Aboriginal Way

The practice of managing Country with fire has returned to Wirraparinga (Brownhill Creek) on Kaurna Country.

During April, a Firesticks team including Clem Newchurch, Paul Dixon Jr and Quahli Newchurch carried out a cultural burn in an area of Kangaroo Grass at Wirraparinga (Brownhill Creek) for the first time in hundreds of years.

Among those who attended these significant burns were involved Kaurna people, community members, students, politicians, and the Governor of South Australia, the Honourable Frances Adamson AC.

During this episode AW spoke with Clem Newchurch from Firesticks Alliance, Brownhill Creek Association community engagement officer and project manager, Ron Bellchambers and Uncle Jeffrey Newchurch.

The 40th anniversary of the historic Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Land Rights Act has been acknowledged during the long-awaited Kulilaya Festival at Umuwa.

The event took place on March 24, after facing delays due to the outbreak of COVID, and saw musicians, visual artists and performers present their history and stories through song and dance to commemorate the occasion.

Since putting ink to paper on the self-determining APY Lands Act in 1981, Anangu have held freehold title ownership of their Country, returning the right of self-governance and allowing Traditional Owners to determine how their land is managed.

The Act was one of the first to be granted in Australia and remains a unique example of freehold title negotiated between Traditional Owners and the SA government.

Interviews included in this podcast are SA Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Kyam Maher, Greens Senator Tammy Franks, APY General Manager Richard King, SA Health’s Director of Aboriginal Public Health, Damien Shen, APY head of maintenance, Daniel Omenzetter and multi media archivists John and Dora Dallwitz.

During this program we will be playing a variety of interviews recorded at Wallaroo during an engagement meeting between Narunga Nation, the Department of Infrastructure and Transport and global freight company and grain exporter, T-Ports.

We attended the group consultation in order to provide a picture of what it can look like when companies and departments engage with Traditional Owners on a large scale project.

Across the course of the day we spoke with Narungga leader and traditional owner, Peter Turner, Narungga chief executive officer Doug Milera, T-Ports CEO Nathan Kent, and executive director for the Department of Infrastructure and Transport, Graham Jackson.

George Cooley is a senior man and community leader from Coober Pedy. He holds leadership positions across the Umoona and Coober Pedy communities and is a talented artist and opal miner.

He paints the spectacular desert landscapes of the Kaṉku-Breakaways, an area in northern South Australia that figures prominently in the creation stories and sacred songlines of the Antakirinja Matu-Yankunytjatjara people. 

The important site 25km north of Coober Pedy, is known for its spectacular hills, mesas and plains.

Mr Cooley's work is currently featuring at the 18th Adelaide Biennial of Australia Art at the Art Gallery of South Australia.

The Adelaide Biennial of Australian Art: Inner Sanctum is curated by Jose Da Silva, with 24 leading artists and poets featured in an exhibition at the AGSA until June 2.

On today's episode we speak with two First Nations artists featuring at WOMADelaide 2024.

First up is Rob Edwards, a talented local artist who uses his gift for music to channel his unique voice and express multi-generational storytelling.

Also featured is Cedric Varcoe, a renowned Narungga and Ngarrindjeri artist known for his iconic artwork that will feature on the WOMADelaide signage present at this year's festival.

Both artists advocate for the continued amplification of Aboriginal voices and history through their work, with emphasis on the power of connection through art and community.

On 27 February, Adelaide’s inaugural ‘Kaurna Day’ event is being hosted at the University of Adelaide.

Kaurna Day is a free public event that aims to recognise and celebrate the traditional owners of the Adelaide Plains – the Kaurna nation – through keynote talks, forums, culture, food and music. 

109 of 123 spoken Indigenous languages in Australia are endangered - one of the fastest rates of language loss in the world.

We are on the brink of losing many Indigenous languages as their endangerment becomes more pronounced as Elders pass.  

AW spoke to associate professor Rob Amery and Uncle Lewis Yerloburka O’Brien about their lifechanging collaboration to preserve the Kaurna language. 

With the South Australian First Nations Voice to Parliament pushing forward, eligible candidates are being asked to put their hand up and nominate themselves ahead of the March 16 election.

The SA Voice aims to platform people to speak on behalf of their communities on a range of matters and issues related to First Nations peoples.

AW spoke with SA’s Commissioner for First Nations Voice, Dale Agius, about the key frameworks, history and scope of the forthcoming Voice.

Detailed in our conversation are breakdowns of nomination areas, what participation will look like and general discussion about the function of the SA Voice.

Anyone wishing to nominate themselves will be able to do so up until 12 February 2024.

