Zena Cumpston in Conversation with Michael-Shawn Fletcher & Bruce Pascoe

To celebrate NAIDOC 2020 ‘Always Was, Always Will Be’, Science Faculty and the Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences (FVAS) will host a conversation between Aboriginal faculty members Bruce Pascoe (Yuin, Bunurong, Tasmanian), Michael-Shawn Fletcher (Wiradjuri) and Zena Cumpston (Barkandji). Grounded in a quote from Oodgeroo (of the Noonuccal people of North Stradbroke Island) ‘The past is all about us and within’, this event will explore Australia’s First Peoples’ interactions with and active management of Country over time.

Past, present and future will intermingle as we discuss the illuminations of the past as integral to our journey together in meeting the multiple challenges we collectively face.

A recording of the yarn will be provided to attendees prior to the event on Wednesday 11th November.

This will be ciriculated via email along with the Zoom link. Attendees are then invited to join Zena Cumpston and Michael-Shawn Fletcher for a Q&A Panel on Wednesday 11th November from 12:30PM, to explore these ideas further. If you have any questions in relation to the event please feel free to contact Siobhan Vivian (Indigenous Development Partner) at s.vivian@unimelb.edu.au

Recording of yarn between Zena Cumpston, Bruce Pascoe & Michael-Shawn Fletcher https://youtu.be/PO5frpEBycs

Zoom link for live Q&A Panel with Zena Cumpston and Michael-Shawn Fletcher https://unimelb.zoom.us/j/87312752233?pwd=eXNabUw2VkFpaWcySFlyTkxxRnRxQT09

Zena Cumpston is a Barkandji woman currently working as a Research Fellow for the Clean Air Urban Landscapes Hub at the University of Melbourne, funded by the Australian Government’s National Environmental Science Program. Zena’s research centres around Aboriginal perspectives of biodiversity in urban areas. She recently released a free e-book exploring Aboriginal plant use.

Associate Professor Michael-Shawn Fletcher is a descendant of the Wiradjuri and a geographer interested in the long-term interactions between humans, climate, disturbance, vegetation and landscapes in the southern hemisphere with a particular emphasis on how Indigenous burning has shaped the Australian landscape. He is Director of Research Capability at the Indigenous Knowledge Institute, Assistant Dean (Indigenous) in the Faculty of Science at the University of Melbourne, and a panel member of the Australian Research Council College of Experts.

Bruce Pascoe, a Yuin, Bunurong and Tasmanian man, recently joined the University of Melbourne as Enterprise Professor in Indigenous Agriculture within the School of Agriculture and Food. Previously, Mr Pascoewas Adjunct Professor of Indigenous Knowledge in the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney and holds a Bachelor of Education from the University of Melbourne. Mr Pascoe has a significant record of researching and communicating indigenous agriculture and received the 2019 UTS Vice-Chancellor’s Social Justice and Human Rights Award. His insights into pre-colonial Aboriginal systems of food production and land stewardship are highly valuable for researchers and is important to consider in the context of an agricultural nation dependent on introduced crops in a changing climate.