Dr Katherine Aigner

Katherine’s PhD was in Indigenous Studies at the National Centre of Indigenous Studies at ANU, under Professor Mick Dodson. Her doctoral thesis was a history, biography and ethnography of well-known Aboriginal cultural custodian and knowledge holder, Lorraine Mafi-Williams, who invited Katherine into her teaching camp to film her over a 3 year period. In 2001, she travelled with Wiradjuri advocate Isabel Coe on a cultural tour of England, Ireland and Wales, where Isabel lit fires for Peace and Justice at ancient sites of significance. Since then she has continued working collaboratively with Indigenous groups and cultural knowledge holders to preserve and promote cultural heritage and local knowledges.

She worked at the National Museum of Australia and for over 10 years collaborated with the Vatican Museum's ethnographic section: Anima Mundi – Peoples, Arts, Cultures, culturally reconnecting their Indigenous collections with source communities around the world. During this time, as well as curating inter-cultural exhibitions, she was centrally involved in the publication of 4 large format edited books of 400 pages each profiling Indigenous communities and the Anima Mundi collections: Ethnos (2012), The Americas (2015), Australia (2017) and Oceania (2022).

Communities and Community Organisations engagement:

Clans (or nations) in New South Wales since 1997: Bundjalung, Ngarakwal, Githabaul, Birripi, Thungutti. Community engagement from 2010 -2017: Tiwi people on Bathurst and Melville Islands (Northern Territory), Wunambal (Kalari) and Kwini language groups (Kalumburu, Western Australia) and Yuin community, New Norcia (Western Australia). Native and First Nations peoples in the Americas from Alaska to Tierra Del Fuego regarding their museum collections (2011-2014). Specifically: Inuit and Yup’ik Kwakwakwatlu and Haid (Alaska), Lakota (South Dakota), Hopi, Pueblo peoples (New Mexico), Taino (Cuba), Koguis, Guahibos (Colombia), Shuar (Ecuador), Shipibo (Peru), Qom (Argentina), Yahgan (Chile). Quechua e Aymara (Andes Peru). Community engagement in Oceania includes in: Vanuatu, New Caledonia, French Polynesia (Marquesas, Mangareva, Tuamotu Islands), Hawaii, Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Aotearoa New Zealand, Papua (Sepik River), Bougainville, Micronesia (Palau, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Guam).

BA(ANU) PhD(ANU)