Beyond tokenism: What it really takes to embed First Nations knowledge in universities
Listen to Episode 3 of the Higher Hopes Podcast now, wherever you get your podcasts!
Tracy Woodroffe is a Warumungu Luritja woman, senior lecturer at Charles Darwin University, and someone who doesn’t mince words about what’s broken in our system. When we sat down to talk, she immediately challenged the pompous exclusivity that defines higher education institutions.
“We have all of these, I dare say, pompous ideas about this higher education thing,” Tracy told me. “And we hold it to such high regard, high standards. And all we do in framing it that way is we create an exclusive environment where only some people are privileged and other people are just on the fringes.”
This resonates. I’ve seen it from the disability perspective – being brought into rooms solely to tick a box, to be “the disability voice” rather than being valued for the full breadth of what I bring to policy conversations. Tracy experiences this through an Indigenous lens: while there are key differences in our experiences, it’s these parallels that help us to connect.
The ownership question
One of Tracy’s most powerful points was about knowledge ownership. She was unflinching: “Indigenous perspectives are owned only by Indigenous people.”
This is about authenticity and respect. Tracy explained that non-Indigenous people can’t deliver Indigenous knowledge the same way an Indigenous person would, with the same perspective, understanding, and emphasis. They simply don’t have the lived experience that shapes how that knowledge is held and shared.
“So many people think that if they’re non-Indigenous, and it’s a majority of people, ‘cause you know, Indigenous people are a minority in the space... they’re delivering Indigenous content as Indigenous knowledge,” Tracy said. “They’re not delivering Indigenous knowledge. They might be delivering Indigenous content of something, some Indigenous content within their course.”
The solution? Partnership and acknowledgement. If a non-Indigenous person must deliver content informed by Indigenous knowledge, they need to be upfront: “I’m not an Indigenous person. The content within our course has been provided by this Indigenous person from this particular background.” And if you can hand over the microphone to someone who can deliver this perspective? Even better.
Beyond the label
Something that also resonated with me was Tracy’s frustration about being approached last for PhD supervision panels, clearly as the “Indigenous expert” tick-box rather than being recognised first for her expertise in education and pedagogy.
“I hate that with absolute passion because it’s so offensive that they didn’t pick me first to approach as an expert in that space,” she said. “Don’t you have a clue about how that might feel for me as an Indigenous person who is actually an expert in education and pedagogy and teacher education, minus the ‘Indigenous’ tag that people have decided to attach to me?”
I get this. In my work, I want to contribute to conversations about governance, about policy, about pedagogy – not just be the person constantly reminding everyone about alternative formats and Universal Design for Learning. We’re multifaceted people, not single-issue representatives, and we can’t speak on behalf of our entire community. Big model minority energy.
The glass ceiling still exists
Tracy shared her experience hitting a glass ceiling in mainstream education settings, despite being in specialist roles and supervising other teachers. Rather than waiting for someone else to give her opportunities, she took leave and found her own path.
This kind of vigilance – constantly having to prove yourself, to push against systems not built for you – is exhausting. It’s representative load, and it shouldn’t be the price of participation.
What gives me hope
Despite the challenges, Tracy sees huge potential for improvement. “There’s so much for us to be able to think about and do better, and I think that is positive,” she told me.
I’m choosing to hold onto that optimism. Real change happens when we stop tweaking around the edges and start imagining something genuinely different. It happens when we centre voices that have been systematically excluded and actually listen to what they’re telling us about how to build better institutions.
So here’s my challenge to you: Look around your institution. How many Indigenous people are in lecturing or leadership roles? How many students? What would genuine partnership look like in your context? What systems could you influence to make space for authentic collaboration rather than tokenistic consultation?
Listen to my full conversation with Dr Tracy Woodroffe now at higherhopespod.com. Her insights deserve your full attention, and I promise you’ll come away thinking differently about what transformation really requires.
