Indigenous Philosophy for gardiyas by Professor Stephen Muecke (Notre-Dame Australia)

Some gardiya academics, white people like myself, take an interest in the emerging field of Indigenous philosophy. In Australia, the massive knowledge of Indigenous Australians consolidated and refined over 60,000 years has been happily filtered and translated in departments of Anthropology, History, and English, but Philosophy, for the most part, has taken little interest. Even ‘Australian Philosophy’ is ephemeral. Anthropologists W E H Stanner and A P Elkin were a little philosophically minded, but they were encountering often unidentified ‘Aboriginal men of high degree’ and it was clear which way the knowledge was flowing. More recently, we have seen interventions from Bill Neidje, Paddy Roe, David Mowaljarlai, Mary Graham, Wanta Jampijinpa Pawu, Max Brierty, Tyson Yunkaporta and others.

These indigenous philosophers, having been transcribed or writing in English, are forging pathways towards an Indigenous philosophy. But where is it situated? Are there any courses in philosophy departments? Is it on Country? Does it belong in books?

This talk explores some issues to do with the movement and maintenance of knowledges deemed philosophical. How, guided by elders, can such an emergent field of Indigenous Philosophy listen to Country, be relevant to contemporary matters of concern, and become the only logical foundation for what ‘Australian philosophy’ might look like in the future?