About Us
An independent Papuan research institute
We rescue, record, protect and return Papuan memory.
Who we are
The NATAKA Research Institute is an independent Papuan research institute founded by Kurumbi Wone (Yamin Kogoya), a Lani philosopher and researcher from the Central Highlands of New Guinea.
The Institute is the home of Psycho-Cosmocide Studies, the Kurumbi Wone Working Paper Series, Wone Press and the National Library of Papua. We work from Wollumbin, on Bundjalung and Githabul Country in Australia, with Papuans across all seven customary regions of Papua.
Our vision
A Papua whose people still know who they are, where every clan, language, place name, ancestor, song and story is remembered and held by Papuans themselves, so that no power can erase or rewrite Papuan memory.
Our mission
We rescue, record, protect and return Papuan memory: the Cosmobian world Papuans come from, the Resistance world that has defended it, and the Synthobian world built over it.
We explain what is happening to Papua through the Psycho-Cosmocide framework, publish that work freely, and help build Wonesis, the path of return.
Our values
| Value | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Inaorak | Belonging comes from the land and its ancestors. Land owners and visitors (Kuru) are named for who they are. |
| Consent and custody | Memory belongs to the families and clans who hold it. Nothing sacred, and no name of the dead, is shared without their consent and elder review. |
| Evidence before claims | Every record names its source. We never guess who a person is, and we never count anyone twice. |
| Wone Kenok | We see Papua from inside the Papuan world, turning the camera around rather than looking in from outside. |
| Independence | We answer to Papuan memory, not to any government, church, company or funder. |
| Care for the dead | The dead are not statistics. Each named death is recorded with respect. |
| Safety | No record, photograph or name is worth a life. We protect the people who give us memory. |
Our objectives
- Complete the Memory Atlas for all seven customary regions, down to every village, clan and family.
- Record every Papuan language, cosmology, sacred site, place name and customary law that can still be recovered.
- Document the Resistance world: its leaders, organisations, declarations, events and victims.
- Document the Synthobian world: its officials, laws, military operations, companies, schools, missions and settler population.
- Publish the Psycho-Cosmocide corpus as working papers, manifestos and books.
- Train and support Papuan field researchers to collect memory in their own communities.
- Teach through the podcast, seminars and workshops, in English, Bahasa Indonesia and Papuan languages.
- Open the archive to the public when the collection is complete enough, and return records to the communities they came from.
Why we do what we do
All human conflict is finally about survival: land, food, water, family, home and, beneath all of these, memory. A people who lose their memory can be removed without a single shot.
Across the settler-colonial world, Indigenous memory has been almost completely deleted. In Papua that deletion is happening now, through the gun, the school, the church, the company and the census.
When Jerusalem burned, Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai saved what could be carried: teaching, memory and a way to survive. NATAKA exists to do the same for Papua while there are still elders who remember. If it is not recorded now, it will be gone.
Our organisation
The Institute has five research divisions under one Director. Three follow the three worlds of Papuan memory; the other two are Framework and Publications, and the National Library and Data. Field work is carried out through a network across all seven customary regions. Above the whole Institute sits the Council of Guardians of Research and Memory.
The five divisions
| Division | Responsible for |
|---|---|
| Framework and Publications | Psycho-Cosmocide Studies, the Working Paper Series, Wone Press books, manifestos, reports, the podcast and the seminar programme |
| Cosmobian Memory | Land and place names, islands, clans and families, Inaorak and Kuru relations, languages, cosmologies, origin stories, songs, art, species, medicine, food, calendar, elders, customary schools, Papuan population |
| Resistance Memory | Leaders and armed leadership, organisations, declarations and manifestos, international decisions, events, victims and named deaths, solidarity groups, churches that served resistance |
| Synthobian Records | Officeholders, laws and regulations, military operations, resource companies, international actors, schools and universities, colonising religious institutions, settler population, non-Papuan deaths |
| National Library and Data | The database, record standards, verification, sources, access levels, backups, security, and the opening of the archive |
Roles and access in the Library
Each role matches a sign-in level in the Library, so the organisation and the database follow the same rules.
| Access level | Who | What they can do |
|---|---|---|
| Visitor | Anyone | See counts, charts and published pages only; no names, clans, languages or collected data |
| Member | Approved members | See public records once the archive opens; read member pages |
| Contributor | Village recorders, district researchers | Submit records and see their own submissions |
| Reviewer | Regional coordinators, division leads | Review and verify records for their region or division |
| Guardian | Council of Guardians | See restricted records; give elder review; approve removals |
| Administrator | Director, data custodian | Manage everything, including access and the opening of the archive |
Council of Guardians of Research and Memory
The Council of Guardians protects the memory entrusted to the Institute. Its members are elders, custodians and respected Papuans who carry the knowledge and moral authority of their peoples. The Council does not direct the research; it guards it.
Seats
| Seat | Role |
|---|---|
| Seven regional Guardians | One for each customary region: Mamta / Tabi, Saireri, Domberai, Bomberai, Ha Anim, La Pago, Mee Pago |
| Guardian of Women’s Knowledge | Women’s memory, ceremonies and family lines |
| Guardian of the Dead | Speaks with families about naming the dead and about consent |
| Guardian of Languages | Papuan languages, their recording and revival, and WoneScript |
| Guardian of Scholarship | Research standards, sources and the integrity of publications |
Powers
- Decide what is sacred or restricted, and who may see it.
- Give final elder review for clan histories, genealogies, sacred places and the names of the dead.
- Hear requests for correction or removal from families and clans. The Council’s decision is final.
- Approve the opening of the archive to the public.
- Uphold the Institute’s values and its independence, including over offers of funding.
How the Council works
- Decisions are made by consensus. Where consensus is not possible, the matter stays closed until it is reached.
- Each seat has a fixed term of three years, which may be renewed.
- The Council meets in full at least once a year, with urgent review by secure message when needed.
- Guardians may serve under their own names or with their names withheld.
- Council discussions are confidential. Only decisions are published.
Members of the Council will be listed here once the Council is seated, with names withheld where a Guardian chooses.
Our research team
Our research team is Papuan-led. Researchers record memory in their own regions and languages, and every contribution is credited unless the researcher asks to remain unnamed.
| Role | Description |
|---|---|
| Founder and Director | Leads the framework, publications and the Library |
| Division leads | One for each of the five divisions |
| Data custodian | Database, access levels, verification, sources and backups |
| Regional coordinators | Seven, one for each customary region; review records from their region |
| District researchers | Collect and check records across a district |
| Village recorders | Record memory in their own village and language |
| Editors and translators | Lani and other Papuan languages, Bahasa Indonesia and English |
| Media team | Podcast, seminars, video and social media |
| International advisers | Scholars, archivists, and legal, ethics and digital-safety advisers |
Each profile will show a name, or “Name withheld for safety”, with role, division, customary region, languages and areas of work. A clan is shown only with the person’s consent. Anyone living in Papua is listed without a name unless they agree in writing to be named.
Team profiles will be published once each researcher has chosen how they wish to be listed.
The Founder
Kurumbi Wone (Yamin Kogoya)
[The standard author biography used across the corpus goes here, unchanged, with a photograph.]
Selected publications
[Selected publications to be added.]
To contact the Founder, write to info@natakaresearchinstitute.org. See Contact for other addresses.