Associate Professor
College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences
I’m an anthropologist and archaeologist, Australian Research Council (ARC) Future Fellow and Associate Professor in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences.
I’m originally from Canada with West Indian (Trinidad & Tobago), Venezuelan and Irish heritage. I completed my undergraduate studies in sociocultural anthropology at Wilfrid Laurier University (Waterloo, Ontario) and was then awarded a scholarship to travel to Monash University to undertake my PhD studies on the rock art of the Torres Strait Islands.
Prior to joining Flinders University in 2020, I was a tenured Senior Lecturer and Associate Professor at the Monash Indigenous Studies Centre (Monash University), and an ARC Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Western Australia’s Department of Archaeology.
Over the last 20 years I have crafted my research program around multidisciplinary approaches to Indigenous cultural heritage with a focus on integrating Indigenous knowledge into understanding the "archaeological record" (rock art, stone artefacts, rockshelter occupation sites etc.).
Related areas of interest include:
- how rock art and decorated material culture have been used as symbolic modes of communication in the deep and recent past
- the development of social networks and maritime specialisation in island and coastal contexts
- decolonising cultural heritage research in Indigenous contexts through “two-way” thinking
- exploring how prominent places acted as beacons through time to structure and shape people's movements, encounters, and connections with others.
I undertake research into these and other themes through long-term partnerships with Aboriginal communities in northern Australia, in particular with the Yanyuwa and Marra in the southwest Gulf of Carpentaria, the Palyku in the Pilbara, and the Kaurareg Nation in Torres Strait.
BA (Hons), Wilfrid Laurier University (Canada)
DPhil, Monash University
Current grants
For a list of my publications see:
I am qualified to supervise Honours, Masters and PhD projects, and am keen to hear from prospective students interested in undertaking projects on all aspects related to Indigenous Archaeology, cultural heritage and material culture studies.
I am currently on a research-only appointment until 2025 but teach into a range of topics in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences. Prior to joining Flinders, I taught classes across several disciplines (anthropology, history, archaeology) focusing on method and theory, the anthropology and archaeology of art, cultural heritage issues in a global context, and Indigenous "Saltwater" people. My research-led teaching approach draws on a wide range of learning strategies including Problem- and Object-based learning, blending theory with practical applications, fieldschools and reflexive writing to challenge students to think critically about key issues in anthropology and archaeology.
I collaborate with various cultural heritage stakeholders including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, government and industry. Recent collaborations have been with the li-Anthawirrayarra Sea Rangers, Mabunji Aboriginal Resource Indigenous Corporation, Parks & Wildlife Commission of the Northern Territory, the McArthur River Mine’s Community Benefits Trust, the Budadee Foundation, Davidsons Arnhem Land Safaris, the Kaurareg Native Title Aboriginal Corporation, Palyku-Jartayi Aboriginal Corporation and Terra Rosa Consulting.