Tell us about your personal vision for your organisation:
The KM people’s vision is to work together as a community to establish a solid foundation towards independence, community wellbeing, and cultural identity now and for future generations of KM people. KMAC’s Cultural Heritage business addresses each element of our vision: taking ownership and responsibility for managing our cultural heritage; ensuring as many KM people get to experience and learn more about their own heritage; and developing a sustainable business model that provides employment opportunities at the same time.
KMAC’s Cultural Heritage business has been operational for nearly two years now. In that time we have generated over $2m in revenue from providing heritage-related services to resource companies and government agencies and project management services to other Aboriginal corporations. Over 100 KM people are now trained and registered to participate in heritage-related services and 50% of our revenue is paid directly back to KM participants in the form of wages. We also use our income to fund various culturally related community projects.
How have you managed to balance organisational/business culture and Aboriginal Culture?
It is a very delicate balancing act which constantly evolves over time as we monitor our business performance and look at opportunities to expand our operations. From a ‘commercial’ perspective, the KMAC Board of Directors oversee the strategic direction while our Heritage Sub-Committee, which consists of 10 respected and knowledgeable Elders chosen by the KM community, provide cultural advice and authority. The combination of staff, directors and Elders working together ensures that the business is respectful of our cultural protocols while at the same time delivering a service that meets the needs of the KM community and our customers.
What value does having this balance bring to your organisation/business?
We uphold our vision of working together to establish solid foundations. Importantly, in this way, we continually reassert our legitimacy with the KM community and get a diversity of opinions that allows the business to evolve and be innovative in a culturally respectful manner.
LEADERS WE LOVE
Franklin Gaffney
Kuruma Marthudunera Aboriginal Corporation
The Kuruma Marthudunera Aboriginal Corporation (KMAC) represents and advances the economic, cultural and social interests of the Kuruma and Marthudunera people (K&M people) in their dealings with the wider community, government and the corporate sector. We are an expanding organisation based in Karratha with responsibility to implement a number of native title agreements.
KMAC has established a very well respected and professional Cultural Heritage Unit which manages cultural heritage services for and on behalf of the K&M people. This includes managing heritage surveys, cultural awareness training, managing compliance with native title agreements, liaising with resource companies and relevant government agencies, and managing the preservation of artefacts and traditional cultural knowledge.