I would strongly encourage anybody interested in indigenous thinking or sustainability to read the First Knowledges series edited by Margo Neale.
The first book in the series Songlines: The Power and Promise is co-authored by Neale and Lynne Kelly. Neale is an expert on indigenous history, while Kelly is an expert on mnemonic devices and memory. In Songlines they tackle many myths of aboriginal society, one of the most egregious being that Aboriginal people were lucky to survive in Australia.
Book 2, Design: Building on Country discusses incorporating indigenous design into modern architecture. More than just at the superficial level. Co-author Alison Page is world renowned for her culturally appropriate architectural services, while Paul Memmot is the Director of the Aboriginal Environments Research Centre at The University of Queensland. Both authors discuss the critical need for indigenous people to be involved at every level of the project. One striking factoid presented noted that many Aboriginal people would rather pull extension cords into traditional shelters/homes/humpies/gunyah instead of live in government housing as government housing is unable to provide the necessary warmth in cold months, coolness in hot months, or appropriate social structure spacing required of Aboriginal society.
Another painful note was that aboriginal people have the worst hospital outcomes and are most likely to leave hospitals early against medical advice. Page partially attributes this to the design of modern hospitals going against much or all of aboriginal architecture and notes huge success when she was asked to work with Barkandji elders in Wilcannia.
Book 3, Country: Future Fire, Future Farming is co-authored by Bill Gammage (of The Biggest Estate on Earth: How Aborigines Made Australia) and Bruce Pascoe (of Dark Emu fame). Pascoe discusses aboriginal plants and farming techniques as potential saviours of modern poor water management practices, invasive species, and Aboriginal poverty. Gammage tackles fire vs no-fire, he notes both were conscious decisions made by the Aboriginal people across this continent.
