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�����鱨վ Geography welcomes students and faculty from Western Australia's Curtin University.

�����鱨վ’s Department of Geography has had a long relationship with communities in Western Australia, starting the discovery of 199 Noongar paintings from the Herbert Mayer Collection of Carrolup Art by Stolen Generation children at the Picker Art Gallery. Since the importance of the artwork was recognized in 2004, Professor Emerita Ellen Kraly has worked tirelessly to create academic and personal connections between �����鱨վ, the Noongar people, and Curtin University.

There have been multiple exchanges in the two decades since, including the repatriation of the paintings back to the Noongar people in 2013, where the painting are now exhibited at Curtin University in Perth. In 2019, as part of �����鱨վ’s bicentennial celebration, the Carrolup art was displayed at the Picker Art Gallery as part of a special traveling exhibition. With that exhibition, a delegation from Western Australia helped foster the growing ties between �����鱨վ, the Noongar, and Curtin as well as discuss processes of reconciliation and healing.

Last but not least, there have been six extended studies to Western Australia, from 2008 to 2023, with a seventh proposed for 2027. These extended studies delve into the importance of federal policies concerning Aboriginal families and communities, environmental injustice, the need for sustainable land management, and the need to bolster food security and resilience to climate change.

Since the first extended study to the region, �����鱨վ faculty and students have formed deep relationships with the Noongar Aboriginal peoples of Western Australia as well as the staff and students of Curtin University. The relationships have matured to the point where the associations go far beyond the artwork.

After leading several extended studies centered on Aboriginal culture in Western Australia, professors Adam Burnett and Peter Klepeis hoped to deepen the relationships between �����鱨վ and Noongar by bringing — for the first time — Curtin University First Nation students to �����鱨վ. They also hoped to create an opportunity for dialogue among Noongar, �����鱨վ, and Indigenous people in CNY.  So they asked themselves: “What would it look like to host First Nation students at �����鱨վ and provide them with an experience similar to what �����鱨վ students receive in Australia?” 

In June 2025, this first group of First Nation Australians from Centre for Aboriginal Studies visited �����鱨վ for two weeks in a “reverse extended study.” They were taken to the �����鱨վ quarry to learn about local geology, to nearby wetlands to search for beavers, to planting corn and pollinator beds at Roger's Center for Environmental Education. The Australians were also taken to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies AA baseball game and hiking and camping in the Adirondacks; activities with a cultural, environmental, and historic framework that are only available in upstate New York.

The First Nations students expressed interest not only in life around �����鱨վ but also in creating links with the local Oneida and Onondaga nations. As reported in 2019, “Oneida Nation Bear Clan Representative Brian Patterson welcomed the Australian visitors with a traditional blessing” and hosted guests at a Oneida longhouse. Noongar elder Simon Forrest recalls how tremendously important it was for him to visit with the Oneida people. In participating in cross-cultural activities like watching lacrosse with members of the Oneida Indian Nation and feeding the bison herd at the Onondaga Nation, the students had conversations and created connections to other Indigenous people.

�����鱨վ students Jannah Zabadi ’26 and Jack Mullens ’26 acted as assistants to Burnett and Klepeis during the two week long trip.

More Info on the Stolen Generation and return of Carrolup paintings.