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Paper short abstract:

This paper explores affordances and strains in approaching knowledge as sentient and relational via a project seeking to resocialise a large body of (archival and museum) research materials created by Japanese researchers about Torres Strait Islander community life fifty years ago.

Paper long abstract:

Our paper explores the stresses and strains, excitement and joy of translating, analysing and returning half-century-old Japanese research materials created about Torres Strait Islander everyday life. During the 1970s and 80s large teams of Japanese researchers surveyed Torres Strait Islanders’ marine economy, society and infrastructure producing a large 700 page book, thousands of photographs, hand-drawn maps and musical notations. Published mainly in Japanese the research remains largely inaccessible to Torres Strait Islander and academic audiences and materials are dispersed, held in library, museum and individual researcher collections. In this paper we explore the challenges and affordances in becoming acquainted with this research knowledge through translation and reconnection with Torres Strait communities and Elders and the original Japanese research team, those surviving and bereaved families. We outline our approach as being more than just a work of translation and repatriation, supporting a conceptual engagement with knowledge as relational and sentient, guided by Torres Strait Islander Elders accounts and relationships with the Japanese research team; adding their voices, knowledge and own analysis to this significant work. The opportunity to contextualise the impact of this Torres Strait-based research on the lives and careers of the Japanese researchers themselves and disciplinary trajectories in their country further extends the dialogue and possibilities to resocialise the knowledge. What are the implications of these new affordances for Torres Strait research relations and futures?