Our experience

Our experience includes working with private enterprises of all sizes, local government and state government departments and agencies, including:

• BHP

• Fortescue Metals Group

• McMahon Services Australia

• Downer Group

• Atlas Iron

• Town of Port Hedland

• Department of Communities

Our approach

We have carefully designed our training to engage participants in a conversation about pre-European Aboriginal history and the subsequent recent history, much of it still in living memory of our elders (including older non-Aboriginal people). We discuss our identity, traditional ways, cultural protocols and the context of ‘land ownership’ in terms of the Aboriginal Heritage Act and Native Title. For people who are unfamiliar with this background we encourage them to ask questions, no matter what they are and even if ‘politically incorrect’, to guide a deeper conversation into topics that helps to dispel myths and creates a better two-way understanding.

Using examples from the Pilbara, we also outline the two main types of Aboriginal sites – ethnographical and archaeological – because it’s important to recognise the enduring relationship Aboriginal people have with the areas of country they strongly identify with but which have often been overlooked by others because it’s not as obvious as, for example, the material remains of culture found at an archaeological site.

Session format

In our experience, a half-day workshop is sufficient to cover the topics including time for participants to engage in conversation. The session can be held at a convenient time to your organisation, however we have found a good approach is to begin at about 9.30am, have a short break and working lunch to finish by 2.00pm, enabling your staff to attend to work matters either side of the session.

Bookings

Bookings made 2 weeks in advance can usually be accommodated, however we are happy to try and make things work should it be last minute. Please contact us to discuss and make your booking.

Our team will travel as needed to deliver in-person sessions in Port Hedland and throughout WA and are happy to do a remote session using your preferred meeting platform.