Academic Collaboration in Pursuit of Decolonisation: The Story of the Aboriginal History Archive

Abstract

Recent shifts in the recognition of creative work as research have enabled the revitalisation of the role of the academic as an agent of social change and created spaces for engaging with communities. This chapter explores the opportunities these policy shifts have created for academic collaboration in the pursuit of decolonisation. It outlines the collaborative working relationship between an indigenous researcher and non-indigenous ally working within an Aboriginal Academic Unit and the non-traditional research outputs their collaboration has generated. These outputs produced a research track record that secured funding to create a digital archive of the history of the Aboriginal Land Rights and Self-determination Movement. The chapter concludes with an exploration about the nature of successful activism in the university. The chapter argues that successful activism requires a fierce confidence in the value of one’s work and a long-term strategy that takes into account the pervading political and economic circumstances.