A Low-Cost Framework for the Digital Preservation of Indigenous Artwork and Languages: An Australian Case Study Review

Abstract

This study examined a framework for a low-cost, sustainable solution to the challenge of the Indigenous digital preservation of culture in the form of artwork and languages. In a global sense, the traditional transfer of Indigenous culture runs the risk of information loss and inconsistency when Indigenous cultural groups compete alongside mainstream Western cultural systems. Indigenous Australian culture has been passed down through traditional means from old to young, with many works of art, and discrete languages transferred without written, printed or digitised record. The study examines the challenges associated with the process of language and artwork pertaining to Indigenous Western Australians. A qualitative study using four case studies from the Kalgoorlie area of Western Australia was undertaken. All four case studies showed difficulty in adapting to digital technology for the long-term preservation of art and languages. The research findings suggest that the challenges associated with Indigenous digital preservation is due to a range of factors that collectively work to prevent or reduce the effectiveness of preservation strategies in remote and rural areas. Using these findings, the authors propose a Work Integrated Learning Digital Object Framework (WILDOF) as a sustainable, low-cost approach to the archival management of Indigenous material.