In 1840, a large group of shipwreck survivors were killed by Aboriginal people on the Coorong, with a monument installed in 1966 marking this massacre.

The monument omits detail of the controversial subsequent hanging of two Aboriginal men who were never granted a proper trial.

A collaborative project between the First Nations of the South East and the Kingston South East branch of the National trust is aiming to provide wider context to a historical site at a new native garden in Kingston South East.

The installations are to be put in place as part of the Telling the Whole Story project, lead by Tanganekald, Meintangk and Bungandidj woman, Irene Watson, a law professor at the University of South Australia and Alison Stillwell from the Kingston SE local National Trust branch. 

We spoke in detail with Professor Watson about the project.

On Tuesday the 13th of December, members of the Kaurna community and supporters gathered at Wangayarta, the Kaurna memorial at Smithfield Memorial Park, to lay ancestors to rest in a community-led reburial.

Following historic reburials in December 2021 and June 2022, last week’s ceremony reburied ancestors who were disturbed from burial sites in Norwood, St Peters, Walkerville, Campbelltown and other areas of eastern Adelaide in the late 1800s and into the 20th century.

Many of these ancestors had been in the care of the South Australian Museum for nearly a century.

Wangayarta is a collaboration between Kaurna Yerta Aboriginal Corporation (KYAC), South Australian Museum, Adelaide Cemeteries and Department of Premier and Cabinet Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation, to address the historical legacy of Kaurna ancestors in the custodianship of museums and universities.

This is a model pioneered by Kaurna, which the South Australian Museum is now exploring with other Aboriginal communities.

The eastern mound was prepared for Ancestors during Wangayarta’s co-design process. During construction, Uncle Moogy Sumner spread soils from all over Kaurna Country across the area as a way of allowing all ancestors to be buried in the soil of their Country.

The podcast, available via the link in our bio, contains on-site interviews and recordings of speeches taken from the day of repatriation at Wangayarta.

A Willawilla Karra Kuu (Kaurna shelter tree) estimated to be over 450 years old has been given a second wind after prolonged land management efforts from several groups.

The tree-saving initiative started by the Brownhill Creek Conservation Group in 2018, has been contributed to by local school students and volunteers who have planted around 2,800 native plants around the creek area.

The tree is a significant feature of Wirraparinga (Brownhill Creek) which had become inundated by introduced woods and a damaged root system from the digging of a local trench.

Kaurna Elder, Auntie Lynette Crocker, lead the planting of 200 Yam Daisies which were vital in healing the undergrowth of the tree and surrounding area.

Due to the hollowed-out nature of the tree she suggests it would have been used by Kaurna Ancestors for shelter in the past or possibly for storing items.

"I wish we had a USB we could put into the tree so that it could tell its story," Auntie Lynette said.

We spoke with Auntie Lynette ahead of a celebration for Kaurna shelter tree on November 6.

Kaurareg Aboriginal and Kalkalgal, Erubamle Torres Strait Islander man, Thomas Mayo, is a prominent Yes campaigner and advocate for the upcoming Voice referendum.

He has been one of the more visible presences across news media and has authored six books including The Voice to Parliament Handbook - All the details you need, released in May 2023.

We spoke to Thomas during his final visit to SA ahead of the October 14 referendum - discussing his involvement with the campaign and remaining civil during the surrounding discourse.

The Art Gallery of South Australia’s Tarnanthi Art Fair is returning in 2023, featuring in-person and digital events, after two years of online events.

The Tarnanthi Art Fair will run from Friday 20 October to Sunday 22 October, with the event taking place at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre for the first time.

The 2023 Tarnanthi Festival features the work of more than 1500 artists in exhibitions and events at AGSA and venues across South Australia from Port Pirie to Port Adelaide.

We spoke with Tarnanthi Artistic Director, Nici Cumpston, about the works she was excited to see and what audiences can expect heading into this year's program.

Students have flocked to the 2023 STEM Aboriginal Learner Congress - the only one of its kind for Aboriginal children in Australia.

The event, held at the Adelaide Convention Centre, saw hundred of students from all across South Australia gain valuable education and industry experience in a variety of fields.

This year's theme of 'Cultural Innovators' reflected the past 60,000+ years of Aboriginal scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians - while looking forward to the future.

During the congress we spoke with STEM program manager, Jacky Smith, and a host of engaged young learners in attendance at the conference.

In 1998 Traditional Owners from the Nipapanha (formerly Nepabunna) community in South Australia became the first Indigenous people to dedicate their Country as an Indigenous Protected Area.

At this time the 58,000 hectares of rugged Country on Adnyamathanha lands was in a state of decline.

