The Wukindi Rom Project: Dispute Resolution Aboriginal-Style

The Yolngu (Aborigines) of northern Australia will join with leading exponents of mediation to offer a cross-cultural workshop in dispute resolution this June. The Wukindi Rom Project seeks to engage people in an exploration of the similarities and differences of approach between indigenous and non-indigenous peace-making. Within indigenous communities there are traditional ways that have been practiced for a very long time to bring people together. Wukindi, for example, is an Aboriginal peace-making ceremony used to resolve disputes, promote group decision-making, and heal damaged relationships between individuals, families, and nations. The overlap between the traditional and non-indigenous processes of conflict resolution is considerable according to organizer Paul Tolliday.

The Aboriginal custodians of the sacred Wukindi ceremony wish to make it available to the wider non-indigenous community and allow it to evolve as a 21st century rite-of-passage for people engaged in cross-cultural dispute resolution. The Wukindi Rom Project will be held over five days at the end of June in one homeland of the Yolngu of north-east Arnhem Land – the community of Galiwin’ku.

One hundred participants between the ages of 18-30 will gather from all over Australia. Fifty percent will be indigenous and 50 percent will be non-indigenous. All participants will have undergone prior training in mediation. This unique experience is planned to become an annual event in Australia. According to Tolliday, it will contribute towards national reconciliation by building a network of cross-cultural mediators and mentors, and by assisting young Australians to understand and value traditional ways of resolving disputes within indigenous communities.

Ian McIntosh is a senior consultant at Cultural Survival.