Mrs Deanne Hanchant-Nichols

I am of Tanganekald/Ramindjeri (Ngarrindjeri) and Barkindji descent through my father and his parents.  My country is Hindmarsh Island and the Coorong in South Australia and North Western New South Wales.

I am UniSA's Consultant: Aboriginal Employment and Development and have been at UniSA since 2012.

Currently I sit within the Recruitment team - one of the things I do is to advise on queries around Aboriginal Employment and Retention.  I am also involved with UniSA's Aboriginal Employment Action Plan - Yaitya Warpulai Tappa and aim to help UniSA achieve 3% Aboriginal Employment and become the University of Choice for Aboriginal People.

I help with Cultural Safety and Working With Aboriginal People training within UniSA.  My particular interest is around Aboriginal Identity and the way it has changed over the years from an Aboriginal and a non Aboriginal viewpoint.

I was one of the writers of the Blue Wren Vignette's which are part of the Aboriginal Content in Undergraduate Program (ACUP) in the Division of InformationTechology, Engineering and the Environment (ITEE).  These vignettes have been used across UniSA and also presented at a number of conferences and workshops in Australia and internationally.

My passion is Ancestral Remains Repatriation, particularly Archival Research.  I am available to help Aboriginal communities find where their old people are and get them home.  My PhD will look at those remains which currently have no known provenance and what might happen to them.

PUBLICATIONS/PAPERS:

Anderson, Sue, Phil Fitzpatrick, Tom Gara, Deanne Hanchant, Steve Hemming, Sue Smaldon, Keryn Walshe and Vivienne Wood, F.D. Pate (Contributor) 1997 Submission to the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, South Australia regarding the Draft South Australian Aboriginal Heritage Bill 1997. Member of Heritage Working Group representing the Australian Archaeological Association, the Australian Association of Consulting Archaeologists, and the Anthropological Society of South Australia, 41pp.

Duff, Andrea; Ellis , Kylie; Hanchant-Nichols, Deanne; Nisi, Petra; Smith, Elizabeth; Gamage, Sithara; Bown, Brad (2018) Singing our Engineering students: When staff become choristers for respect, University of South Australia, WSP, Australasian Engineering Conference, New Zealand, unpublished paper

Duff, A., Smith, E., Boase, J., Nisi, P., Hanchant-Nichols, D., Bown, B., Ellis, K., Gamage S. W. 2018 ‘Right way, wrong way, better way:  A global model for engineers working with Indigenous communities’, European Society for Engineering Education Conference: Creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship for engineering education excellence 46th SEFI Annual Conference, Danish Technical University 17-21 September, 2018.

Ellis, K., Boase, J, Duff, A., Smith, L., Hanchant-Nichols, D.  2017  ‘Digital Culture Portal – a resource for STEM students’  NBE Colloquium – Education Strand, University of South Australia, November 2017.

Ellis, K., Hanchant-Nichols, D, Boase, J, Nisi, P., Smith, E., Duff, A.  2018 ‘Right Ways, Better Ways, Wrong Ways’ National NAIDOC Conference: Because of her we can University of New South Wales, 8 – 15 July, 2018.

Hanchant, D. (2006). Adelaide Gaol Ghost Tours, Adelaide: Adelaide Gaol Preservation Society

Hanchant, D (2005). Adelaide Gaol Tour Guide Handbook, Adelaide: Adelaide Gaol Preservation Society

Hanchant, D. (2002). Practicalities in the return of remains: The importance of provenance and the question of unprovenanced remains. In C. Fforde, J. Hubert, & P.Turnbull (Eds.), The dead and their possessions: Repatriation in principle, policy and practice (pp. 312–316). London: Routledge

Hanchant, D. (1999). A Paper on Paper on Paper, Melbourne, COMA Bulletin: December

Hanchant, D. (1999). Skeletal Provenancing Project – An Outline of the Project, Melbourne, COMA Bulletin: December  

Previous Possessions, New Obligations. Policies for Museums in Australia and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples. PlainEnglish update Melbourne: Council of Australian Museum Associations Inc., 1997