nstead( their

claim is for the right to participate in the control of the lands( claiming for

the 0authority to say what 1they2 want done with 1their2 lands3 $Wearing 4

'uys,ens !!"*# &s e5pectable that the involvement of aboriginal

communities in decision-ma,ing processes could have positive impacts in

their community development( but there/s a lac, of ,nowledge on how

their informal processes of governance wor,( what is its in6uence and how

they could be strengthened $Tsey et al# !"*# This research will improve

the understanding on how informal and formal processes of governance

are shaped by community leaders discourses( clarifying those discursive

elements that facilitate community-level accords#

Project aims.

The purpose of this research is to understand how formal and informal

governance processes led to community-level accords within the Dja Dja

Wurrung people( in the conte5t of negotiations that led to the settlement

between them and the State of 7ictoria under the Traditional Owner

Settlement Act !"!#



To do so( this research focuses on understanding the discursive

elements related with land ownership and land traditional purposes

among aboriginal leaders( see,ing to clarify the conceptual framewor,

that shaped in community-level governance processes#

The data collection for this research will be carried out through semi-

structured interviews to community leaders( focus group( and review of

o8cial documents#

The data will be analysed under content analysis strategies of the

discourses of Dja Dja Wurrung leaders that participated in the negotiations

with the community and the state( and document analysis#

Research questions.

o 9ajor research :uestion#

'ow negotiations within the Dja Dja Wurrung people shaped

community-level agreements under the Traditional Owner Settlement Act

negotiations;

o Subsidiary research :uestions#

a* What are the ,ey elements present in the discourse of the Dja

Dja Wurrung leaders related with land ownership recognition and

land use for traditional purposes;b* 'ow these elements were articulated during negotiations within

the community to reach a shared discourse on behalf of the Dja

Dja Wurrung people;c* 'ow this discourse is perceived by community leaders as a

narrative that shaped the community/s formal and informal

governance processes towards the Traditional Owner Settlement

Act negotiations;

Background.

o Theoretical perspective#



The aim of this research is to understand how those discursive

elements present in the leaders/ discourses shaped governance

procedures that led to a community-level agreement towards the

Traditional Owners Settlement Act negotiations# &t assumes that aconceptual framewor, underlying these discourses has been shaped by

shared and negotiated meanings related with land ownership and

traditional land uses claims that characteri<e the position of the Dja Dja

Wurrung people and their leaders#

This research lies in a Constructivist perspective# Such approach

recogni<es dynamic and diverse social realities and categories shaped by

social interactions( producing dynamic meanings= 0phenomena and their

meanings are continually being accomplished by social actors 1being2 in a

constant state of revision#3 $>ryman !"( p#++*# Thus( social interactions

and actors participating on them are sources of data collection( as well as

their perceptions communicated within their discourses# ?ven the

research as a space of social interactions can shape data collection and

in6uence the interpretation of attributed meanings( where the researcher

challenges its own preconceptions on the phenomena throughe5periencing the research process as a sensitive en:uirer# &n this sense(

