Rachel Hagan, Yorke Peninsula Country Times

Another year and another huge success for the annual Minlagawi Nature Festival with about 200 attendees engaging with culture and their community, while taking in a deep breath of fresh air.

Strong winds and a little rain did not stop curiosity and exploration from festival goers who made their way out to Minlagawi (Gum Flat), Minlaton, last Thursday, October 3.

The event was all about connecting with nature while learning about Nharangga culture.

Multiple activity sites were set up across the reserve, which allowed visitors to try activities such as shelter construction, drumming and rock painting, just to name a few.

Nharangga women and Aboriginal educators Lisa Weetra and Bianca Newchurch shared their Aboriginal storytelling styles with rock art symbols, which guests could paint onto a pot to tell a unique story.

Ms Newchurch said this had been done for 60,000 years, so it was nice to keep the culture going in a fun way for all children to engage with.

She said it was important for culture to be shared with the wider community, so everyone could have some more understanding of the oldest continuous culture in the world, and so Aboriginal children could feel proud of their culture.

“They want to join in and be able to use the symbols and make their own stories; it’s good they want to incorporate it and learn,” Ms Newchurch said.

Ms Newchurch and Ms Weetra both said keeping language and culture alive was very important but agreed, while growing up, there had been a lot of discomfort for them when they expressed their culture outside of their community.

“I remember when I was in school, I used to get shame about anything Nharangga or Aboriginal that was happening, and I don’t ever want my kids to feel like that,” Ms Weetra said.

“We just really want them to feel a sense of pride.”

Ms Weetra said attitudes towards First Nations people were slowly changing and society had progressed since she was at school, but there was still a long way to go.

YPC environment officer Letitia Dahl-helm said the festival was all about enjoying the great outdoors, as well as honouring the great significance of Minlagawi.

Minlagawi (Gum Flat) is an important place for Nharangga people, located on Windara Country which is cared for by Nharangga people from the eastern part of the peninsula.

Before colonisation, the area had enough resources to accommodate several hundred people.

“Minlagawi is a very significant spot for Nharangga people because it is where the four clan groups used to meet,” Ms Dahlhelm said.

“It used to have all the freshwater, heaps of animals, is really close to the coast and is central for the whole Nharangga Banggara (Country).”

The name Minlagawi represents the natural qualities the location had, with gawi meaning water and minla describing its taste.

“The whole point of the festival has always been to get people to be aware of the space, value it and to come out and enjoy it while learning that little bit about culture,” she said.

“I think it has been a success, you can see all the engagement and sense of community here from both children and adults.”

See all the pictures in the issue.
This article appeared in  Yorke Peninsula Country Times, 9 October 2024.