Aboriginal Way

This week, we're bringing you the second part in a two-part series about the newly published book, Loving Country, by Bruce Pascoe and Vicky Shukuroglou.

Bruce and Vicky recently recorded this interview with Adelaide-based poet and broadcaster, Mike Ladd, for local bookshop Matilda Books. Thanks to them and to Hardie Grant Publishing for allowing us to play this insightful interview.

If you missed Part 1, you might enjoy listening to that before this one. You can find it either on our website at nativetitlesa.org or by searching Aboriginal Way on Apple iTunes or iHeart radio.

Over the next two weeks, we'll be bringing you another two-part series.

This short series is a conversation between authors Bruce Pascoe and Vicky Shukuroglou about their new book, Loving Country, that was recently broadcast by a local bookshop over Zoom. Thanks to the book's publisher, Hardie Grant Publishing for allowing us to broadcast this interview.

Bruce Pascoe is an Aboriginal writer best known for his work Dark Emu, which re-examines colonial accounts of Aboriginal people in Australia and cites evidence of pre-colonial agriculture, engineering and building construction by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.

Vicky is a multi-disciplinary artist and gardener.

Born out of a joint ethos for caring for country and culture, Loving Country is a type of in-depth guidebook that examines the direct link between the two. Not to be mistaken for a 'travel book' designed to entertain, Loving Country is a blend of history, poetry, environmental writing and information about Indigenous farming. It was created in consultation with communities and Elders across the country and details 18 places in particular.

Bruce is speaking from Malacoota and Vicky from the top of her car, somewhere between Port Augusta and Renmark!

The conversation was hosted by Adelaide poet and broadcaster Mike Ladd.

Enjoy.

Our guest on Aboriginal Way this week is anti-nuclear activist Karina Lester.

Karina is a Yankunytjatjara Anangu woman who grew up on the APY Lands in the Far North West of South Australia.

Her late father was Yami Lester, an Aboriginal elder and nuclear campaigner, who lost his eye sight after the Maralinga nuclear tests in the 1950s.

Karina continues to advocate against nuclear weapons and dumps, such as the proposed Kimba nuclear waste site.

In 2017, she spoke to world leaders in New York at the United Nations conference on a nuclear weapons ban treaty. In this episode, Karina updates Aboriginal Way about the the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, with 50 countries on board, but Australia yet to sign.

This week you'll hear the second part of our interview with senior anthropologist Robert Graham.

Listen in as he continues to discuss the work of anthropologists in the native title process.

If you missed Part 1, you can listen back to the podcast version on our website here - www.nativetitlesa.org/anthropology-native-title/ or on iTunes.

Understanding how vital anthropology is to native title claims

PART 1 of 2

South Australian Native Title Services employs a small team of anthropologists and we find that people often have questions about what their role is and how it relates to native title.

The truth is that anthropologists have a vital, if perhaps not widely known, role to play in our country's native title system and in determining outcomes for claimants.

Under the Australian process for a native title claim, a claimant, or applicant, needs to prove that their native title rights have continued to exist largely uninterrupted since sovereignty by the Commonwealth over Australia. They must also prove that native title rights have not been extinguished by subsequent acts of colonisation.

It is within the domain of anthropologists to undertake wide research to demonstrate the claimants' continuous connection to a common area of land, then support the resolution process by providing expert evidence and data analysis, often in court.

We thought we should give them the chance to explain their work and tell you, firsthand, more about what they do.

You'll hear this interview with our Senior Anthropologist, Robert Graham in two parts - one this week and the other to follow next week. We hope you enjoy them.

Keep an eye out for a bigger story about anthropology and the native title process in the February edition of the Aboriginal Way newspaper too.

Image: Senior anthropologist Robert Graham with Darryl Doolan following his performance during the Oodnatdatta trial

Exploration drilling will go ahead early this year on Lake Torrens, a sacred Aboriginal site, after approval was announced by the Premier Steven Marshall during the week between Christmas and New Year's. The authorisation gives minerals exploration company Kelaray permission to "damage, disturb or interfere" with sites, objects and remains under Section 23 of the Aboriginal Heritage Act.