the researcher won/t be $can/t be* 0a passive receiver of impression1s23

$%laser 4 Strauss !!@( p#+@* but an active actor loo,ing for concepts(

their meanings and their articulations( being 0fully aware3 of its role

$Strauss "@B( p#*#

o 9id-range theories and conceptual framewor,#

)oucault proposed that its own methodologies should be considered as

.gadgets/ or toolbo5es than can be used to develop new approaches and

to reach a better understanding of how social systems wor, $)oucault 4

%ordon "@!*# &n this sense( this research will be drawn on a conceptual

framewor, form a diversity of authors and classical approaches to some

social phenomena that could be useful in clarifying some theoretical



relations that can facilitate the understanding of the phenomena

proposed#

Theories of association

As ich points out( associations can facilitate $or hinder* governance in

democratic conte5ts# As diverse as they are( it will be necessary to

identify and describe some characteristics related with formal and

informal procedures( distinct hierarchical lines or other principles that

helps to distribute legitimate power( and decision-ma,ing procedures

$>anyan !!B*# This will help to understand more about the wor, of the

Dja Dja Wurrung people groups involved in negotiations( and how they

perceive their participation in such ,ind of associations in relation with

western-culture democratic values( considering that 0through group

activities( participation in associations teaches citi<ens how to engage in

public debate and cooperate with one another to accomplish shared

goals3 $>anyan !!B( p#+"*# As democratic pluralism highlights( it will be

addressed how 0giving a concentrated voice to minorities( and by

providing a mechanism for citi<ens to form a political response3 $!!B(

p#+* wor,s for this particular interest group#

Social capital

obert Eutnam is one of the relevant authors concerned with social

capital( its evolution and how it is eroded in advanced democracies# As he

highlights( social capital is basically related with 0social networ,s and the

norms of reciprocity associated with them3 $Eutnam !!( p#+*# This

research assumes that in the particular case study proposed( it is possible

to trac, some elements in the discourse of leaders related with how they

perceive their relations with the community( as a social networ,( and how

a sense of reciprocity is addressed in their activities towards the

community and their eForts to reach community-level agreements#

Civic engagement

Through processes of engagement an individual 0sees him or herself as

an integral part of a community where civic judgment is enhanced3



$>anyan !!B( p#G*# Conceptually( involvement both discursive and

action-oriented creates and strengths social ties within a community

$>anyan !!B Eutnam "@@G*# Through the analysis of the discourses of

the leaders of the community( it will be addressed a speciHc approach tothose perceived elements that facilitates the civic engagement of both the

members of the communities and their leaders( related with aboriginal

concepts of rights and values $land( recognition( etc#*#

Capabilities and Capacit building

Sen describes capabilities as 0characteristics of individual advantages3

$!!G( p#"G* that brings opportunities for development of individuals( but

can be useful for community development# &n this sense( he proposes the

idea of the 0power to participate in the social life of the community3

$!!G( p#"G* as a capability well related with the social embedment of

these abilities# &n relation with the research( the activities of leaders and

their capacity to rise legitimate discourses will be addressed through the

analysis of the particular elements of those discourses that facilitates

legitimacy attribution from the community( loo,ing for which elements are

enacted and how are they articulated in the general discourses# &t will be

addressed how these leaders perceive their discourses as elements that

strengths the social fabric in their communities( assuming that they have

developed the 0ability to eFectively ta,e part in governance3( accessing

to decision-ma,ing venues $>anyan !!B( p#* as leaders and members

of their community( where 0I the focus is on increasing the availability of

information and participation of underprivileged( underserved( or

impoverished members of society3 $!!B( p#*# 'ere( the role of leaders

and their capacity to enact legitimate discourses in a community-based

level is to 0give voice and status to previously underrepresented

populations#3 $!!B( p#*#

!ndigenous governance

Conceptually( indigenous governance recogni<es the diversity of

political structures and procedures of indigenous in a historical conte5t#Scholars have identiHed three broad categories of governance= practices



of indigenous governance that e5isted prior to coloni<ation( in community-

based political structures practices that ta,e place in coordination with

the colonial power and those practices against the colonial power $>latter

!!B*# This research presuppose that the community-level agreementsand formal and informal ways of organise their wor, towards the

negotiations with the State and other public and private sta,eholders#

"egitimac

Jegitimacy is a comple5 concept with a long standing tradition in

sociology( that is related with the acceptance of a regime or system of

governance and the sources of that acceptance $>latter !!B*( or even

the acceptance of the leadership within that regime $Weber "@*# &n its

more social strand( the concept has been related with 0the will of the

people3 $instead of formal procedures*( where legitimacy of a regime or a

leadership derives from 0the aFective commitment to the community3

$>latter !!B( p#G"*# &n this sense( and as an analytical approach( this

research will try to understand how the discourses of the leaders of the

community are able to generate a legitimate discourse( if it is seen as

representative of the collective interests( and if it is perceived as an

eFective driver to legitimate community-based agreements#

"eadership

As Castells states( the control of the connection points between

diFerent strategic networ,s is a source of power( and those who hold

those positions can e5ercise leadership $!!@*# &n the conte5t of this

search( given the novelty of the proposal for joint management lands( we

assume that the leaders of aboriginal communities e5ercise a very special

,ind of leadership in which their position plays a relevant role in at least

two diFerent strategic networ,s= that of the 0western3 political system

that managed the public lands and that networ, interested in the

recognition of traditional ownership on those lands# Jiterature on

aboriginal communities has pointed out descriptions on lac, of legitimacy

of community leaders $Wynberg( Schroeder 4 Chennells !!@*# Jeadersstruggle to maintain their legitimacy before their communities in conte5ts



