Presented at the local studies meeting, Parramatta, 29 March 2019

1. Warami Mittigar:
A cultural partnership
built on respect
Local Studies Librarians’ Meeting
Friday 29 March 2019
Justine Dowd & Sasa Kennedy

2. 2
Strategic context
and background
Parramatta – always was,
always will be, a gathering
place

3. Community Strategic Plan
We celebrate culture and diversity –
past present and future
Culture and Our City
Always was, always will be,
a gathering place
Destination Management Plan
Enhanced quality and meaningful
visitor experiences
3

4. Stretch
Reconciliation
Action Plan
Document Title Section Title 00.00.2018 4

5. 5
The Journey
Development of the cultural
partnership between Council
and the Darug community

6. 6
2015 – EOIs for Aboriginal presenters sent
2017 – Darug Interpretation Workshop was born
2018 – Developed and implemented protocols for
cultural content of Darug cultural tours

7. How the
partnership
was built
• Time
• Humility
• Flexibility
• Goodwill
• Honesty
• Trust
• Willingness to share
RESPECT
7

8. Our partnership
Darug partners
• Darug cultural
knowledge
• Traditional
teaching skills
Council staff
• Planning skills
• Interpretation and
guiding skills
RESPECT
8

9. Planning
Goals
Darug:
 People to feel welcome on
Country
 Meaningful interpretation of
their culture
 To provide content and share
their cultural knowledge
 Access to land for traditional
practice
 Cultural immersion training 9

10. Planning
Goals
Council:
 Site-specific and
authentic tour content
to engage visitors
 Parramatta-specific
Darug stories
10

11. Actions
• Aboriginal tour proposed
• Target markets decided
• Outline written
• Team reccie held
• Draft tour plan created
• Warami Mittigar is born
11

12. What we asked,
what we heard and
what we learnt…
from our Darug partners

13. Action:
EOI sent out
Result:
A poor response
Why?
• Importance of language
• Request overload
How did we find out?
We asked! 13
What Council learnt…

14. Challenges:
Individual voices not seen as
representative
• Seek a range of voices
Demands on elders’ time are great
• Cultural requirements
• Community support
• Skills building
Managing participation is difficult
• Understand demands on time
• Ask how to engage most effectively
• Apply multiple methods
14

15. Darug elders
sharing their
experience
What has been the most rewarding aspect of
developing this partnership with Council?
AND
What would like you to share with the audience here
today who are considering partnership with Aboriginal
communities Aboriginal tourism projects?
Document Title Section Title 00.00.2018 15

16. 16
Uncle Chris Tobin
Darug Elder

17. 17
Aunty Leanne King
Darug elder

18. 18
Uncle Lex Dadd
Darug Elder

19. Outcomes:
 Darug goals met
 Council goals met
 An authentic,
inclusive tourism
experience is born!
19

20. Thank you
Justine Dowd
jdowd@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au
Sasa Kennedy
skennedy@cityofparramatta.nsw.gov.au

21. Questions?
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