Totem Talk

Overview: Universities Australia committed to the first national Indigenous Strategy in 2017, calling for all Australian universities to be more inclusive, representative, and respectful of Indigenous Peoples and their knowledges. Embedding Indigenous knowledges and perspective into teaching and learning activities is critical to achieving these goals. We investigated the use of ‘totemic species’ in an undergraduate Biodiversity and Conservation course and linked it to species recovery. The concept of totemism, or spirit animal, refers to cultural connection with a species that is revered and or protected has cultural significance and consequently requires respectful behaviour. Totemism can be used as a tool for conservation management, and it is believed that it could have considerable positive conservation outcomes as a tool for global conservation initiatives.