of high mistrust( and are increasingly being object of accountability

claims( as in 0western3 culture-based political systems#

?ven when this research proposal doesn/t situate within a Critical

perspective( it will consider how leaders/ discourses e5presses

contradictions( relations between rhetoric and practices( and ends and

means during the processes of negotiation#

#iscourses as drivers for change and legitimac

&n the conte5t of this research( we agree with >arrett( Thomas 4

'ocevar $"@@G* in their approach to discourse as the core of change

process# Change can be possible where patterns of discourse facilitatebuilding 0relational bonds with one another( create( maintains and

transforms structures( and reinforce or challenge beliefs3 $"@@G( p#+G+*#

?5perience and communication are mi5ed in discourses that creates new

realities# Our approach to discourses in will consider those elements

present in the discourses of leaders who had participated actively in

community-level negotiations( highlighting those aspects that can be seen

as drivers to change towards an agreement on new ways of governancerelated with traditional land management#

o What e5isting theory or previous research has to say about the topic

what is ,nown about the research :uestions( or could be anticipated#

The initial research has not shown prior research on this topic from a

constructivist approach# There are some legal research related with the

changes in the legal system in the State of 7ictoria in the last G years(

and how corporate aboriginal bodies have faced formal and legal

re:uirements for land management claims $9ant<iaris( 9artin 4 Kational

Kative Title Tribunal $Australia* "@@@ 9ant<iaris 4 9artin !!! ?dmunds

4 Australian Anthropological Society "@@L* but there is lac, of ,nowledge

on indigenous governance in Australia in general $'unt !"+ Tsey et al#

!"* and in particular how it is related with the impacts of the new legal

system within the interests groups and aFected communities#



&t is e5pected that the approach proposed in this research will led to an

understanding of those ,ey elements that shape discourses of leaders(

which in turn facilitates the community-level agreements prior to the

negotiations with the State and other sta,eholders# We assume that those,ey elements that are the basis of leadership legitimacy and community

engagement prior to the agreements are related with shared and

negotiated meanings and traditional land ownership and traditional land

uses#

Proposed methods

o Source$s* of data#

Erimary and secondary :ualitative data will be collected# The primary

data will be collected from semi-structured interviews to community

leaders of the Dja Dja Wurrung Eeople participating in negotiations

towards the agreements re:uired in the conte5t of the Traditional Owners

settlement Act of !"!# A focus group with community leaders will be

developed too#

Secondary data will be collected from o8cial and media documents

related with the process towards the community level agreements# This

documents consider legal documents( reports of the process and scholar

analysis( as well as media printed news and online news#

o Eopulation#

As a :ualitative analysis with a speciHc scope $case study*( the

research will be conducted towards data collection from a speciHc group of

people which participated leading the community negotiations# There will

be considered leaders participants of the e negotiations those who appear

named in o8cial documents related with the negotiations# &f it is

necessary( the access to subse:uent ,ey informants will be addressed

through a snowball research strategy $>ryman !" Koy !!*# To



maintain reliability and validity of the information collected( a minimum of

"! interviewees will be underta,en#

o 9ethod of data gathering and analysis#)ollowing the description of %rounded Theory proposed by Charma<(

this research will be conducted through a continuous process of

simultaneous data collection and analysis where an early beginning of

analysis will facilitate to focus further data collection and interpretations#

&t will be developed under an 0integrated set of theoretical concepts3

$!!G( p#G!* considering those emerging features of the empirical

materials collected while ta,ing a re6e5ive stance on the modes of

,nowing and representing studied life $!!G( p#G!@*# Conse:uently( giving

close attention to those collected empirical elements from subjectively co-

constructed and interpreted realities implies 0locating oneself in these

realities3 $!!G( p#G!@*#

Data will be generated and recorded as audio recordings of interviews(

and will be transcribed in a word processor software# 9emos and notes

from the Held will be also transcribed# Those transcriptions will be

analysed in K7ivo( in its latest version $"!#!*#

Analysing data will be done recogni<ing 0concepts as problematic and

loo, for their characteristics as lived and understood( not as given in

te5tboo,s3 $Charma< !!G( p#G"*#

As discourses are seen as the core of speciHc process of change where

governance regime conceptions are created( sustained and transformed

$>arrett( Thomas 4 'ocevar "@@G* towards a new indigenous governance

regime for land management#

o ?nsure that your proposed methods show how issues of :uality will

be dealt with( with reference to the appropriate :uality criteria#As %laser points out( the research involves a data construction process

