Reading between the lines: uncovering Butchulla history in the K’gari Research Archive

Archives are increasingly recognised as important tools in the truth-telling process. Often these same archives have been created without the consideration for Indigenous peoples’ selfdetermination and are sites of symbolic annihilation (Caswell, Cifor and Ramirez, 2016; Caswell et al., 2017; O’Sullivan, 2020). This research examines archives from an Indigenous user standpoint. It uses Indigenous research methodologies of Yarning and community-centred research to examine the representation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in institutional archives. This research provides an original contribution to knowledge through its unique framework to understand the many sites of symbolic annihilation in archives. The research is presented via two outputs: a creative artefact in the form of a mini-documentary series, exhibited in a curated gallery space; and this supporting exegesis. The exegesis includes a literature review that situates this research within the growing recognition of Indigenous rights in relation to archives, specifically right to know, right of reply, Indigenous cultural and intellectual property (ICIP) and Indigenous data sovereignty, but also, within the broader context of the evolving world of socially just archives. Underpinning the review and subsequent analysis of archives are the theoretical lenses of critical race theory and feminist standpoint theory, each of which were applied