CONCEPTUALIZACIÓN DE EVALUACIÓN DE COMPETENCIAS

development that became the Umpiyara homeland Eco-Cultural Education Tourism Project, developed by two family members that was established as a private company working with a community based Aboriginal corporation to sustain culture and invite visitors to experience Aboriginal culture with Elders and senior teachers from the families of the two Anangu Elders. The second project was a collaborative community-based artwork project that became known as the Painting a Different Picture Project. This involved collaboration between senior community artists, external artists and two non-Indigenous people who were inspired and motivated by their relationship with the Anangu Elders.

The Umpiyara project began when Tjikatu said ‘I want to see buses with 60 people coming here every day’ (B. Tjikatu, Interview, 21 July 2012) and Kummunara said as we walked around Milk Tree Hill, his traditional land near Uluru outside the National Park, that he wanted to ‘establish an Anangu University’ (B. Randall, Interview, 16 August 2012). They both talked about establishing a cultural educational ecotourism business as bush camps for national and international tourists on Umpiyara

Homeland as well as ways to use this tourism venture to sustain and teach culture on country to the next generations. The next generation of family members of the Anangu Elders were inspired to develop these projects together. The discussions and establishment of their visions occurred over a two-year period from 2006 to 2008 and the first on country camping tour began in April 2008.

The Elders were moved to do this because of their desire to leave a legacy for the future of their children and grandchildren. Additionally, the need to have more control over their lives, their employment options and incomes, and self-management led the Elders to their visioning and to put those visions into action. They had specific cultural knowledge to share and there were people nationally and internationally who wanted to share in this knowledge and come to their country to learn. This was a way of building economic business gains and assisting younger people to engage in employment not otherwise available to them in this remote area. In terms of the principles of the sustainable livelihood approach in community development, this was a way of emerging from poverty. Engaging in their cultural education with non- Indigenous people could enable them to build a future for the Elders, their children and grandchildren.

Community members were inspired to have Mutitjulu become a Tourism Cultural

Education Hub for a range of service industries in cultural eco-tourism to employ the

whole community. Their actions in this engagement of transformational53 _community development were based on the seven guiding principles of the SLA.

3.8 Conclusion

In this chapter I shared the research, theories and literature which are vital to my research. From Erikson’s theory of stages of development, Kegan’s higher levels of thinking, the theories of family systems including families of origins and

dysfunctionality, to acculturation, racism and identity to sacred, visionary and outstanding leadership. These issues are all vital to the study of how I see my Elders develop into leaders who are TjukurpaPulka – showing cultural sacred Law in action in their lives, living the Tjukurpa on a daily basis. This is how Aboriginal Elders and society understood the emotional, mental, cultural and spiritual development of humans to such a deep degree, that they ensured the structure of their society and the learning education system enabled people to have the most successful psychological development path possible. Oral and observational learning is combined with ceremonial and spiritual experiences at just the correct time to ensure the successful transition from one stage to another in their human development process and the creation of Elders in their clans is an important cultural practice.

This is an important study to determine the historical traditional cultural and intergenerational passing on of traditions, values, and ways of being knowing and doing that are ancient and still taught in the modern world. Where other researchers have studied parts of this topic, there has been no study to show that Indigenous Eldership development is a holistic human development pathway that can grow a person to choose higher levels of thinking, being and doing and develop their leadership ability in a cultural context. Examining the parallels between western-led leadership education and the type of education and learning environment that Aboriginal people enjoyed and still do in some clan groups, it is possible to suggest that Aboriginal governance structures and society established a base in which a person would be held to grow up into an emotionally, mentally, spiritually and culturally powerful individual with their right to self-determination and self-sovereignty firmly established in this process of community education and life-long learning.

As I undertook this literature review and began to consider my research methodology I began to read the literature on Indigenist research methodologies in order to decide on my methodology. I considered my experience of being with these Anangu Elders over time and what I had learnt from them through observation, interaction and engagement. I noted that there was this specific way in which they behaved that was

part of their way of being and doing. It involved certain protocols, relationships, interactions and sharing and I wanted to craft it as an Indigenous research method.