Foundation Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies, Professor Marcia Langton AM, delivered the UNESCO Chair Oration for 2019.
Professor Langton spoke on ‘Empowering Indigenous Australians’, on Wednesday 13 November 2019.
▶ Watch a recording of the 2019 UNESCO Oration given by Marcia Langton
In her address, Professor Langton began by addressing Alfred Deakin’s own historical record of racism. She reflected that:
“Without meaningful constitutional recognition, Australia remains trapped in Deakin’s idea of “Australia for the White Man.” This idea is deeply ingrained in Australian life and we see it played out in most encounters between government officials and Indigenous people. It underlies the life-threatening disadvantages we face.”
Then Professor Langton shared her own vision for Aboriginal empowerment, drawing on her experiences and assessments. She argued that the Australian government has an important role to play.
“We do not say that governments should go away. They have an important role to play. Particularly, the Australian government, provided they have their act together and are guided by a proven theory of action. Fundamentally, that role must be that of enabler to set the conditions for success…Governments can’t create or lead lives for people. It is a fatal conceit when they try…It is my own strongly held view based on a great deal of evidence that Indigenous people must pull the levers of the policy machine. Indigenous people who are able to participate in these roles feel a great accountability to those who are not thriving in our communities. The bureaucratic machine left to its own devices is a failed model. It’s time for Australians to face that truth and empower us to fix the system in the face of accelerating suicide and incarceration rates.”
Following the Oration, Professor Mansouri moderated a Q and A.
About Professor Langton
One of Australia’s most respected Indigenous academics, Professor Marcia Langton holds the Chair of Australian Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne, and the Distinguished Redmond Barry Chair. She is an anthropologist and geographer. She is widely published on topics in Australian Indigenous Studies, including Aboriginal land tenure, Aboriginal art and Indigenous agreement-making.
Professor Langton received a Member of the Order of Australia in 1993 for services to anthropology and advocacy of Aboriginal rights. She is also a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in Australia. In 2017, Professor Langton accepted an appointment as first Associate Provost at the University of Melbourne. Her research interests lie primarily in the areas of political and legal anthropology, Indigenous agreements and engagement with the minerals industry, and Indigenous culture and art. Over her career, she established and managed several collaborative research projects. This includes projects funded by the ARC and Industry partners in Indigenous agreement making and implementation. Additionally, she has worked on overcoming poverty and marginalisation by establishing good practice in governance and distribution of mining benefits, and traditional resource rights.
Professor Langton has a track record in traditional Indigenous knowledge systems, digital technologies and developed critical methodologies for researchers. This includes engaing scientists, social scientists and historians in the challenges of sustaining cultural knowledge and biological diversity in Aboriginal societies.