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Reflections on Thirty Years of Fieldwork with Indigenous People
Abstract
INTRODUCTION The conduct of fieldwork is an adventure, a voyage into the unknown. How will the local Indigenous people receive me? What will I say I am doing? What will I say is my purpose? How will I introduce myself? I have several times had the opportunity to reflect on my fieldwork, which was most often conducted among remote Indigenous groups, initially in Australia and then wider afield in Thailand, the Philippines, and Africa. I am struck by the significant amount of time, effort, and resources lost as I discovered how to conduct fieldwork efficiently. Although my experiences during that initial learning period may have been character building, it is clear that much time and expense of field support could have been saved had I been well versed in fieldwork prior to venturing into the field for an extended period. My purpose in reviewing the manner in which I undertook fieldwork over the last thirty years is not to justify the information I obtained or the analyses I undertook but to provide an overview about how I conducted fieldwork in the hope that researchers venturing into the field for the first time might better understand and be prepared to conduct fieldwork. In undertaking this task let me start by relating my introduction to fieldwork. Having finally arrived in a remote Indigenous community that was to be our family’s home for some years to come, it was time to meet the local people. My first foray into the camp where the local Indigenous people lived was a case of a stroll along a path that wound its way between the family encampments of the various clan groups situated along the low ridge behind the beach. It was late afternoon when the women and children had returned from gathering bush food and the men had returned from hunting.
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