With the establishment of a Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry in Queensland under recently enacted the Path to Treaty Act 2023, government agencies, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the broader community will embark on an unprecedented journey of discovery and reflection as they deepen their understanding of the impacts and effects of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and their communities and culture.
Meaningful truth-telling and healing is built on this understanding of Queensland’s shared history and a transparent assessment of the impacts and effects of colonisation. Historical records will play an important role in revealing the truth about the impacts of past legislation, and government policy and practices, on the lives of First Nations peoples and their communities and culture.
As the custodian of the largest documentary heritage collection about Queensland, Queensland State Archives recognises that many of the records contained within the collection provide vital evidence of this past and is committed to uncover the untold and unrecognised history of Queensland.
Since the arrival of Europeans in Queensland, colonial systems have been forced upon Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The colonial records that document this contain highly sensitive personal and/or cultural information, and access to these records has often been restricted by the relevant government agencies. These restrictions can remain in place for a very long time, limiting access to these records and the information contained within them. Consequently, it is more difficult for the Inquiry, First Nations individuals and communities, and the respective government agencies to understand what these records reveal about our colonial past – it is more difficult to make this open and everyone’s business.
This presents a significant challenge for Queensland State Archives and the government agencies involved in administering access to these records. How do we facilitate access to these records while still respecting the personal information contained within them? How do we facilitate access to these records while honouring and respecting the culturally sensitive information contained within them? How do we open access while working within the constraints of existing legislation? How do we support the aspirations of the Truth-telling and Healing Inquiry in understanding our shared history and documenting the impacts of colonisation on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples when access to these records is restricted? How do we partner with our stakeholders to help us provide access to this information?
In this presentation, Queensland State Archives will explore some of the strategies being implemented to make this information more discoverable and support a more transparent approach to accessing these records so that Queensland’s colonial past and its impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is better understood
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[Session 6E]: Anti-racismAuthor KeywordsData sovereignty, First Nations Perspectives, Open access publishing
