First Nations-determined Storylines: Noongar story work in the Ancestors' Words project

Abstract

The project Ancestors’ Words seeks to renew Noongar storytelling about who we are and where we come from by returning letters written by Noongar people in government archives to descendants as living cultural heritage. This article explores the Noongar research methodologies designed in the project to release the voices of Noongar ancestors from the archive and speak in the here and now. These innovative methodologies rematriate letters as Noongar knowledge that is protected by Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) rights. They can be applied and tested in First Nations communities around the world seeking to revitalise archives as sites of living Indigenous cultural heritage. Show more