Kirsten Thorpe

Kirsten Thorpe (Worimi, Port Stephens NSW) has led the development of protocols, policies, and services for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in libraries and archives in Australia. She was previously the Manager, Indigenous Services at the State Library of NSW. Kirsten is an invited member of the International Council on Archives Expert Group on Indigenous Matters.

Kirsten's recent articles

Unsettled - seeing First Nations histories represented in the Australian Museum

Unsettled - seeing First Nations histories represented in the Australian Museum

Museums, libraries and archives are traditionally not culturally safe spaces for First Nations peoples. As state institutions, they have supported the colonial process and they have privileged certain histories over others. The collections that they hold often position Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as objects or specimens of scientific and anthropological study. The historically biased nature of collecting institutions compounds the level of distrust they can raise for First Nations people, and access to them can cause significant discomfort when the materials deny or misrepresent First Nations peoples' lived cultures and experiences.

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