It is no secret Indigenous wisdom is being tapped in the bid to stop climate change. Overseas, the traditional forest management of the Dayak people in Indonesian Borneo, sees them rotate land use to allow forests to regenerate. In the Pacific Northwest in the US, the Indigenous Swinomish Indian Tribe is reviving a 3,500-year-old subsistence clam farming technique to shore up shellfish numbers. At home, in Western Arnhem Land, an Indigenous-led cohort is blending modern scientific data and ancient knowledge to implement cultural burns earlier in the year to account for drier seasons, reducing bushfire risk.
But curiously, in fashion, a sector traditionally at the cutting edge and built on challenging the status quo, there has been little incorporation of First Nations-held knowledge by those pursuing a sustainable future.
“A lot of businesses jump straight to the business need rather than focusing on a shift of worldview and prioritising building relationships with First Nations people,” observes Yatu Widders Hunt, an advocate for Indigenous fashion and general manager at social change agency Cox Inall Ridgeway.
Here in Australia, a nation spurred by intrepid ideas, the opportunity as an industry-shaping approach is huge. That it is a relatively untapped area
