Respectful Authorship and Design was authored by Dr Danièle Hromek and published by Djinjama in 2022. This document was created as a resource to avoid the further appropriation of Indigenous voices and cultural heritage by colonial processes and governments. These guidelines aim to ensure respectful authorship and design regarding Indigenous lives and knowledge systems.
Aboriginal peoples’ knowledges, relationships and experiences have been developed over thousands of generations and are sustained despite the impacts of colonisation. Like an engineer is an expert in engineering concerns or a medical doctor in health, an Aboriginal Knowledge Holder is an authority in cultural matters. Their knowledge has not only been inherited from ancestors but also maintained and developed within their own lifetime.
Djinjama honours our connections to Country, community, culture and kin through our work. Djinjama’s projects actively interact with lands, waters and air, and as such we actively protect the rights of Country to be healthy in our work. We respect Traditional Custodians who have long cared for Country and aim to elevate First Voices in all our work. We are grateful to Elders and Knowledge Holders for their continued sharing of wisdom, story, language, and knowledge.
