Abstract

The Argyle diamond mine, in the East Kimberley region of Western Australia, ceased production in late 2020 after 37 years of operations and producing 865 million carats of rough diamonds. Opening in 1983, it was the first major diamond-mining operation in Australia and brought with it a very mixed history of Traditional Owner engagement with the Company (Rio Tinto). Closure now offers an opportunity to reassert cultural authority and reclaim Traditional Owners', and specifically, women's rightful place in decision-making. But the path to get there is complex. From the perspective of Kia Dowell, a community leader and Chair of Gelganyem Limited (an Aboriginal charitable trust), and supported by her mother Ethel McLennon, this article will trace the legacies of structural injustice as this mine was developed, which includes the two negotiated agreements and state government mining regulations, all of which actively marginalize Traditional Owner rights and interests. Likewise, during the initial and subsequent agreement negotiations women's customary interests were sidelined in favor of a western governance system, which privileges the male dominated view and voice. This is despite the fact that the site of the open pit mine was known to be an important women's site for the Gija people and was subsequently destroyed. Telling this story provides not only a chance to reflect on the past, but to also stake a locally self-determined agenda in order to reclaim Aboriginal governance structures and redefine how Traditional Owners are choosing to engage with Rio Tinto (the Company) and the Western Australian State government.

Keywords: gender equity, cultural reclamation, mine closure, customary governance, mine site reclamation, Gija, Indigenous women, Aboriginal

How to Cite:

Dowell, K. & Holcombe, S. E., (2024) “Reasserting Gija women's role in mine site reclamation: A perspective from the Argyle Diamond Mine”, Journal of Political Ecology 32(1): 6219. doi: https://doi.org/10.2458/jpe.6219