Garma Cultural Studies Institute (GCSI)

The Yothu Yindi Foundation is a community-based charitable organisation with a nationally significant, expanding set of cultural, health and economic programs. Incorporated in 1991, the Foundation was developed by Yolngu leaders of North East Arnhem Land with the aim of protecting, maintaining and developing Yolngu culture and creating economic and life opportunities for Yolngu and other Indigenous Australians. YYF consists of representatives from the five Yolngu clans - the Gumatj, Rirratjingu, Djapu, Galpu and Wangurri - who are the traditional owners for the North East Arnhem Land region.

The GCSI is as much an idea, or concept, as a place, resting on the understanding that for Yolngu education does not exist in isolation. The relationships between landscape, one’s ‘country’ and kin, is the keystone of all learning. It is central to Indigenous law, culture and identity. YYF’s mission through the GCSI is to sustain and extend Yolngu intellectual traditions and knowledge systems; develop partnership and collaborative relationships with places of learning, other Indigenous peoples and the wider community; and expand human knowledge in a spirit of mutual respect and tolerance, fostering greater understanding.

Over ten years this concept of the Garma Cultural Studies Institute has guided YYF’s educational initiatives. YYF now has an impressive educational record which includes:

• The Garma Key Educational Forum - Since 1999 this high-profile and respected 3-day forum has brought together Indigenous and non-Indigenous community , governmental and sectoral leaders, decision-makers and practitioners from the fields of education, politics, the arts, music, the law, environmental management and business to each year discuss and explore a particular issue of importance to Indigenous people across Australia.
• Collaborative research partnerships with Melbourne University, Sydney University, RMIT, and Charles Darwin University in the fields of music, languages and linguistics and natural and cultural resource management (NCRM)
• Partnerships with Melbourne University and Charles Darwin university to deliver higher education courses in Indigenous studies and knowledge systems, NCRM, languages and linguistics
• Partnerships with the Yirrkala and regional schools to extend music teaching and band development
• Sponsoring PhD students working in cross cultural contexts
• Hosting alcohol and drug diversionary and rehabilitation programs
• Linking knowledge exchange, education and training to the major ‘Healing Place’ project
• Providing tourism training in partnership with Dhimurru and CDU concurrent with the development of eco and cultural tourism opportunities

The idea of a ‘Bush University’ is a developing idea that continues to take shape, with an expanding set of partners, as we continue to explore the best ways to contribute to the livelihood and well being of Yolngu and Indigenous peoples across the nation. It has provided an avenue for removing ignorance and misunderstanding amongst Ngapaki (non-Indigenous people), and has brought Indigenous and non-indigenous Australians closer together through substantive sharing of knowledge and culture, and protecting and using Indigenous culture, which engenders social cohesion, cultural identity and community well-being.

GCSI has developed partnership arrangements to deliver components of Higher Education courses at Gulkula, by Yolngu Elders and teachers. The first of these partnerships was with the University of Melbourne and has now extended to other Universities, including Charles Darwin University, Sydney University and RMIT University. The Garma study units aim to introduce students to fieldwork and research in situ in Northeast Arnhem Land as guests of Yolngu. Students from a range of disciplines can learn Yolngu philosophy and culture, and contribute to the learning and research culture of the Yolngu.

The ideas behind the GCSI and the concept has evolved to be part of YYF’s broad agenda, celebrating and affirming the Key Educational Forum as a major part of the annual Garma Festival, now a nationally significant Indigenous cultural exchange event. Garma is a central plank in the Foundation’s overall GCSI effort, as it is effectively the hub of the “bush university” in practice, Fittingly, “Garma” is a Yolngu phrase and concept denoting “both ways” learning, implying balance and negotiation an integral element of the thinking and implementation of the GCSI program.