Seven lessons in Cultural Heritage from an Aboriginal Corporation
I normally work with industry – exploration, mining, renewables and infrastructure. My team and I are currently working with 20 company CEOs, boards and leadership teams to help them with agreement making with Traditional Owners, cultural heritage management, ESG alignment (or ‘walking the talk’) and navigating governance.
But earlier this year we were approached by an Aboriginal Corporation that I’d been working with on behalf of one of my lithium industry clients. After a few years of challenges, heritage work was being done external to the corporation and they wanted assistance to bring it back.
We settled on a brief early - bring the heritage business back under the Nyamal Aboriginal Corporation (NAC) and make it strong and sustainable. It was important to me that it was not a “gate keeper” brief, but one that enabled Nyamal Traditional Owners to get out on country surveying and protecting important cultural heritage, while securing a steady income stream for the Corporation and allowing industry access to land. With the perspective of an outsider looking in, it seemed to me that the corporation, the Traditional Owners and industry all wanted the same thing.
Read on to find out if my hunch was right as well as some other lessons I picked up along the way. Not only have we learned so much by doing this work, we are also more useful to our industry clients in other regions.
1. Heritage business is hard
All business is hard, but heritage businesses are very, very difficult. Why? Well, for lots of reasons, but it all comes back to cash flow. In my view, the cost schedules in heritage protection agreements are outdated the minute they are drafted and incredibly vulnerable to the boom bust cycles of the resources industry. We simply cannot make people accept a lower day rate, and why should they?
2. Aboriginal Corporations are stretched…
Particularly at the moment. I’ll be honest, I’ve sometimes found it frustrating that my calls haven’t been returned or emails not been answered. I now understand why. There are not enough people or hours in the day to meet the demands of industry who are desperate to access land while demand for our commodities is high.
3. …but exceptional
The leadership team of NAC, together with the board and all the staff, are nothing short of exceptional. They are passionate and committed to their people, but most of all, they are proud of their culture, and they love their country. It continues to be a privilege to work with them.
4. Some industry reps are not!
There are some industry representatives who can be tricky! I’ve been shocked at the aggression of some. Thankfully they are in the minority. I found most companies understood what we were trying to achieve and love the opportunity to be out on country with the Nyamal members during surveys.
5. The front door is the safest bet
Governance is strong at NAC. There is a way to do things and it is robust. NAC welcomes people in through the front door yet, some companies go direct to the Traditional Owners and offer individuals non-existent contracts or other futile financial incentives. This is great if the company wants to create division and waste its own time and money.
6. Surveys take twice as long as you think
Coordinating surveys is like herding cats! With weather, cultural responsibilities, lack of consultants and lack of Traditional Owners a lot can go wrong! Then throw into the mix difficulty getting flights, hire cars and hotel rooms. When a survey is seamless, we breathe out a sigh of relief because there are so many balls in the air, when one drops, the survey falls over.
7. Traditional Owners and industry want the same thing
We all want the same thing. Having a strong cultural heritage business within NAC means everyone wins. Traditional Owners are out surveying and protecting their country and being paid to do so, and industry have the certainty they need to deliver projects on time and on budget.
Kellie Swanson-Hill