Return of Native Title Materials, Robe River Kuruma Aboriginal Corporation and Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation
Abstract
Robe River Kuruma Aboriginal Corporation (RRKAC) is the registered native title body corporate for Robe River Kuruma (RRK) native title determined areas. The RRK people have traditional rights to an area covering nearly 16, 000 square kilometres in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, with over 10, 000 square kilometres recognised through two consent determinations.
Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation (YMAC) is the native title representative body for the Traditional Owners of the Pilbara, Midwest and Gascoyne regions of Western Australia.
Following RRKAC’s Part B Determination, RRKAC and YMAC started the process of negotiating the return of RRK native title materials and participated in several consultative meetings and two community workshops through 2018-19. In these workshops YMAC and RRKAC discussed what materials were available for return, what expectations community members have and how they want to use this material.
Following community consultation, and abiding to each corporation’s governance frameworks, collaboratively RRKAC and YMAC produced a Return of Research Material Policy which was approved by the whole RRK community at a RRKAC Annual General Meeting held in November 2019. YMAC subsequently returned native title materials to RRKAC in January 2020.
In this presentation RRKAC and YMAC share their experience of the return process from their unique perspectives, including the positive outcomes, the challenges and the lessons learnt.
Biographies
Brooke St James is the Executive Advisor, Strategy and Program Development for the Robe River Kuruma Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC.Brooke is a strategic thinker with over 12 years experience working with PBCs and Aboriginal Corporations as a dynamic leader within the areas of native title, community development and engagement, operations management, and project development and implementation. Brooke is solution driven, with a focus on leadership excellence, community capacity building and identifying opportunities for long term organisational improvement and sustainability.
Amy Usher - Research Manager, YMAC
Leanne Evans - Director, Robe River Kuruma Aboriginal Corporation
Royce Evans is the Chairperson of the Robe River Kuruma Board of Directors.
Kelly Slattery is the Vice Chairperson of the Robe River Kuruma Aboriginal Corporation and also sits on the Board of Kuruma Marthudunera Limited.