Aboriginal Motifs

Aboriginal Motifs

Functions and Philosofies
Responsible use of Indigenous cultural knowledge and expression ensures that Indigenous cultures are maintained and protected so they can be passed on to future generations. Here are two ways in which this can be done;

1. Respect

The rights of Indigenous people to own and control their heritage, including Indigenous images, designs, stories and other cultural expressions, should be respected. Customs and protocols for respect vary widely across the many and diverse communities of Indigenous Australian people. Respecting Indigenous rights to cultural heritage includes the following protocols: - Acknowledgment of country
- Public art
– acknowledging land
- Accepting diversity

9. Recognition and protection

The Indigenous visual artist owns copyright in his or her artwork. This means that he or she can control the reproduction and dissemination of the artwork. Such rights apply to all artists and are granted under the Copyright Act.99

It is important to understand these laws and how cultural material might be protected under them. However, there are currently no special copyright laws dealing with Indigenous cultural material.

The Copyright Act has been criticised for not recognising the communal ownership of heritage material and the continuing right of heritage custodians to control use of this material. In 2004, the Attorney General drafted a proposal to amend the Copyright Act and introduce Indigenous communal moral rights. However, this is not yet law. It is recommended that Indigenous custodians give express and clear notice of their interest to third parties.

Moral rights and issues 
The Moral Rights Amendments to the Copyright Act were introduced in December 2000 and provide some new ways to challenge inappropriate treatment of Indigenous artworks. These new laws provide the following rights to artists:

1. The right to be attributed as the artist – Artists can require their names be clearly and prominently reproduced alongside all reproductions of their works.

2. The right not to have work falsely attributed to another artist – Artists can take action against parties who falsely attribute others as the creators of their works.

3. The right of integrity – Artists can take action against parties who subject their works to inappropriate treatment. Inappropriate treatment includes:
- Doing anything that results in the material distortion of, the destruction or mutilation of, or material alteration to, the work that causes harm to the artist’s reputation.
- Exhibition of the work in public in a manner or place that causes harm to the artist’s reputation.


Some Indigenous art comprises certain ceremonial styles like rarrk/cross-hatching, and depicts particular creation figures like the Wandjina from the Kimberley Aboriginal language group. Unless copying from a particular copyright protected artwork, it is not an infringement of copyright to paint in these styles or to paint creation figures. However, it should be emphasised that it is against traditional Aboriginal law to paint ceremonial styles and creation beings without permission from relevant people in the communities where these styles and figures originate.

In the past, Indigenous people’s art images and language group motifs have been copied in artworks, dress fabric, souvenirs and on T-shirts, without the proper permission being sought. This type of copying is one area where the copyright laws do not recognise Indigenous rights to control cultural material.

Internationally, the United Nations Principles and guidelines for the protection of Indigenous people’s heritage recommends, Artists, writers and performers should refrain from incorporating elements derived from Indigenous heritage into their works without the informed consent of the Indigenous owner.