Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au

1. Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au Visualising Contemporary Land Use

2. Mapping in Native Title doesn’t have to be just marking sacred sites or drawing boundaries. Data visualisation can bring to light new complexities or quickly simplify a conceptual jumble. Think creatively! Mapping in Native Title Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au

3. In the QSNTS area there is limited continuing knowledge of sacred sites useful for Native Title claims. • However, mapping contemporary use of land can reveal a detailed picture of life lived on country – the contemporary exercise of traditional practices and the core of Native Title evidence. Traditional Land Use and Occupancy Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au

4. GIS is a simple tool that allows you to: • Visualise • Compare • Interpret • Analyse Why GIS? Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au

5. As something always happens somewhere most data sets can be represented visually. As Native Title is fundamentally a question of relationships to land, mapping the somethings of life past and present in the somewhere of country can be very useful. Visualise What? Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au

6. Maps can be used to show continuing associations with country through visualising: • Hunting and fishing sites • Foraging and harvest sites • Camp sites • Caring for country (areas of weed control, feral animal eradication, burning off) • Bush medicine sites • Animal and human trails • Important animal sites (nests, hatcheries, dens, protected areas) • Vegetation (weeds, native vegetation, different varieties) • Bio-regions (dry/wet sclerophyll, Mitchell grass downs etc.) • Hydrological features (drainages, inter-tidal zones, seasonal watercourses/wetlands) • Demographics • As well as: • Story or sacred sites • Traditional boundaries or contemporary boundaries Visualise What? Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au

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12. All of these visualisations help to build a clear and detailed picture of contemporary use of the claim area and surrounds. Strengths and weaknesses can become abundantly clear – some types of usage are favoured, some regions of the claim appear unvisited. Visualise What? Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au

13. Once you have data mapped, GIS layers can be used to compare quickly and easily and to interrogate data. Make use of existing data sets from other sources (GeoSciences Australia, www.ga.gov.au; Google Map Engine) – including the research of colleagues in differing disciplines (Geography, Hydrology, Ecology, Archaeology etc.) or contact rangers working in and around the claim. Don’t be afraid to take an interdisciplinary approach to data comparisons. Making Comparisons Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au

14. Other possibilities for comparisons could include: • Demographics of use and occupancy – which generations are accessing country? Where? When? For what purposes? • Seasonal use – what types of use occur in different seasons? • Use and occupancy spread – which areas are most visited? • How do the spread of activities (such as hunting) compare with: hydrological features of the landscape? Topography? Bio-regions? Animal and human trails? • How have vegetation types (such as weeds) increased or decreased over time? Is this related to caring for country activities? Making Comparisons Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au

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16. Things are not always as they may first appear. Correlation does not equal causation. Areas of “empty” usage on the claim area may simply reflect harsh or generally inaccessible terrain, or perhaps an infestation of invasive weeds. A conglomeration of sites may not necessarily reflect a diversity of uses; just as a scarcity of sites may not necessarily imply a lack of detailed knowledge. Visualisations of data may not always reflect accurately the actual use and access of the claim group – known sites are different from accessed sites. Interpreting data Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au

17. Access expert information where required to assist in interpreting data (www.ga.gov.au). There are useful field guides published by professional botanists, ecologists, resource managers and developers (http://www.santos.com/library/Santos_Qld_Field_Guide.pdf). Contact your Parks and Wildlife authorities or State and Federal Environmental Department websites (www.environment.gov.au) Interpreting data Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au

18. What does the visual picture help illustrate about continuity? Dis-continuity? Change and adaptation? It’s important to bear in mind that maps are only as good or bad as the data used to generate them. Maps can only help to interpret, elaborate and illustrate features already present in the data; they are no substitute for a good connection report. BUT they can greatly assist the arguments, analysis and overall drive of a connection report. Analysis Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au

19. Before beginning a project make sure you have a clear goal and project design as well as a long-term plan and strategy for how the maps will, might or could be used by yourself and others. This is critical for sourcing and formatting your data sets and most importantly – for designing and maintaining your database. It is of the utmost importance to have a logical, accurate and well maintained database that you can expand in the future if necessary to continue to add further categories to your data sets. Developing a good plan and strategy will ensure the longevity, scope and overall usefulness of your GIS project. Other considerations Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au

20. Tobias, T. (2000). Chief Kerry’s Moose: a guidebook to land use and occupancy mapping research design and data collection. Union of BC Indian Chiefs and Ecotrust Canada. (http://www.ubcic.bc.ca/Resources/tus.htm#axzz2KadxHVNA) • Tobias, T. (2010). Living Proof: The Essential Data-Collection Guide for Indigenous Use-and-Occupancy Map Surveys. Ecotrust Canada. • Brody, H. (1997). Maps and Dreams: Indians and the British Columbia Frontier. Waveland Press. • Geosciences Australia (www.ga.gov.au) • Santos field guide to Trees and Shrubs of Eastern QLD Gasfields (http://www.santos.com/library/Santos_Qld_Field_Guide.pdf) • http://livingatlas.org/ - Nuu-Chah-Nulth GIS project, Clayoquot Sound – Vancouver Island. • http://www.nativemaps.org/ - mapping resources, news and forums for practitioners working with Aboriginal peoples. Sources and resources Queensland South Native Title Services www.qsnts.com.au