Today Nantawarrina is a leading example of replenishment thanks to the constant efforts of Indigenous rangers and Adnyamathaha men and women who have replanted native vegetation, removed feral animals and helped to preserve the native species.

We spoke with organisers of the 25th anniversary celebrations, John Chester and Gerry Butler, about the journey so far.

On August 28, 2023 the Wilyakali people were handed their native title rights and interests at a Federal Court ceremony near Mannahill, 360km northeast of Adelaide.

The consent determination area covers around 9,200 square-kilometres and stretches from the NSW border, on both sides of the Barrier Highway, to areas near Mannahill.

Wilyakali Aboriginal Corporation chair, Glen O’Donnell, said the date of the determination (August 28) would always be remembered by Wilyakali people.

“We’ve got a lot of Elders that have gone before us that are no longer here but were here in spirit - we were able to recognise this today.”

This sentiment was echoed by Wilyakali Aboriginal Corporation vice-chair, Sandra Clark.

"It’s a day for us to remember them, they fought very hard and a lot of people thought the Wilyakali people were extinct, that we didn’t exist but here we are," Ms Clark said.

"We’ve grown, we’re massive now – biggest mob."

We spoke with Glen O'Donnell, Sandra Clark and Jarrad Menz at Mannahill following the consent determination.

After 12 years with the Bangarra Dance Theatre, Frances Rings is delivering her first piece since stepping in as artistic director for the company.

'Yuldea' is a deeply personal ceremonial affirmation of history and heritage, inspired by her family’s connection to the area.

The piece tells the story of the Aṉangu people of the Great Victorian Desert and the abrupt moment that traditional life collided with the industrial ambition of a growing nation in South Australia.

In Yuldea, the ancient water soak, Yooldil Kapi, connected important trading routes and dreaming stories that crossed through the site for thousands of years.

We spoke with Frances ahead of Bangarra's shows on Kaurna Yerta.

Renowned Eastern Arrernte artist Scott Rathman has created a vibrant mural to welcome the Panama Women's National Football team and celebrate the diverse sporting community in the Playford region.

Scott has been painting murals around Australia for over 34 years and has provided mentorship for students at schools and aspiring artists.

“For me, I think Indigenous art from around the world has a lot of similarities in its purpose,” Mr Rathman said.

“The purpose of a lot of traditional art is storytelling and I always want to make sure I honour that tradition.”

Ridley Reserve, in Elizabeth, provided a training base for the Panama Women’s National Football team when they arrived in Australia for their FIFA Women’s World Cup campaign.

On July 6, the Ngadjuri people of South Australia received their second Federal Court-recognised native title consent determination, at a packed Burra Town Hall.

The determination area covers South Australian towns across the Mid North including Kapunda, Clare, Burra, Peterborough and Yunta.

In the five years since their first determination, a joint title overlap with the Adnyamathanha Ngadjuri and Wilyakali peoples, Ngadjuri representatives spoke with great adoration for their Country.

Ngadjuri Elder Aunty Patricia Waria-Read spoke at the native title hearing of her people’s history living in the area and encouraged those in attendance to reflect on the past while looking forward to a brighter future.

Recent cultural burns on Yorke Peninsula are reconnecting Narungga people to the traditional practice of burning on Country, training local First Nations people, and facilitating the exchange of knowledge between First Nations’ people and non-Indigenous partners and land managers.

Burns were conducted at Point Pearce, Minlaton/Minlagawi Gum Flat and Ardrossan grasslands, with further assessments carried out at sites initially slated for burns including Dhibara Sanctuary, Dhilba Guuranda (Innes National Park), Rocky Bend and Warooka Property (Marawardi).

On this episode of Aboriginal Way we spoke with Narungga man and leading practitioner, Peter Turner, who conducted cultural burns at Point Pearce alongside Victor Steffensen from Firesticks Alliance and described the practice on Narungga Country as “well overdue.”

“The Old People, they managed the Country and more or less gardened it with fire. Now we’ve got a couple hundred years of mess that’s been allowed to build-up since these practices were stopped," Mr Turner said.

Funding for the project was secured from the Australian Government’s Preparing Australian Communities – Local Stream, designated for the series of cultural burns conducted on Narungga Country, with project management, funding and stakeholder coordination for the project organised by the Yorke Peninsula Council.

Two weeks ago a group of Australian atomic survivors travelled to Canberra to speak with government decision-makers about their experiences as survivors of the British nuclear testing program in WA and SA.