0that represents the mutual interpretation of the interviewer and of the



interviewee as the interview proceeds3 $!!( p#*# &n this process occurs

a negotiated consensus on the interpretation of data( that comes from

participants that elicit multiple perspectives $%laser !!*# &n this process

of identifying multiple subjective social realities occurs a 0mutual creationof ,nowledge by the viewer and the viewed3 $Charma< !!G( p#G"!*( were

the researcher capabilities of abstraction leads towards an interpretive

understanding of subjectsM meanings# What can be collected and

interpreted( what can be seen and heard depends upon the researcher/s=

0Iprior interpretive frames( biographies( and interest as well as

the research conte5t( their relationships with research participants(

concrete Held e5periences( and modes of generating and recording

empirical materials# Ko :ualitative method rests on pure induction-

the :uestions we as, of the empirical world frame what we now of

it3 $!!G( p#G!@*#

The research( as a discursive product itself( will show how a re6e5ive

process has been conducted in order to carefully represent participants/

constructions and enactments $Charma< !!G( p#G"+*

Jin, between method( methodology and theoryo ?nsure that your proposals highlights the lin,s between method(

methodology and theory#)rom a constructivist perspective( this research will focus on discursive

features present in Dja Dja Wurrung leaders which participated in the

community-level agreements prior to the Settlement Act enactment# &t will

be addressed how discursive elements interact and articulates( facilitating

the recognition of leaders( and their legitimacy in the community( and

identifying how was possible to reach that agreement through eliciting

elements related with traditional land ownership and traditional land uses#

Those elements( is e5pected( should shape the leaders discourses( that at

the same time represent the interests of a civically engaged community

where social capital supports their demands as a community and shapes

the discourse of their leaders# The access to the leaders as ,ey informants

will be reached through snowball strategies( and the analysis of their

discourses will be conducted through content analysis strategies that will



highlight particular discursive elements that shapes and are shaped by

socially constructed meanings( in order to understand how the

agreements in the community level was reached#

o ?thics $indicate what ethical problems are li,ely to be encountered

in the research and how they will be dealt with*#An approach to data collection as it has been present in this proposals

re:uire to ac,nowledge that that process involves a very personal relation

with interviewees# As $9unhall !"* highlights( it occurs a dialogical

encounter of mutuality and reciprocity where the negotiated meanings

and interpretations of the e5periences shows but at the same timereconHgure both the researcher and the participants/ identities# &n this

sense( as 9unhall highlights( the researcher 0must be aware of the

potential of profound personal change and intense emotional

e5periencing3 $!"( p#L+B*# &t will be needed a respectful and sensitive

approach to participants#

As ethical protocols re:uire( it will be addressed every standard related

with fully informed consent( thus giving the opportunity to discuss the

study and its advances( and to present :uestions and en:uiries the will be

fully answered# While the spaces to participate will be clearly addressed

from the beginning( and agreed with interviewees( there will be special

awareness on the conse:uences of bringing participants into research

decisions( as 9orse highlights( including 0,eeping the analytic level low(

overstating the views of participants who clamored for more space in the

narrative( and compromising the analysis3 $9orse "@@( in Charma<(

!!G( p# G"*#



o Timetable $specify the major stages of the research and the timing and duration of each*

Wee,

!"

Wee,

!

Wee,

!+

Wee,

!L

Wee,

!G

Wee,

!

Wee,

!B

Wee,

!

Wee,

!@

Wee,

"!

Wee,

""

Wee,

"

Wee,

"+

Wee,

"L

Wee,

"G

Wee,

"

esearch design 5

eview of literature 5 5 5 5 5

Conceptual framewor, 5 5 5 5 5

&nterviews 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Analysis of the interviews 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5

Document analysis 5 5 5 5 5

Content analysis of

documents5 5 5 5 5 5 5

)irst draft of the report 5

Corrections to the Hrst draft 5 5 5 5

Second draft of the report 5

Corrections to the second

draft 5 5 5

)inal draft and corrections 5 5

)inal report 5



?)??KC?S>anyan( 9? !!B( .Civic ?ngagement/( in Encyclopedia of governance. I I( Sage

Eublications( Thousand Oa,s( pp# GN#

>arrett( )( Thomas( %) 4 'ocevar( SE "@@G( .The Central ole of Discourse inJarge-Scale Change= A Social Construction Eerspective/( The Journal of

