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Nurturing Indigenous culture in design

TJC

Updated: Nov 3, 2020


This time last week, I had the absolute privilege of being a keynote speaker at the inaugural Indigenous Design Symposium hosted by the University of Melbourne.

I gave my speech, Nurturing Indigenous Culture in Design,which shared our law firm, Terri Janke and Company's insights on IP laws, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property, as well as our True Tracks Protocols and how to embed protocols in design practice.

On Friday, I also had the opportunity to take part in a Yarning Circle with some of the other Symposium speakers.

With Dr. Albert Refiti, Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland. We both took part in the Yarning Circle.

With Dr. Albert Refiti, Senior Lecturer at the University of Auckland. We both took part in the Yarning Circle.

The theme of the Symposium is,

Go Back to Where You Came From: Indigenous Design - Past | Present | Future.

Through this theme I was able to tap into my own Filipino heritage, with a Philippine national proverb being,

“Those who do not look back at where they came from, will never get to their destination.”

I reflected on and shared this in my speech in my own Cebuano indigenous language.

So much more than this though was what I learned. Over 3 days, I met so many talented and prolific Indigenous creators from around the world – architects, typographers, visual artists, interior designers, fashion designers, writers, planners, researchers and educators from South Africa, United States, New Zealand, Canada, El Salvador, Samoa, and of course from home in Australia. They shared their design values, processes, failures and successes.

They’re also just really amazing humans to hang out with. We had the opportunity to spend a day exploring Brambuk Cultural Centre in Halls Gap, Gariwerd (Grampians). We learned some boomerang throwing and didgeridoo playing techniques, tried bush tucker foods, and got architect Greg Burgess' insight to his design consultation and collaboration process in creating Brambuk as a special place for living Indigenous culture.

Through these experiences, I absorbed so many different perspectives and lessons that will only make me better at the work I do as a lawyer protecting Indigenous creators' legal and cultural rights.

Thank you very much to Jefa and the University of Melbourne School of Design team for the invitation!

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© 2025, Terri Janke and Company

All professional photography by Jamie James at James Photographic Services and Stephen Wilson Barker.​

The painting 'Terri - Butterfly Flowers Dreaming' by Bibi Barba has been used under license in the firm photographs, including for staff profiles.

The painting  'Ancient Tracks and Waterholes' (2019) by Rene Kulitja has been used under license in some firm photographs on the TJC website homepage, staff profiles, careers and services pages. Visit Maruku Arts for more work by Rene Kulitja.

The visual artwork ‘Freshwater Lagoon 1’ by Lisa Michl Ko-manggen has been used under license in some photographs and videos. Visit Cape York Art for more work by Ko-manggen.

The painting ‘My Country’ by Bibi Barba has been used under license in some photographs and Law Way videos. Visit Bibi's website.

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CREDITS

Terri Janke and Company acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the lands on which we live and work.
We acknowledge the Bidjigal People, the custodians of the Country where our office is located.

We extend our respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples throughout Australia. We recognise their ongoing connection to land, sea and skies. We pay our respects to their knowledge, and to the Elders past and present.

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