ABSTRACT
A culture of protocols is developing in places at the interface between Indigenous cultures and government and cultural institutions. Protocols tend to be codifications of behaviour that structure the initial stages of interactions – they may cover correct procedures and processes for making agreements. Technology is enabling Indigenous communities to reconnect with objects in museums and make them part of their contemporary lives. In the digital world, protocols are the procedures and sets of rules required to allow access to images digitally – to communicate between computers and to access databases. In terms of moral rights, the idea of restricting access has considerable force, and it does engage with important issues of respect for cultural difference and control of cultural production. In some other Yolngu communities, initial stages of repatriation have included modelling the development of databases with complex protocols of access.
