Reconciliation in Australia: The academic library empowering the Indigenous community

Abstract

This article discusses the role of the academic library in contributing to the reconciliation process in Australia through the lens of James Cook University. Reconciliation in this context is defined as the process to bring together Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australian peoples to overcome the gap that exists between them. Two of James Cook University’s campuses are located in North Queensland, an area with a high Indigenous population. It has in place a Reconciliation Action Plan and Statement of Strategic Intent, which provide a clear statement supporting its Indigenous students and staff. This article focuses on the participation of James Cook University Library and Information Service in the university’s reconciliation goals through four broad areas of interest: procurement, engagement, staffing, and information literacy training. Of particular note is the naming of the Townsville Campus library – the Eddie Koiki Mabo Library – in recognition of Mabo’s connection with James Cook University, marking the significance of the role this Indigenous man played in Australia’s history.

Ground Truths: Community-Engaged Research for Environmental Justice

“…Research such as this is informing some institutional actions to acknowledge, reconcile, and repair these damages. Initial steps include redesigning campus sites to represent this history from the perspectives of enslaved and Indigenous peoples, acknowledging that campuses sit on Indigenous lands, renaming buildings, providing access to or returning lands and artifacts to Indigenous peoples, creating scholarship programs for and paying reparations to descendants of enslaved and conscripted laborers, and contributing to community and economic development in their communities (Harris 2020;Mamtora, Ovaska, and Mathiesen 2021). More of this research that informs campuses' understanding of their past and adoption of reparatory policies could be conducted with representatives of affected communities to ensure that their perspectives and policy preferences are centered (see box 5.4 for an example).…”