First Steps in Communicating with Traditional Owners

When accessing the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park for your tourism operation, you are likely to be visiting the 'sea country' of one or more Traditional Owner groups. By following these easy 'first steps' in communication, you can potentially enhance your operation and help local Indigenous communities.

• Why should I engage with Indigenous Communities?
• Who should I talk to?
• How do I start?
• In the meetings.

Why should I engage with Indigenous communities?

• You may be able to receive appropriate cultural advice about the area, offer a new dimension in your tourism product, employ local Indigenous people, develop joint business ventures or collaborate in conservation activities
• You may be able to receive correct information and cultural stories to include in your interpretative programs and employ Indigenous people to deliver that information. You should always seek the permission of relevant Traditional Owners before including Indigenous content
• You may be able to enhance your existing tourism product. Surveys show that international visitors are very interested in learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture as part of their overall experience
• You may be able to assist in the assessment of a permit application by working with relevant Traditional Owners, discussing and exploring any issues and providing a joint analysis to the GBRMPA.

Who should I talk to?

• For each area of 'sea country', it is the Traditional Owners who have the right to speak for that area. There are about 70 distinct Indigenous Traditional Owner clan groups along the Great Barrier Reef coast
• As a first step, contact the local Native Title Representative Body (see Download Map near top right of page). They represent Traditional Owners in Native Title matters and may help to identify the correct people for you to meet.

How do I start?

• Take an interest in local Indigenous communities and their connections to the Reef and its surrounds
• Before seeking a meeting, take advice from the Native Title Representative Body, the GBRMPA Indigenous Partnerships Liaison Unit, Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service or contacts in a particular Indigenous community
• Talk to the advisors about: why you want to meet, meeting timing and format, venues, seating arrangements, who should attend, how are decisions made in the community, gender, eye contact, literacy and communication levels, safety, transport, photos, record keeping and catering.

In the meetings

• Try to use people from your business who are decision makers so that, if necessary, commitments can be made on the spot
• Aim for continuity in who meets with a community. As with any communication, relationships, understanding and trust are important ingredients to success
• At your first meeting, ask if there are any special protocols that you should follow during the meetings and explain any protocols that relate to your culture or business
• Provide a detailed, written description of your proposal, outlining your goals for both your business and the Traditional Owners, and clearly spelling out what would be required from them and what benefits they would receive in return
• Keep records of issues discussed
• Be aware that some cultural information is confidential within the group. Make sure you check with the group and maybe confirm in writing, what information can be made public or included in educational material and what is confidential
• Consider offering a familiarization trip on your operation. Most Indigenous people have never been tourists so they may not understand the concepts you are presenting. A trip may help them understand your proposal, the way tourism works and how they might be involved
• Be flexible about decision-making processes and timeframes. Decisions in Indigenous communities are generally made differently to the business office - usually based on consensus and made outside of formal meetings.
• Continue to keep the lines of communication open, even after you have concluded a particular project.