Takin' care of business: Collaboration, equity and respect for Indigenous culture in tertiary education

Takin’ care of Business. Including culture in the curriculum can be a challenge. How do an Indigenous unit and its staff respond to the myriad of responses to our culture? How can we stop culture, pedagogy and research from being done the wrong way without becoming marginalized or trivialized? The Centre for Indigenous Education and Research at Australian Catholic University has centres at all of its campuses and the Indigenous coordinators have many and varied roles. One such role is to work with faculties and their staff to ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content and perspectives are appropriately included. An example is the relationship that has built up over time between Indigenous staff and the Staff from the School of Arts and Sciences. This paper will discuss the experiences of the Indigenous staff and their interactions, the development of the relationship(s) and how these can be used as examples and models of collaborative and engaging partnerships that are culturally appropriate. It will discuss the rewarding but often rocky road that leads to authentic and continuing working relationships that are unafraid to discuss issues about culture and communication.