Engaging with Indigenous Knowledge Systems: Memory Craft in Fashion and Textiles Education
As an educator in fashion and textile studies for nearly two decades, I have seen firsthand how digital technologies have transformed learning. In early 2023, while serving as a member of the Academic Board at RMIT University, we faced the challenges posed by the emergence of ChatGPT. Many institutions around the world rushed to redesign course content and assessments to uphold academic integrity. However, I couldn’t shake a deeper concern about what we might be losing in our relationship with knowledge itself–thoughts I shared in a post for the Times Higher Education Campus blog at the time.
The digital divide in learning
The rise of digital technologies has transformed our interaction with information. Platforms like Wikipedia and Google provide instant access, but is there a downside? With information just a tap away, the need for memorisation has diminished. When our smartphones run out of battery, get lost, or are stolen, we are reminded of how dependent we have become on these devices.
In terms of research, this dependence impacts the often emotional journey of discovery and the embodiment of knowledge—the memories of finding the perfect quote after hours of searching, the serendipity of browsing library collections to discover the example you didn’t know you were looking for, the emotional connections we develop with past and present kindred thinkers, and the creative synthesising of existing ideas into new understandings.
In education, as we've moved teaching and learning online, we've also become disconnected from the physical spaces and social contexts that help embed knowledge—the knowledge brought forth through memories of learning experiences that took place in lecture theatres, excursions, tutorial rooms, and even–in the case of my Master’s degree–the local park and pub. These shared experiences of teaching and learning as activities situated in specific places are essential for embodying information in ways that enable us to recall and apply it.
A turning point: Memory Craft
My perspective shifted dramatically in 2022 when I encountered Australian scholar Dr. Lynne Kelly AM's book Memory Craft. Her research into Indigenous Knowledge Systems around the world revealed powerful ancient memory techniques that continue to enable the preservation and updating of information crucial for survival. Kelly's work, alongside her collaboration with Margo Neale in their book Songlines: The Power and the Promise, presents a compelling proposal: ‘It’s time to go beyond learning about indigenous cultures and start learning from them’ (Neale & Kelly, 2020: 179)
This objective became my catalyst for change. As a white British academic, I continually reflect on my place, questioning if I truly have one, and my responsibilities in this context, realising the dangers of ignoring Indigenous cultures or engaging in ways that reinforce existing power imbalances, along with cultural and ecological harm. As a non-Indigenous researcher herself, Kelly approaches her work with profound respect, understanding that genuine engagement involves attentive listening, acknowledgment, and teamwork. She also emphasises the essential distinction between Indigenous Knowledge Systems and Indigenous Knowledge, the latter of which is particularly sacred and protected by custodians.
Dr. Kelly is one of many, though still too few, dedicated to bridging the gap between Western and Indigenous worldviews and bringing these ontologies into relation. Another is First Nations scholar Dr. Tyson Yunkaporta, the founder of the Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab at Australia’s Deakin University, who, in 2024, in collaboration with other Indigenous scholars and thinkers from Deakin, Algoma (Canada), AIME and the Indigenous Commons (under the auspices of the Indigenous Systems Knowledge Collective) published ‘Protocols for Non-Indigenous People Working with Indigenous Knowledge’ (2024). The goal of this important document is to assist with the terms of engagement for ethical and respectful meaning-making practices across hemispheres that seek to find “common purpose in regenerative symbiotic relationships”. In it, they state:
“The reason for doing any work or activity in Indigenous communities is always to increase relatedness and the health of biocultural systems. Every action should be weighed against the questions, “Is this action in service of enriching relationships, or is it to enrich particular persons or organisations? Is this action improving systems health?” The things you are making in good relation then - resources, documents, content, structures, bodies - these must also embody those Indigenous motivations.”
While engaging with Indigenous Knowledge Systems for educational purposes in Westernised higher education institutions may not always occur ‘in’ or even with an Indigenous community, it is nonetheless bound by the same questions. The practice of appropriation, or taking without permission for personal gain, is a phenomenon that fashion educators are continually striving to address. As one of the most polluting and environmentally and culturally exploitative industries, fashion and textiles educators engaging with IKS have a responsibility to ensure that the use of these methodologies does not inflict further cultural and environmental damage. Furthermore, they must be dedicated to using them to cultivate regenerative and symbiotic relationships, both with the environment and the cultures that continue to practice and share them.
Two pedagogical innovations for fashion and textiles education
Recognising the important role of Indigenous Knowledge Systems in addressing the impacts of the fashion and textiles sector and AI-assisted learning, as well as their potential as a means of progressing towards regeneration, I developed two workshops for undergraduate fashion and textiles students at RMIT. Delivered first in 2024 and again in 2025, each workshop was inspired by specific Indigenous memory techniques while educating students about their origins. The workshops were provided to our first-year Fashion Design, Fashion Enterprise, and Fashion Textiles Sustainable Innovation students as part of their core course, Fashion Textiles Place and Story, a progressive addition to the fashion and textiles curriculum at RMIT. This course reflexively acknowledges what it means to learn and practice in Australia – a nation still coming to terms with the legacy of injustices to its First Peoples. Part of its purpose is to encourage students to reflect on who they are and where they position themselves to develop clear values that will guide ethical and responsible future practices.
