The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) has welcomed the findings of a review into Australia’s national institutions in Canberra conducted Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on the National Capital and External Territories.
Among the recommendations were that AIATSIS be relocated to the Parliamentary Triangle, with an expansion of the institute’s remit and facilities to constitute a comprehensive national institution focused on the history, culture and heritage of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
The review recommended that the new facility be a national resting place for repatriated ancestral remains that could not immediately be returned to country.
Chief Executive of AIATSIS, Craig Ritchie (pictured) said an Indigenous national institution within the Parliamentary Zone was critically important to the nation.
“It is essential that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people curate our own stories to the nation and the world,” Mr Ritchie said.
“This is part of AIATSIS’s role and a function that cannot be replicated by other institutions.
“The idea of a comprehensive national institution focused on the history, culture and heritage of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, is an idea whose time has come.”
He said calls for the creation of a national resting place for repatriated ancestral remains that cannot be immediately returned to country were longstanding.
“We believe the creation of such a place will be a critical component of an iconic and enduring institutional representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples’ unique place as central to the national story,” Mr Ritchie said.
“A national resting place will provide a place for people to gather for reflection, education and learning. It will be a place for the individual and for all, and create a focal point to assist in the nation’s healing process.”
The Standing Committee’s 137-page report, Telling Australia’s Story – and Why it’s Important, can be accessed at this PS New link.
