4. Heritage values

Knowledge of the environment and an inherent responsibility of First Nations peoples to maintain all living species, places or objects is passed down through generations in stories, songlines, totems and languages.¹¹¹⁹ These values form part of the cultural knowledge held by Traditional Owners. Managing agencies, such as the Reef Authority, are working with Traditional Owners to ascertain whether it is desirable or appropriate to share knowledge for reporting and management purposes.¹¹²⁰

A songline is a track across the land, sky or sea following a journey of a Creation Ancestor.¹¹⁰⁴ Songlines are recorded in Creation stories, songs, paintings and dance. A knowledgeable person is able to navigate across the land by repeating the words of the songs describing the location of landmarks, waterholes, and other natural phenomena. First Nations people could navigate vast distances by singing the songs in the appropriate sequence. Songlines that bind land and sea country together can also provide information about the history of an area. For example, the Gunggandji language name for Fitzroy Island is Gulnyjarubay, which means ‘fist’, and indicates that what used to be the ‘wrist’ and ‘arm’ of a once big mountain on previous coastal plains had been submerged by the rising sea.¹¹²¹

The inherent location-based importance of stories, songlines, totems and languages, which can span land and sea, means other uses and pressures on an area can break, damage or displace these values.³³⁸ Because rising sea levels and other disruptive natural phenomena could threaten communal survival, First Nations peoples have placed a high value on codifying memories of such events and collective responses to them.¹¹²² Ancient stories survived relatively intact over many generations because they effectively communicated vital information.^{1122,1123,1124}

A totem is a natural object, plant or animal that is inherited by individual members of a clan or family as their spiritual emblem. Totems are an important part of the cultural identity of First Nations peoples and can be incorporated in song, dance, music, and tools.¹¹⁰²Totems are central to the way that Traditional Owners care for Country by putting people in direct custodial relationship with a species.¹¹²⁵ Totems define the roles and responsibilities of people and their relationships — with each other, to creation and the landscape of their Country. 

First Nations people have a responsibility to play an active role in managing their totem physically and spiritually, such as by reducing impacts and protecting its condition, and conducting ceremonies. For example, the Badjgal (green sea turtle) is an important totem of the Mandubarra peoples and activities that impact this species would be of concern to the Mandubarra peoples.⁷⁶ Mandubarra people are managing their Country and their totems through a Traditional Use of Marine Resources Agreement.

Across the Region, managers (and western scientists) do not have a comprehensive understanding of which plant or animal species are important totems to Traditional Owner groups. Through knowledge sharing, where culturally appropriate, Traditional Owners and others can work collaboratively towards the sustainable management of totem species. Overall, recorded knowledge is lacking and the condition of this component is inferred as poor.