Applied Behavioral Science( vol# +"( no# +( pp# +GN+B#

>latter( P !!B( .Jegitimacy/( in Encyclopedia of governance. I I( Sage

Eublications( Thousand Oa,s( pp# G"NG"#

>ryman( A !"( Social research methods( O5ford Qniversity Eress( O5ford Kew

Ror,#

Castells( 9 !!@( Comunicación y poder ( Alian<a( 9adrid#

Charma<( P !!G( .%rounded Theory in the "st Century= Applications for

Advancing Social ustice Studies/( in The SAGE and!oo" of #ualitative

$esearch( Thousand Oa,s= Sage Eublications( pp# G!BNG+#

Closing the %ap Clearinghouse $A&'W( A&)S* !"+( %hat &or"s to overcome

Indigenous disadvantage' "ey learnings and gaps in the evidence ()**+

*(. ,roduced for the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse( Australian &nstitute of

'ealth and Welfare 4 Australian &nstitute of )amily Studies( Canberra#

?dmunds( 9 4 Australian Anthropological Society $eds* "@@L( Claims to"no&ledge- claims to country' native title- native title claims and the role

of the anthropologist ( Kative Titles esearch Qnit( Australian &nstitute of

Aboriginal and Torres Strait &slander Studies( Canberra( A#C#T#

)oucault( 9 4 %ordon( C "@!( ,o&er"no&ledge' selected intervie&s and other

&ritings- */0(+*/00( Eantheon >oo,s( Kew Ror,#

%laser( >% !!( .Constructivist grounded theory;/( in 1orum 2ualitative

so3ialforschungforum' #ualitative social research( accessed 9ay "G(

!"G( from http=www#:ualitative-

research#netinde5#phpf:sarticleviewArticleGU#

%laser( >% 4 Strauss( AJ !!@( The 4iscovery of Grounded Theory' Strategies for

#ualitative $esearch( Transaction Eublishers#

'unt( !"+( Engaging &ith Indigenous Australia. E5ploring the conditions for

e6ective relationships &ith A!original and Torres Strait Islander

communities. Issues paper 7o. 8. ,roduced for the Closing the Gap

Clearinghouse( Australian &nstitute of 'ealth and Welfare 4 Australian

&nstitute of )amily Studies( Canberra#



9ant<iaris( C 4 9artin( D !!!( 7ative Title Corporations' A 9egal and

Anthropological Analysis( )ederation Eress#

9ant<iaris( C( 9artin( D 4 Kational Kative Title Tribunal $Australia* "@@@( Guide to

the design of native title corporations( Kational Kative Title Tribunal(

1Australia2#

9unhall( E !"( 7ursing $esearch( ones 4 >artlett Jearning#

Koy( C !!( .Sampling Pnowledge= The 'ermeneutics of Snowball Sampling in

Vualitative esearch/( International Journal of Social $esearch

:ethodology ( vol# ""( no# L( pp# +BN+LL#

Eutnam( D "@@G( .>owling Alone= America/s Declining Social Capital/( Journal of

4emocracy ( vol# ( no# "( pp# GNB#

Eutnam( D !!( 4emocracies in ;u5' the evolution of social capital incontemporary society ( O5ford Qniversity Eress( O5ford Kew Ror,#

Sen( A !!G( .'uman ights and Capabilities/( Journal of uman 4evelopment (

vol# ( no# ( pp# "G"N"#

Strauss( AJ "@B( #ualitative Analysis for Social Scientists( Cambridge Qniversity

Eress#

Tsey( P( 9cCalman( ( >ainbridge( 4 >rown( C !"( Improving Indigenous

community governance through strengthening Indigenous and

government organisational capacity. $esource sheet 7o. *). ,roduced for

the Closing the Gap Clearinghouse( Australian &nstitute of 'ealth and

Welfare 4 Australian &nstitute of )amily Studies( Canberra#

Wearing( S 4 'uys,ens( 9 !!"( .9oving on from oint 9anagement Eolicy

egimes in Australian Kational Ear,s/( Current Issues in Tourism( vol# L( no#

-L( pp# "N!@#

Weber( 9 "@( Economy and society< an outline of interpretive sociology.(

>edminster Eress( Kew Ror,#

Wynberg( ( Schroeder( D 4 Chennells( !!@( Indigenous peoples- consent and

!ene=t sharing( Springer( Kew Ror,#

Dja Dja Wurrung Agreements

Documents

Dja Dja Wurrung Agreements