Reframing more-than-human thinking as Country-led practice: Deepening land relations with/as Gumbaynggirr Country

The uptake of more-than-human thinking in geography seeks to centre the ways that our diverse life-worlds are sustained by interconnected and more-than-human relations. As a relatively new framework to the discipline, more-than-human thinking has offered different ways to address some of the world’s increasingly complex problems. But to what extent does this framework pay attention to the underlying context of Indigenous and settler colonial land relationships? And how might more-than-human thinking attend to complex problems such as researching on stolen Indigenous land? This article aims to take seriously the fact that tensions around settler colonial and Indigenous land relationships are not resolved, nor overcome by more-than-human thinking alone. We offer the Goats Foot Flower story, as told by Gumbaynggirr story-holder Aunty Shaa Smith, to share how diverse knowledges held within story are helping us to better understand what respectful land relationships might look like and mean. The story emphasises how heeding Country’s authority is foundational to maintaining respectful relationships with the land through living agreements. It teaches us that attending to respectful relationships on stolen land is an active and ongoing responsibility of continuing connections with and as Country. As we grapple with the complexities of what it means for each of us to be in respectful relationship with Country, we recognise that there is an urgent need to attend to Land Back as part of the process.