Workshop 1: Narrating identity
My own winter count - image: Alexandra Sherlock 2024
The first workshop drew inspiration from Native American Lakota winter counts studied by Kelly and Australian Aboriginal possum skin cloaks. Students mapped their identities using embroidered pictograms; symbols that represented significant memories and events from each year of their lives. This approach reconnected students with storytelling traditions while building tangible memory objects they could carry with them. Each biography emerged in a spiral formation from a central icon representing their birth year. Noting the problematic nature of the spiral and inability to start at a later year, one student cleverly adapted the activity to embroider his motifs around the arm of his woollen coat. This enabled him to go back and forth from the first year he was able to remember during class.
What emerged during this activity revealed a surprising generational shift. While I might have consulted family photo albums or parents' memories to recall significant life events, students turned to their parents' Facebook accounts. Many students expressed alarm at discovering that their personal histories were now essentially held by tech companies rather than family archives. This realisation sparked important conversations about digital ownership of our memories and identities.
The students' reflections from their learning journals suggested some powerful moments of connection. One student wrote,
“This was a very contemplative process and allowed us to reflect on our life a lot more than we would going about our regular lives... I find that I’m not usually a person that reflects on my story, it is very easy to get caught up in everyday life and it was a great opportunity to look back at the good and bad in my life.”
Another shared: "This project was eye-opening since it required me to revisit all of my memories and relive them in some way, particularly the pleasant ones. I discovered that pictograms, even if they are basic symbols, can express and represent a lot of information. The beauty of it is that no one else knows the narrative except for me, and the only way to discover its significance is for me to share it."
In this space, students engaged emotionally with learning. We shared personal histories with one another, developing a sense of connection, empathy and belonging. They also developed hand-stitching techniques and reflected on the power of material objects in maintaining a sense of identity and establishing one’s personal values. The workshop naturally led to discussions about fashion's role in life narratives and how the industry might foster more enduring relationships between wearers and garments with the aim of reducing waste.
Workshop 2: Material superheroes
‘Captain Cotton’ relaxing on the Brunswick campus BBQ. Image: Alexandra Sherlock
The second workshop, "Material Superheroes," applied anthropomorphism and place-based knowledge to memorise fibre properties and information about origin, manufacture, and use. This activity was inspired by Kelly's concept of "rapscallions" - memory characters she developed with artist and educator Paul Allen while exploring ways to implement memory techniques in schools. The term "rapscallions" was specifically chosen after careful consideration to avoid any cultural appropriation of Indigenous terms while still harnessing the power of personification for memory enhancement.
For fashion and textile professionals, a deep understanding of fibre properties and their environmental impacts is essential when designing clothes, selecting materials, and communicating with clients and consumers. Through this creative, place-based approach, students were able to develop meaningful relationships with materials that enhanced both their memory of them and their ability to use these materials in appropriate, efficient, innovative and sustainable ways.
Students brought in discarded, irreparable garments and, in groups, transformed them into magical characters with distinct personalities and superpowers based on the fibres’ properties and behaviour. Each group developed an origin story for their character and staged narrative photoshoots around campus. This multilayered approach engaged tactile, emotional, spatial, and creative learning modalities simultaneously. The use of upcycling helped students make connections between fibre types and conventional uses (i.e., cotton as denim jeans, nylon in sportswear, wool in jumpers, polyester in… everything). The common uses and fibre origins informed the characters’ identities, personality traits, professions, hobbies, nationalities, spoken languages, etc.
In a pragmatic adaptation to time constraints, we incorporated AI assistance for developing the characters’ origin stories. Students used RMIT's generative AI chatbot, "Val," to help craft narratives or poems with compelling arcs and literary devices. While this might seem contradictory to the workshop's aim of countering digital dependence and ecological impact (generative AI is water and energy-intensive), the impacts were balanced with an unexpected benefit—the AI’s often surprising and sometimes hilariously bizarre results provided additional memorable experiences. Students reading their AI-assisted stories aloud created shared moments of joy that further cemented the learning.
My favourite stories included ‘Polyanna’, an overly friendly and ‘clingy’ polyester character who paired (a little too easily) with all other fibre types. In contrast, the seemingly virtuous and regenerative ‘Cottonelle’ turned out to be quite toxic (due to pesticides and water usage). Happily, most tales included a redemption story, such as when Woollen Sheila, an elderly Australian character knitted by a sheep shearer’s wife, became an advocate for the ethical treatment of animals. Similarly, Lenny Linen, the most ancient of the fibres, learnt to embrace his wrinkles and mentor his younger associates, particularly those within his natural cellulosic family, such as Cottonelle. As the stories emerged, relationships developed between each of the characters. At the end of the class, students mused over which of each group would ‘take custody’ of the characters.
