When in Wisconsin: The (research) experience of a lifetime

University of Southern Queensland (UniSQ) First Nations law and policy specialist Professor Simon Young has recently returned from the experience of a lifetime in the US.

As part of his Fulbright Scholarship, Professor Young travelled to the University of Wisconsin’s Global Legal Studies Centre and Great Lakes Indigenous Law Centre for almost four months to further his First Nations water rights research and undertake a comparative examination of the two countries.

We recently caught up with him to talk all things research and travel.

Can you tell us about your research?

My comparative legal (and historical) research has explored US First Nations’ water rights and relevant settlement frameworks. Australian First Nations have struggled to find recognition of water interests – particularly the economic and governance dimensions. The US has a long history on water rights and has been navigating these complexities for decades. This US history is often neglected in comparative discussions. Yet, as Australian native title jurisprudence emerges from its restrictive formative years and policy thinking expands, the US experience is an important reference for how law and negotiation/regulation frameworks can support the broader dimensions of First Nations’ water rights. In a less formal way, I explored faculty and university strategies for engagement with First Nations communities and for First Nations student support and relevant curriculum development.

How was your experience in the United States?

This research experience was a terrific one for me. These water issues were something I encountered many years ago in my detailed comparative PhD work, but at the time had to put to one side. Yet the US history on water is incredibly illuminating – both in terms of the shape of the basic underlying rights and the means by which they are negotiated and reconciled with competing interests in contemporary times. I found much more of direct relevance to the contemporary Australian experience than I expected. And the rare luxury of returning to some foundational original research was terrific. On this topic of water rights, we are at a crossroads in Australia – with an improving understanding and motivation for law and policy reform – but we are somewhat lacking in precedent and models. With luck, my US work might prove to be timely, on a topic of immeasurable importance to the wellbeing of First Nations communities in Australia.

What’s next for you?

I’ve been working to build various new connections between my US colleagues (in law and other fields) and colleagues here in Australia. I’m hoping some successful future collaborations might emerge from these new connections. In respect of my community engagement and education inquiries, I finalised a chapter titled Who Built This Fence?: Regenerating Faculty Landscapes for Lasting Educational Reform for an upcoming Australian edited book on Indigenous perspectives in legal education (Routledge). The chapter was underway before I began my Fulbright; however, it was certainly informed by my experiences and inquiries at University of Wisconsin. I am reasonably well progressed on the first of my water articles – which carefully traces the US legal history with particular attention to themes most relevant to law and policy reform in Australia. I also have raw materials and a plan of attack in place for a second article on the contemporary negotiated settlements (and regulatory reforms) working to implement and facilitate the earlier recognised US rights. I presented on the first water piece in late August in Sydney at the ICON-S (International Society of Public Law) AUS-NZ Chapter Conference – in a panel session also involving Dr Virginia Marshall (Wiradjhuri Nyemba) speaking on Australia, Professor Sharon Mascher (on Canada) and Dr Sarah Down (on NZ). My US work will also feed into my broader current projects – including a large multi-disciplinary CSIRO-funded project mapping cultural water connections in southern Queensland and my ongoing work with and advocacy for local First Nations communities.

What was the highlight of your experience?

The Fulbright experience has been an incredible privilege and one that I will remember fondly for the rest of my life. The opportunity to return (mid-career) to foundational research – and to have uninterrupted ‘thinking time’ – has been a great experience. The varying influences that come with physically working in another country have also been invaluable to my own research and professional progress. I have had regular discussions with First Nations scholars and educators, human rights and environmental law researchers, law faculty administrators, scholars from other fields, including environmental studies and agricultural sustainability, and First Nations community members and educators (on their local lands).

I tried to embrace my window of opportunity in the US to experience as much of the culture, people and places as I could in the time I had available. This included keen exploration of my host city of Madison, a weekend trip to Milwaukee to explore and take in a Brewers baseball match (!), camping trips to Door County in the north of Wisconsin and to parks on the western shores of the incredible Lake Michigan, and a 10-day trip to LA and Chicago when my teenage daughter visited. A particular highlight for me was my last trip – five days committed to exploring parts of the state of particular relevance to my work. I attended a Pow-wow on the Lac Du Flambeau reservation in northern Wisconsin, a cultural centre and museum on the Menominee reservation, a Maritime Museum in Manitowoc and travelled through Oneida and Ho-Chunk lands. I also visited significant ancient funeral/ceremonial mounds at three sites around the state – Cranberry Creek, High Cliff and Aztalan. Intermingled with these visits, I camped and hiked at more state parks (making a total of about 10 wonderful state parks visited in my three and a half months). Wisconsin is an amazing state – and not one that I had previously visited. I found that the time allowed me to refocus on what is most important to me in my professional work – and my personal life for that matter! I returned home with new ideas, new contacts and new energy.

Something you’ll remember forever?

Beyond the work side, my single greatest highlight was my day on the Menominee reservation. It was such an extraordinary privilege for me to visit nations whose historically important legal cases I have studied for many years – and to be so welcomed by the Menominee was wonderful. My long walk with local man Daniel, through the forestry and cultural history collections and along the river, was something I will long remember. Speaking with him and a senior Menominee educator Paula – learning about their ancestors, proud (and world-renowned) forestry management, contemporary archaeological collaborations, and educational initiatives (local school students were there on a summer program!) – was incredible. It somehow brought to life for me my 20+ years of comparative legal research and left me recommitted to law reform in Australia, and perhaps a little more confident in my academic convictions about the need for that reform. Unfortunately, I was enjoying the experience too much to think to take photos at the time, but I did find a handmade Menominee flute at a trading post as I travelled further south as a memento of an incredible day. I plan to keep in contact with this community – and hope I can repay their generosity by helping to arrange a visit to my universities and our communities in Australia. My UniSQ colleague Kirstie Smith (Mununjali, Yugembeh) and I have also been keeping in touch with the First Nations academic I was chiefly working with at the University of Wisconsin (Amanda White Eagle, Ho-Chunk Nation), and we are planning some transnational teaching collaboration!

Fulbright Scholarships support professional development opportunities in the US and promote cultural and educational exchange between the two countries.

Learn more about Fulbright Scholar Professor Simon Young’s research.