Access the Indigenous Referencing Guidance for Indigenous Knowledges by clicking the image below.

   

We expect the Indigenous Knowledge Attribution Toolkit (IKAT) to be of particular use to students and library staff. This includes a decision tree to provide guidance for assessing content and attribution, as well as a citation and referencing guide with examples that include Indigenous attribution.

Acknowledgements:

CAVAL and the IAC project team would like to thank those who provided their consideration, input and feedback on the resource, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members, the Yoowinna Wurnalung Aboriginal Healing Service, Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Advisory Committee at Museums Victoria, and other members of the Indigenous Archives Collective.

When referencing this resource, we suggest using the following citation:

Indigenous Archives Collective; Faulkhead, S; Thorpe, K; Sentance, N; Booker, L; & R Barrowcliffe. (2023) Indigenous Referencing Guidance for Indigenous Knowledges. Indigenous Archives Collective and the UTS Jumbunna Institute of Indigenous Education and Research.

Feedback:

If you would like to provide feedback on the Indigenous Knowledge Attribution Toolkit at any stage, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

We are also happy for you to send through questions you may have.

To find out more about the IAC and contact them, you can visit their website, read their blog post about the project, send them an This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., or contact them on Twitter.

Future plans:

With the intention of the Indigenous Knowledge Attribution Toolkit to be a living guiding principles document regarding citation practices, elements to consider, and issues which may arise when referencing Indigenous Knowledges within Victoria, it will be updated every 3 years based on consultations.

Timeline:

June 2025 – external feedback on the Indigenous Knowledge Attribution Toolkit to be provided by non-CAVAL members

September – November 2025 – Feedback from staff and students from CAVAL member institutions to be sought

December 2025 – April 2026 – Feedback provided to the Indigenous consultation partner for consideration and/or implementation

May 2026 – Next version of the Indigenous Referencing Guidance for Indigenous Knowledges to be published

For librarians:

Do you want to use the Indigenous Referencing Guidance for Indigenous Knowledges?

We strongly encourage you to use the Indigenous Referencing Guidance for Indigenous Knowledges with your student cohorts. As it is licensed under a CC-BY-NC-SA licence it allows reusers to distribute, remix, adapt, and build upon the material in any medium or format for noncommercial purposes only, and only so long as attribution is given to the creator. If you remix, adapt, or build upon the material, you must license the modified material under identical terms.

As the guidance is specifically created for a Victorian context, with consultation sought from the Indigenous knowledge centres (or equivalent) at CAVAL member institutions, the Museums Victoria Aboriginal Cultural Advisory Group, and the Yoowinna Wurnalung Aboriginal Healing Service, consultation with local Indigenous communities would need to be undertaken prior to implementing these guidelines at a location outside Victoria.

Do you want to stay up to date with the news surrounding the Indigenous Referencing Guidance for Indigenous Knowledges?

While this webpage will be revised regularly with any relevant updates, we encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter to be the first to be notified of them.