The First Nations Special Interest Group was established in 2020 for CAARA’s response to the Tandanya-Adelaide Declaration and includes representation from eight Australian states and territories, National Archives of Australia and Archives New Zealand. The role of the Special Interest Group is to build upon themes and commitments outlined in the Declaration for implementation across CAARA institutions.

The Declaration calls on archives around the world to re-imagine the meaning of archives as an engaging model of social memory; to embrace Indigenous worldviews; to decolonise archival principles with Indigenous knowledge methods; to open public archives to Indigenous interpretations; and aims to see public archives as ethical spaces for encounter, respect, negotiation and collaboration without dominance or judgement.

CAARA and its member institutions support the themes and commitments enshrined in the Declaration. They commit to improving services to Indigenous peoples ensuring practices are inclusive and creating spaces that support ethical and respectful dialogue with a focus on engagement, learning and collaboration across CAARA organisations.