Indigenous

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.

Lockhart River mayor Wayne Butcher has praised his council’s team after it successfully built and sealed a new road using a local workforce. “For the first time in history, Lockhart River Aboriginal Shire Council has built a road from scratch to bitumen,” he said.

A dedicated and permanent First Nations gallery, Djaa Djuwima, has officially opened at the Bendigo Visitor Centre with its first exhibition. Gurangarr Dja Dja Wurrung Djayi (you are on/in Dja Dja Wurrung Country) brings together stunning works from 20 First Nations artists and celebrates their connections to Country.

Charles Jangala Inkamala was born 1968 in Ntaria (Hermannsburg) ... Charles lives in Mparntwe (Alice Springs) and began painting with Bindi Mwerre Anthurre Artists in 2017. He paints significant cultural sites such as Rwetyepme (Mount Sonder) and Yapalpe (Glen Helen Gorge) in stylized detail.

Aurukun’s famous ku’ (camp dog) carvings are among 160 works installed in the inaugural display of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art in the newly located Yiribana Gallery at the Art Gallery of New South Wales.

Sarah Martin. A group of Indigenous women rangers, led by Cape York environmental warrior Larissa Hale, has been named as the first Australian finalist for Prince William’s prestigious Earthshot Prize ... “To be showcasing these amazing projects right across the world is a powerful way for First Nations women to see and imagine their futures in conservation management": Larissa Hale.

The Kowanyama Rangers were called to fight a large wildfire at the Oriners-Sefton property, located in the western Cape York Peninsula. The fire began in late October after a lightning storm rolled across the region around Paradise Creek and Sellars Creek, at the far-western side of Sefton ... “The cooperation between the Rangers and Traditional Owners was critical to the success of this operation. Everybody was working as a team”: Daryl Killin, Kowanyama Aboriginal Shire Council.

Julalikari Council Aboriginal Corporation. Warumungu representatives Jimmy Frank Jnr and Laurence Williams met with Māori delegates in Aotearoa on Tuesday for the repatriation of priceless Warumungu cultural materials. The important objects, which had long ago been sent to New Zealand, were from the collection of obtained by anthropologists Spencer and Gillen during the time they spent with the Warumungu people in early 1900s.

Last Friday, Tennis Victoria, Buldau Yioohgen (Anglicare’s Indigenous Youth Leadership Academy) and the Bendigo and District Aboriginal Community hosted Culture on Court in Castlemaine - an event that mixed culture with tennis plus plenty of fun in a culturally safe environment. Participants improved their tennis skills and experienced cultural activities.

Sarah Donnelley's book Big Things Grow has been called a love song to a small country town but it is also a love song to the profession of teaching ... Sarah's beautifully written memoir recounts key events of her four fulfilling years working in what was a complex and challenging environment.