About Anthropology Internships

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Native Title Anthropology Internships

Selection Criteria	Location of Internships	Cost of Internships
Course Credit	What to expect as an intern	Obligations

Overview

The Program introduces anthropology students and graduates to career opportunities in native title, policy, social justice and Indigenous affairs.  The aim of the program is to provide assistance to the anthropology and research staff of under-resourced and over-worked Native Title Representative Bodies (NTRBs) working in native title as well as to various Other Organisations working in these areas.

Note: The term Native Title Representative Bodies (NTRBs) includes three Native Title Service Providers (NTSPs) receiving specific funding to perform some NTRB functions (Central Desert Native Title Services, Native Title Services Victoria, NTSCORP, Queensland South Native Title Services and South Australian Native Title Services).

Short-term internship positions

NTRBs employ lawyers, anthropologists and other researchers, field officers and administrative staff to represent and support Indigenous communities in native title claims, advocacy and other negotiations.  Other host organisations advocate policies of reconciliation and equal rights for Indigenous Australians while some provide assistance to Indigenous communities with cultural heritage activities, as well as associated business and community-based initiatives.

Anthropologists play a key role in native title work in Australia in conducting research, undertaking field work and preparing ‘connection reports’ for claims under the Native Title Act 1993. Applications are open to third year, honours and postgraduate anthropology students.

Most internships run for 5 to 6 weeks over the June to August and November to March university breaks. They are a full-time workload usually around 40 hours per week.

Aurora Native Title Internship Program - Winter 2010

Applications open 9am AEDST Monday 8 March and close 5pm AEDST Thursday 1 April 2010.

Longer term contract locum positions

Applications are open to social sciences students and graduates in the disciplines mentioned above. Placements can start at two months and may continue for up to one year. Duties, conditions and remuneration vary from position to position.

Please note the selection criteria for locum positions may differ from those mentioned below - the information below applies only to unpaid student internships.

Selection criteria

Selection for one of the internships will require that applicants:

	have a strong academic record
	have an interest in the area of native title and Indigenous affairs
	have good interpersonal and communication skills
	have cultural awareness and sensitivity
	commit to the minimum internships length.

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Locations of anthropology internships

Locations of placements are Australia-wide. We request that interns provide their preferences, and we do our best to accommodate them. However, as placements are dependent upon organisational need, we cannot guarantee that interns’ preferences will be met.

Click here to see a map of the NTRB regions.

Click here to see a map of other placement organisations.

Click here to see a list of the NTRBs, NTSPs and other placement organisations.


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Costs associated with anthropology internships

Travel costs and accommodation will in some instances be covered, either partially or totally, by the host organisations. Where this is not possible, internships will be available to those who can self-fund. The internships are unpaid and interns need to cover their own day-to-day expenses (e.g. food, entertainment, local travel etc.)

The Aurora Project does not provide financial support for interns. Some universities have offered funding to students being placed through Aurora.  It is the students’ responsibility to make enquiries directly through their university.  As of December 2008 Griffith University, MacquarieUniversity and The University of Melbourne offered such funding.

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University course credit

Some universities provide course credit for undertaking internships or for a paper arising from internships (for example, James Cook University). Applicants should consult with their relevant faculty or school as to the availability of such a program.

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What to expect as an intern

Irrespective of whether you are placed at a NTRB, NTSP or other organistion, your role as an intern is to assist the over-worked and under-resourced host organisation. The nature of your tasks will vary depending upon the type of organisation you are placed at.

We encourage interns to adopt the attitude that they are volunteers at the host organisations; they are recipients of a really interesting and privileged experience.

Anthropologists may undertake a range of duties and tasks and while each placement is unique, set out below are some general guidelines on the sort of work you may be asked to do as part of your internship:

	attending meetings on-country and at the placement organisation
	organising meeting attendees’ transport and accommodation
	taking minutes at meetings
	proof-reading documents
	organising and cataloguing anthropological evidence
	analysing land claim applications and further documentation in order to identify common practices between local Indigenous communities
	representing the organisation at community events, such as the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Day of Celebrations (NAIDOC)
	assisting all staff, such as in the creation of community newsletters
	data entry into genealogy databases
	historical archival research: involving note-taking from archival material, archival research preparation, organisation of notes, providing assistance with creating and updating spreadsheets to track research progress
	setting out and printing genealogies, including ancestor box charts, indented indexes and master indexes
	learning the basics of conducting interviews with claimants/informants to gather genealogical material
	interpreting field notes to enter into genealogy databases
	filing in the library of research documents
	completing research requests for members of the claimant communities
	completing social mapping tasks
	planning, executing and analysing fieldwork with members of claimant groups
	analysing archival material
	writing papers for the annual Native Title Conference.

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Obligations following completion of anthropology internships

During your internship, a number of obligations need to be fulfilled and as ambassadors of the program, interns will be expected to assist with the promotion of the internship program upon your return. These are to:

	provide weekly written emails on the progress of the internship while on placement
	complete an overview at the completion of the internship, reflecting on the experience and evaluating it
	commit to arranging and speaking to classes or interested students at your university and at other local career-based events, within the semester following your return - does not apply to those students who have already graduated
	commit to writing an article for an appropriate internal faculty publication on your placement
	continue your internship to the agreed end date
	read the Aurora Code of Ethics for Interns, which outlines the expectations Aurora has of interns while on placement.

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