Research: Indigenous automation in the Brewarrina fish and Budj Bim eel systems

Despite principles of automation underpinning the design and operation of many Indigenous agricultural and aquacultural practices, contemporary engineering and technological debates regarding automation exclude Indigenous perspectives. The Brewarrina fish traps, devised by the Ngemba peoples, are estimated to be one of the oldest human technologies and worked to automate fish farming. The eel systems at Budj Bim are a vast aquaculture network designed by Gunditjmara peoples to manage and automate the flow of eels and fish. We propose that case studies on these systems make for effective and authentic cross-cultural science curriculum.

There are challenges when teaching both western and Indigenous knowledges. Dr. Nicholas Ruddell has developed the Mutual Cultural Responsivity framework to enable a cross-cultural space and effectively teach western and Indigenous knowledges together in STEM education.