Giving Back; it’s not hard

Dr. Robert Fuller, Western Sydney University

In First Peoples’ societies around the world, reciprocal giving is not only common, but often a basic requirement of behaviour. Both the giving, and the receiving, of gifts is considered to be an honour to the giver and receiver. In Australian Aboriginal society, this behaviour is called “giving back”. As cultural astronomers working with First Peoples knowledge, we should not only be aware of this requirement, but actively practice it in our work and projects, and it should be part of the planning of research projects. In this presentation, I will use two research projects into the cultural astronomy of the Gomeroi and Euahlayi peoples, and the Aboriginal peoples of the New South Wales coast, to discuss the planning and executing of the giving back aspects of these projects.