Dan Holmes writes about the newly launched Australian Message Stick Database in The Mandarin, pointing out its significance for policy makers:
In the context of a failing Indigenous policy environment, this might seem like low-priority research. But in the wake of the failed referendum on a voice to parliament, many leading indigenous figures have argued the loss reflects a lack of general understanding about Australian Indigenous cultures and a lack of interest in history.
From a political perspective, it’s the mutually agreed-upon narratives that matter more than the truth in a lot of cases — a frustration for more hard-nosed policymakers.
Artefacts like message sticks not only serve an important role in research but remind Australians of the antiquity, complexity and continuity of Aboriginal cultures. The fact researchers had to search the world for information on a distinctly Australian artefact itself points to the way Indigenous Australians were severed from their own culture during the long process of colonisation.