They will outlined expectations for future actions from the government to acknowledge and address the harms caused by nuclear weapons testing, calling directly on the Prime Minister to sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

 This year marks the 70th anniversary of the British nuclear testing program at Emu Field in South Australia, and one of the delegates, Karina Lester, a Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman from north-west South Australia, is a second generation nuclear test survivor from these tests.

Her late father, Yami Lester, was blinded by the tests at Emu Field, and Karina carries his story as well as her grandmother’s story about the impacts of the tests on her people.

 “Our mob were not informed of those tests that were about to take place on our traditional lands,” said Karina.

“Consent was never given by Anangu for the Emu Field tests. The Government did not come and ask Anangu if it was okay to test on our traditional lands.

 "First Nations peoples of this Country have been speaking up strong about truth telling, this is our truth telling, about the impacts felt by my people, Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara, the contamination of our traditional lands, the hurt and pain and suffering still felt to this day.

"All Australians need to know the truth about what happened on our own soil.

“These people are infiltrating local governments, taking custodians land away and meddling with identity and politics, it's a really scary issue.”

Palawa man Nathan Maynard's play, 'At What Cost?', explores the issue of non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders incorrectly identifying themselves as Palawa persons, a contentious issue since legal reform from the Tasmanian government in 2016.

New criteria introduced allowed people to use self identification and communal recognition to prove Aboriginal ancestry, replacing a system that previously required additional documentary evidence in the process.

Ahead of the State Theatre Company South Australia debut of the play on June 16, we spoke with lead actor, Sandy Greenwood, about the show's stirring content, her personal experiences with identity and more.

With constant rolling coverage in regard to the Federal Referendum, you may have missed the establishment of the South Australian First Nations Voice to Parliament.

Back in March, South Australia became the first Australian jurisdiction to pass a bill legislating a State Indigenous Voice to Parliament.

Separate from the Federal Voice, the initiative is intended to provide a direct line of communication for elected Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders with the South Australian Parliament.

We spoke with the Electoral Commision of South Australia's Director of Advertising and Communications, James Trebilcock, about the key dates, enrolment + nomination process for the upcoming elections and differences between the state and federal voice.

Six regions across South Australia will feature an elected body, with only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders eligible to vote and nominate for this election.

Successful nominees will form Local First Nations Voice bodies, with each region choosing two joint presiding members to represent their region on the State First Nations voice.

Elections for the Local First Nations Voice will be held on 9 September 2023.

A lost totem of the Erawirung people, the Murray crayfish, has returned to SA waters, despite being made extinct in the area due to pollution, overfishing and river regulation.

On May 16, 200 crays were relocated from parts of the NSW and ACT run of the Murray River with ongoing monitoring to be undertaken by the River Murray Mallee Aboriginal Corporation (RMMAC) rangers

Erawirung man and ranger coordinator for the River Murray and Malle Aboriginal Corporation, Glenn Chisholm, joins the program to discuss the significance of the returned totem crays.

Charlie Flannigan was a prize-winning jockey and stockman who became the centre of a murder trial that gripped the Northern Territory in 1892. Darwin-based historian and Library & Archives NT curator Don Nawurlany Christophersen spoke with Aboriginal Way about the impact of Flannigan's sketches, found in the SA Museum archives, before he became the first person officially sentenced to hang in the Northern Territory. Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners are warned that this podcast mentions deceased persons.

Over the last two days, the Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney, the Federal Attorney-General Julian Leeser, the Special Envoy for Reconciliation and the Implementation of the Uluru Statement from the Heart Pat Dodson, met with the Federal Voice to Parliament Referendum Working Group and Referendum Engagement Group on Kaurna Land.

The Working Group also met with Acting Premier Susan Close and the SA Attorney General and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Kyam Maher, to discuss progress towards a First Nations Voice to Parliament. The working group was excited to hear about the progress here, and supports South Australia’s movement to ensure that voices in remote and regional communities are heard.

The Working Group received an update on the Referendum (Machinery Provisions) Amendment Bill 2022, which will be further considered by the Senate next week. The Working Group continued its discussion on the wording of the proposed amendments to the Constitution to include an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice to Parliament and progressed the wording of the question on the ballot paper.

The Government will introduce the Constitution Alteration Bill to Parliament in the final sitting week of March.  The bill will define the question Australians will be asked at the referendum and contain the proposed amendment to the Constitution. This will be followed by a comprehensive parliamentary inquiry. This process will provide Australians, including First Nations people, with the chance to make formal submissions on the proposed constitutional amendments and the question to be put to the Australian people.

The group addressed the media on Friday morning, the 17th March to discuss progress and tell South Australians about the special Parliament sitting day on Sunday, 26th March when all South Australians are invited to take free public transport a partially closed-off North Terrace and hear the South Australians Voice to Parliament Bill officially passed in Parliament and proclaimed by the Governor of South Australia.

