We are committed to completing Indigenous research that works with and for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. A summary of some of our research themes and projects is provided below.

Jobs, land, water and economy

We run several programs relating to Indigenous land use, monitoring and management, including our flagship program run in close collaboration with the Yawuru people of in and around Broome, Western Australia. This partnership with the Fenner School of Environment & Society focuses on developing practical uses of GIS to support Native Title decision making and provided the community with strategic intelligence for post native title governance.

Some of our other projects include:

• Landscape archaeology at Lake Mungo, Research School of Earth Sciences
• Biodiversity discovery in northern Australia, Research School of Biology
• Marginal socio-ecological systems in a changing climate, Fenner School of Environment & Society
• Is there a role for storm water channels in a water sensitive world?, Fenner School of Environment & Society.

Cultural and social issues and history

We are involved in multiple research projects that relate to Indigenous cultural and social issues and Indigenous history. One of our strengths in this area is dating historical and pre-historical events, including though the following projects:

• Radiocarbon dating of multiple Australian archaeological sites, Research School of Earth Sciences.
• Birth of a new language: Gurindji Kriol, Research School of Biology (led by the University of Queensland).
• Dating events in Indigenous history using methods from bioinformatics and molecular evolution, Mathematical Sciences Institute.
• STEM the gap: science belongs to us mob, too, Mathematical Sciences Institute.

Education

The ANU College of Science runs three education programs in Indigenous communities, covering the fields of biodiversity and land management, seismology, rock art dating and mathematics.

• Australian Seismometers in Schools, including collaborations with APY Lands communities, Research School of Earth Sciences.
• Both-ways learning and research on biodiversity in remote Arnhem Land communities, including capacity building for rangers and youth in remote communities, Research School of Biology.