The Intercultural Practice of Local Governance in an Aboriginal Settlement in Australia

Drawing on research undertaken at a remote Aboriginal settlement, the paper describes the interpersonal interactions occurring in the practice of local governance, by conceptualising an intercultural field on which actors from a variety of institutional positions practice. Local governance in Kowanyama exhibited a political pluralism, encompassing a complex array of competing and at times balancing interests. Informal and formal checks and balances operated to curb the excesses of leaders. There was considerable diversity in the personal characteristics of leaders and of local organizations and forums. The pluralism and specialisation observed was an innovative response to the complexity of local governance and indicative of a political maturity in leadership and their constituency. Critical to local governance was productive relationships operating locally between leaders and trusted outsiders. The bulk of administrative burden was borne by a surprisingly small number of leaders and trusted outsiders, raising questions about how to broaden public participation in decision-making. The paper concludes by encouraging researchers and commentators to move beyond the notion of a narrow interface between monolithic opposing cultures, to the rich sociality that is occurring in the intercultural practice of local governance.