Indigenous

The Australian Government has nominated Murujuga Cultural Landscape for inscription on the World Heritage List. The formal nomination was submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre in late January 2023. If accepted, Murujuga would be the second site in Australia listed for World Heritage Status for First Nations cultural heritage.

"There are enough organisations that are funded to make sure that kids are safe. Unfortunately there is a hole in the delivery, kids are falling through the cracks. We have so many service providers in Alice Springs. There is no level of accountability. There are service providers that are not getting audited to deliver what they are getting funded to do": Alice Springs Mayor, Matt Paterson.

The Barkly Aboriginal Alliance, a self-governing body which gives a voice to all Indigenous people in the Barkly, is looking for new members to join them. The Alliance seeks to create a better future for all communities in the region with their vision being that "Homelands and Communities in the Barkly are self-determining and thriving".

Wandering with Intent is a collection of non-fiction essays that explores Kim’s thoughts, experiences and observations about what happens at the point of intersection between non-Indigenous Australia and strong traditional Aboriginal culture ... With Kim’s finely-tuned observations and rich descriptions of people, places and topics you really do feel as if you’re accompanying her on a journey. 

The recommendation to reinstate alcohol bans in Alice Springs town camps and outback home lands was described as “finally some commonsense” by the Independent MLA for Araluen, Robyn Lambley. But she says Dorrelle Anderson, who made the recommendation, should now go back to her work and “sort out child protection, the most critical problem in Central Australia” and “keep off the streets” children causing trouble.

The Tennant Creek Community Shed is bringing an exciting enterprise showcase to town this weekend where locals can hear from leading business leaders from across the country ... Speakers will include Natasha Short of Kimberley Jiyagas, Jason Lord from Arrernte Community Boxing Academy, Matt Panayl from Social Traders and the Barkly’s own John Fitz from the Tennant Creek Community Shed to name a few.

Narrandera’s Narrungderra NAIDOC March down East Street on Sunday was joined by participants of all ages, including noted Aboriginal personality Stan Grant Junior. ... The march moved to the Memorial Gardens in East Street where a smoking ceremony and other activities took place.

The Mungkarta community is celebrating 35 years since Traditional Owners took their country back in a Native Title Land Claim. In commemoration of the 1988 Mungkarta Land Claim, the school and community gathered local artworks to display at Nyinkka Nyunyu Art & Culture Centre.

Tennant Creek’s born and bred doctor Sarah Goddard took the top honours in the Local Government 2023 Australia Day Awards for Tennant Creek. Dr Goddard has spent well over a decade reaching her goals to become a doctor and Citizen of the Year Awards adds to her list of growing accolades, winning best Indigenous doctor in Australia late last year in the Australian Indigenous Doctors’ Association (AIDA) awards.

Serena Kirby. A school holiday program involving Indigenous games of mock warfare and dispute settling was hosted at the Denmark Recreation Centre. Jayden Caldwell, a Noongar man from Perth, organised the Institute of Indigenous Wellbeing and Sport-run games.

It was a year of new challenges for turtle nesting protection on the western Cape York Peninsula, with unprecedented early nesting, vehicle breakdowns, weather events, shifting landscapes and data collection unreliability ... Rangers from Apudthama Land Trust and the Northern Peninsula Area Regional Council (NPARC), Napranum Aboriginal Land Council, Mapoon and Pormpuraaw gathered in Weipa in December for the annual forum on the turtle nesting season.

Disabilities and Multicultural Affairs Minister Ngaree Ah Kit was in Tennant Creek this week to meet with key stakeholders to ensure their voices are heard and represented in government decision-making. Over two days she met with The Mob Aboriginal Corporation, Barkly Regional Council, Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation and the Barkly Disability Network to name a few.

Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon visited Maryborough on 17 January 2023 and said a record number of First Nations groups would share in funding of more than $1.5 million, from organisations on Mabuiag and Muralag Islands in the Torres Strait in the north, to near Birdsville in the west and Gatton in Southern Queensland.

Sarah Martin. A project telling the story of the first recorded act of reconciliation in Australia has resulted in the Cooktown Museum taking out a major gong at the Gallery and Museum Achievement Awards in Brisbane. The Cooktown Museum, owned and managed by the National Trust of Australia Queensland, was a joint winner for its Reimagining James Cook project, which tells the fascinating story of the Guugu Yimithirr people’s interactions with Cook from both a European and First Nations perspective.

Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation. Our Elders’ Yarn Up group happens once a month, with Elders coming in to express their concerns and their love for children and families ... Last week, Marlungku-Kari Child & Family Centre celebrated its last Elder’s Yarn Up meet for the year.

A number of state forests across south east Queensland will be conserved earlier, the Palaszczuk Government has announced ... Environment Minister Meaghan Scanlon said it’s part of the Palaszczuk Government’s election commitment to transfer 20,000 hectares of state forest to Queensland’s protected areas.

Biosecurity and safeguarding were front of mind at the Indigenous Rangers Biosecurity roundtable in the Northern Territory ... Indigenous Ranger organisations contracted to undertake biosecurity surveillance are generally located along the northern Australian coastline, with a focus on high-risk pathways with a potential for pest and disease incursions.

Tiwi Textiles: Design, Making, Process tells the story of the innovative Tiwi Design centre on Bathurst Island in northern Australia, dedicated to the production of hand-printed fabrics featuring Indigenous designs, from the 1970s to today.

In Remote as Ever, David Scrimgeour tells the story of his working life as a doctor in isolated communities in Australia's Western Desert in the late 1970s. Being involved in the Homelands movement and the Aboriginal community-controlled health campaign gave him significant insight into the strength of the Aboriginal struggle for autonomy - a struggle too often undermined by government policy.

Thousands of generations of shared history across Cape York and the Torres Strait has been formally recognised by the Federal Court of Australia. Celebrations were held on Thursday Island as Justice Debbie Mortimer announced the historic Native Title consent determination, which covers about 65,000 square kilometres of land and sea.

The Mary Valley wetlands will undergo a new round of monitoring as an ongoing record of how the area is faring following works carried out on Country ... This month, Cape York project officer Ben Ansell visited one of the wetland sites with Traditional Owner Ashley Lyall to determine the percentage of feral cattle footprints, pig damage and live vegetation cover in the area.