Hear directly from SA Attorney General and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Kyam Maher, Referendum Working Party representative Thomas Major, Minister for Indigenous Australians Linda Burney and Federal Attorney-General Julian Leeser....

On the 10th of February 2023, the Wirangu and Nauo peoples celebrated the Federal Court’s recognition of their shared native title rights and interests on the western Eyre Peninsula.

After a 25-year wait, Justice O’Bryan met the Wirangu and Nauo peoples at Elliston Community Hall to deliver their native title consent determination.  Listen to different perspectives on a historic day from Justice O’Bryan, Barrister Susan Phillips, Wirangu Elder Jack Johncock, and Nauo Elder Jody Miller.

Dr Jared Thomas, a Nukunu man from the Southern Flinders Ranges is a Research Fellow for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Material Culture and Arts at the South Australian Museum and UniSA. He is also a curator, arts administrator, international award-winning author and all-around change maker.

Dr Thomas received a Churchill Fellowship in 2019 for his subject matter “investigating colonised people’s interpretive strategies in permanent gallery displays in Aotearoa, Norway, Finland, Canada and the US”, and he recently returned from eight weeks traveling to these countries.

Aboriginal Way sat down with him recently to chat about his experiences…

On the 8th December 2022, a native title claim first made by the Wirangu people more than 25 years ago on the 28th August 1997, was partially finalised with a consent determination at Streaky Bay on the Eyre Peninsula.

The Federal Court’s handing down of the consent determination was a historic day, recognising the Wirangu people as the Traditional Owners of their Country from Acraman Creek in the North to Port Kenny in the South and inland to the Flinders Highway.

SA Native Title Services would like to congratulate the named applicants Caroline Wilson, Cindy Morrison, Barry Dean (Jack) Johncock, Elizabeth Pool, Neville Miller, and Kenneth Wilson, who have fought hard on behalf of Wirangu people to reach their consent determination.

We pay our respects to applicants who passed away before they could be recognised.

In this episode of Aboriginal Way you will hear recordings from the Federal Court's official proceedings on the day* and hear interviews with key people involved.

• Amarah Henderson-Wilson, Senior Legal Case Manager opening the Federal Court proceedings
• Keith Thomas, CEO of South Australian Native Title Services
• Veda Betts, Wirangu Elder, opening statement
• Veda Betts interview
• The Honourable Kyam Maher, Attorney-General and Minister for Aboriginal Affairs interview
• Susan Phillips, Legal Counsel for the Wirangu people opening statement
• Susan Phillips interview
• Barry Dean (Jack) Johncock, Wirangu Elder interview
• Keenan Smith, Chair of Wirangu Aboriginal Corporation
• The Honourable Justice Natalie Charlesworth, statement during consent proceedings

*These recordings are used with permission from the Federal Court

A draft bill proposing a model for the First Nations Voice to South Australia’s Parliament has been released, following a statewide engagement process with First Nations people, leaders and communities from August to October this year. If this legislation gets up, it will be the first state-based Voice to Parliament in the country.

Aboriginal Way spoke with South Australia’s Commissioner for First Nations Voice, Dale Agius, who has commenced his second tour of engagement around the state, about how it will work.

Purrumpa is set to be the largest national gathering of First Nations arts and culture convened by the Australia Council in 50 years.

To be held at the Adelaide Convention Centre on Kaurna Land from Monday, 31st October to Friday, 4th November, its aim is to host considered conversations about First Nations arts and cultures, across a range of industries; to strengthen and grow the sector into the next 50 years, as well as celebrate the incredible achievements of the past 50 years.

We spoke to Australia Council’s Executive Director for First Nations Arts and Culture Franchesca Cubillo to find out more. 

Unceded Seeded or Ngampa, which means yam daisy (a perennial root vegetable that is a staple food source for Kaurna) in Kaurna language, is a new artwork that will be on public display semi-permanently for the next few years outside Guildhouse, in Adelaide’s CBD. The neon sign was designed by South Australian First Nations visual artist Brad Darkson, in consultation with senior Kaurna woman Aunty Lynette Crocker.

“Unceded Seeded (Ngampa) references the land on which the artwork is installed. It acknowledges the Kaurna culture that has always existed within the land, and it highlights the need for everyone to walk together and work together in healing Country. This is not just a job for First Nations people, and everyone that resides on Kaurna land can celebrate and partake in practicing Kaurna culture. Everyone can feel a sense of custodianship for, and kinship with, the land.” – Brad Darkson.