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🇦🇺 Australia /Culture & Society

Indigenous-led whale tour joins ancient knowledge with the present

From ABC Australia · () English

Summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

In-depth Named sources Context piece
  • Indigenous guide Jodi Edwards sings to whales in language during a tour off the coast of Shellharbour, Australia.
  • The tour connects modern whale behavior to the Illawarra coast's landscape from 60,000 years ago, incorporating Indigenous knowledge.
  • A U.S. scientist on the tour noted the natural complementarity between cultural stories and scientific observations of the environment.

An Indigenous-led whale-watching tour departing from Shellharbour on Australia's New South Wales South Coast offers a unique blend of ancient knowledge and contemporary observation. Tour guide Jodi Edwards, an Indigenous research fellow, engages with humpback whales by singing to them in her language, a practice she has performed for years. On a recent tour, a whale breached moments after she began singing, creating a palpable connection among those on board.

Whether it was coincidence or simply perfect timing, it created a connection that everyone on the boat seemed to feel.

— Kim Kirchberg-SawickiDescribing the moment a humpback whale breached shortly after the guide sang to it.

Dr. Edwards, affiliated with the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security, explains how the tour connects modern whale behavior to the Illawarra coast's landscape as it existed 60,000 years ago. She shares how ancient peoples adapted to rising sea levels and shifting food sources, moving closer to the current shoreline. The tour highlights the belief that whales may follow ancient pathways, referencing underwater artifacts that were once part of the land.

The shore level was about 17 kilometres further out to sea, and the people at the time realised the water was rising and their food was being cut off, so they came on shore closer to where the shoreline meets the water now.

— Jodi EdwardsExplaining how ancient coastal landscapes influenced human settlement and potentially whale migration patterns.

Kim Kirchberg-Sawicki, founder of Sustainable Seas Technology, a U.S.-based non-profit focused on reducing whale entanglement in fishing gear, attended the tour with her grandson. While her career has involved extensive data analysis of whale behavior, she sought a different perspective from Dr. Edwards's tour. "Indigenous communities have observed these waters and these animals for countless generations," Kirchberg-Sawicki stated, expressing curiosity about learning from this viewpoint.

We talk on the boat about how there are still artefacts under the sea that were once on land, and we believe that our whales are following some of the footprints of those elders of the past.

— Jodi EdwardsConnecting ancient human history and whale behavior through Indigenous beliefs.

Kirchberg-Sawicki found the experience enlightening, noting how naturally the cultural stories and scientific observations complemented each other. "They're different ways of understanding the same environment, and I came away with a deeper appreciation of how knowledge can be passed down through generations by careful observations," she said. She emphasized that conservation efforts are strongest when they unite diverse groups, including Indigenous knowledge, commercial fishers, scientists, and government agencies, highlighting that each perspective contributes to a more comprehensive understanding.

Indigenous communities have observed these waters and these animals for countless generations.

— Kim Kirchberg-SawickiHighlighting the long history of Indigenous observation of marine life.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by ABC Australia. Summarized and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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