The students' responses to this approach were illuminating. One noted: "In class, we typically learn about the characteristics of different materials, but we don't usually imagine those traits as qualities of a person. It's a very interesting concept. Besides needing to thoroughly understand the material to a tee, it also greatly exercises my imagination."
Another student reflected on their changing consumer behaviour: "I did not know much about fabrics before this workshop; however, the class forced me to research the fabric we were given, wool. This means that after this workshop, I had a new understanding about the properties and the strengths and weaknesses of wool. This has made an impact on my buying habits as I often now look at the tags of products to see the benefits of the materials and fibres used."
One student directly acknowledged the integration of AI: "This workshop was different to others as it allowed us to use 'Val', RMIT's artificial intelligence as a way of showing us how we can use it to benefit our memory. It was used to include the facts that we had researched by placing it into a story that can help us to remember those facts."
Reflections on learning approaches
What stood out in the student reflections was the value they placed on these alternative learning approaches. A student commented on the practical nature of the workshops: "The learning in this workshop offered hands-on approach with all the groups having to research and then create our masked heroes. Other workshops I have been in only offer a lecture style of learning, which I do love, however this workshop offered an approach I was unfamiliar with and thoroughly enjoyed."
Perhaps most encouragingly, some students recognised the broader implications of these methodologies:
“This workshop has broadened what I thought I knew about Indigenous cultures and has shown me that there are soo many untaught knowledge systems that should be incorporated into our everyday lives and discussed in earlier education. We can really learn soo much from not only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples but various other Indigenous cultures across the world”
Looking forward: Memory in the age of AI
These workshops were not formal research projects, and I cannot make definitive claims about their measurable impact. However, in accordance with the findings of other studies (Reser et al., 2021), the student reflections suggest that these approaches created memorable learning experiences that engaged students on multiple levels—cognitive, emotional, and physical. They also enhanced students’ appreciation and respect for Indigenous cultures.
As we navigate the challenges of generative AI and increasing reliance on digital technologies, Indigenous knowledge systems offer important alternatives. They remind us that human memory isn't simply a storage device that technology can replace—it's an embodied, emotional, and spatial system integral to our identities, humanity and creativity.
What also became evident to me was the accessibility of these activities for diverse learners who often struggle with traditional Western academic approaches. Kelly's most recent book, "The Knowledge Gene" explores the evolutionary purpose of neurodivergence, highlighting how different cognitive styles play crucial roles in traditional knowledge systems. This perspective offers hope that we can develop educational approaches that honour diverse ways of knowing while preparing students for an increasingly digital world.
Far from being relics of the past, Indigenous Knowledge Systems could be exactly what we need to balance our relationship with technology. While these kinds of learning methods often work better for neurodivergent minds, generative AI also brings inclusive and empowering opportunities. Indeed, as a neurodivergent educator myself, generative AI has enabled me to share my research and teaching practices in ways that were previously paralysingly challenging (for example, helping with editing this article). By incorporating multisensory, emotionally resonant, and place-based learning alongside digital tools, we can develop knowledge that remains accessible even when the internet isn't. Furthermore, these techniques encourage learners to invest in and maintain their relationships with one another and the environment.
For educators concerned about AI's impact on learning, these ancient methodologies offer a promising path forward—one that doesn't reject technology but complements it with deeply human ways of knowing. These workshops demonstrate that traditional memory techniques and modern technology can coexist, perhaps not in perfect harmony, but in a productive tension that is certainly worth exploring further.
Resources:
Visit Deakin’s Indigenous Knowledge Systems Lab for an overview of useful publications and resources - https://ikslab.deakin.edu.au/publications/
Visit the AIATSIS (The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies) website for further information and resources about Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and knowledge: https://aiatsis.gov.au/
References:
IKS Labs. (2024) Protocols for Non-Indigenous People Working with Indigenous Knowledge. Deakin University; Algoma University. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1SAX5Lh7NNkb3grGw3i863S-_jYkWORXr/view?usp=embed_facebook
Kelly, L. (2016) The Memory Code: The Traditional Aboriginal Memory Technique that Unlocks the Secrets of Stonehenge, Easter Island and Ancient Monuments the World Over, Sydney, Allen & Unwin.
Kelly, L. (2019) Memory Craft: Improve Your Memory Using the Most Powerful Methods from Around the World, Allen & Unwin.
Kelly, L. (2024) The Knowledge Gene, Sydney, Allen & Unwin
Neale, M. & Kelly, L. (2020) Songlines: The Power and the Promise, Port Melbourne, Thames & Hudson Australia Pty. Ltd.
Reser, D., Simmons, M., Johns, E., Ghaly, A., Quayle, M., Dordevic, A. L., Tare, M., McArdle, A., Willems, J., & Yunkaporta, T. (2021). Australian Aboriginal techniques for memorization: Translation into a medical and allied health education setting. PLOS ONE, 16(5), e0251710. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0251710