Via a three-person dialogue, we engage with an inquiry posed for this special issue: ‘What questions are ethnographers asking about water in Australia?’ Canvassing such an inquiry led us to being both provoked and provocateurs, in part by following Luci Pangrazio's (2016) discussion about the value of provocation in the social sciences. Turning from provocation as heuristic tool, we then focus on the iconic Mardoowarra, Fitzroy River in Western Australia's northern Kimberley, and Aboriginal people's deep and enduring cultural, environmental and emotional interconnections and responsibilities with such a major water source. Contemplated also is the contemporary importance of inquiring into water-based questions relating to Australian Indigenous people that might be reconceptualized to become questions about ethnographers and ethnography in the 21st century.

中文翻译：

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“为什么我们不能为自己说话……？” 水的未来和民族志的挑衅

通过三人对话，我们参与了针对本期特刊的调查：“民族志学家对澳大利亚的水提出了哪些问题？” 进行这样的调查使我们既被挑衅又成为挑衅者，部分原因是遵循 Luci Pangrazio (2016) 关于挑衅在社会科学中的价值的讨论。我们不再将挑衅作为启发性工具，而是关注西澳大利亚金伯利北部标志性的马尔杜瓦拉河、菲茨罗伊河，以及原住民与这一主要水源之间深厚而持久的文化、环境和情感联系和责任。还考虑了探究与澳大利亚原住民有关的水问题的当代重要性，这些问题可能会被重新概念化为关于 21 世纪民族志学家和民族志的问题。