Kelaray are a subsidiary of Argonaut Resources, who we discovered last week were actually awarded a $320,000 grant from the South Australian Government mid-last year for mining on Lake Torrens -before the drilling was even approved!

We spoke with South Australian Native Title Services CEO Keith Thomas and Kokatha senior law man and Lake Torrens car holder Andrew Starkey about the decision.

This interview was first broadcast on Friday 15 January 2021.

Research led by University of South Australia PhD candidate Katharine McBride has found what makes the heart strong for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Did you know, the life expectancy of Aboriginal women is 75.6 years, compared to 83.4 years for non-Aboriginal women?

According to McBride's paper, 'Good Heart: Telling Stories of Cardiovascular Protective and Risk Factors for Aboriginal Women', the current approach to heart health is not working because the model of care fails to meet Aboriginal women's cultural needs.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for Aboriginal women and McBride's study explains what changes are needed to meet the 2031 Closing the Gap target.

Anna Dowling, a Yamatji Badimia woman and Research Assistant at South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute, is a member of the advisory group who worked on the study. The advisory group agreed that Aboriginal women's voices need to be prioritised to understand what protects the heart and puts it at risk.

Three years on from determination, the Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation is thriving as it builds sustainable partnerships with regional councils and the local community, Interim CEO Tim Hartman tells Aboriginal Way.

Part A of the Ngarrindjeri native title claim was determined just over three years ago, becoming incorporated on 6 December 2017 and registered at the beginning of January the following year. This was nearly 20 years after the claim was first lodged, and many elders and community members who had initiated the process were unfortunately no longer around to see the resolution.

Since then, the determination has opened the door for Ngarrindjeri in a lot of ways. It's changed the relationship they have with the rest of the community and given them access and more of a voice to negotiate the way things are done, as Ngarrindjeri Aboriginal Corporation Interim CEO Tim Hartman told Aboriginal Way.

"One of the key exciting things about finally getting to the determination was the recognition that Ngarrindjeri have always had and always will have our connection to our Yarluwar-Ruwe, our sea country, and this recognition just validated what has always been our position; that Ngarrindjeri should be involved, should participate and should have a voice in regards to what is occurring across Ngarrindjeri country," said Tim.

"As a native title body, a lot of our areas of interest lie specifically around land, water, culture and heritage, so we try to ensure Ngarrindjeri values and interests around that heritage are being incorporated, respected and valued with the broader community. Ngarrindjeri need to and should be sitting at the table to participate in the decision-making around how the land is managed, how planning is undertaken and the decision-making processes moving forward."

Memories of Yalata will be captured by Indigenous policy researcher and writer Eleanor Hogan, who was recently awarded a $4,755 grant from the SA History fund. This assistance, alongside another smaller grant she's received from the Oral History Association of South Australia and the Northern Territory, will allow her to travel to and spend more time in the Yalata community.

There, she plans to record the stories and memories of three senior Yalata women, transcribe them into a booklet with English and Pitjantjatjara translations and have them archived for the local community.

"They have seen a huge amount of historic change from the time when they were living along the railway line on the Nullarbor in the 1930s and 1940s," Eleanor said.

That includes issues of land rights, the Maralinga nuclear testing site in the 1950's, the Missions, the impact of alcohol in the community and their participation in its restrictions.

Eleanor, who calls Alice Springs home, got to know the rich history of the Yalata region and many of its residents whilst researching her upcoming book The Unholy Alliance of Ernestine Hill and Daisy Bates, which will be published in March 2021. She met with Elders in their 70's and 80's twice over the last five years for this and discussed ways of recording their stories for the benefit of the region.

"The older generation of remote Aboriginal people tend to have more health issues earlier, so you've got less people to draw on for Pitjantjatjara history - the memories of past eras will be gone soon."

Have you heard of Faith Thomas AM (née Coultard)?

The Adnyamathanha woman who was born at the Nepabunna Aboriginal Mission in the early 1930's to an Aboriginal mother and German father, was in the first group of Aboriginal nurses to graduate from the Royal Adelaide Hospital in the 1950's, alongside her friend from Colebrook Home where she had grown up, Lowitja O'Donoghue. Faith nursed in Aboriginal communities right across regional and remote South Australia in the 1960's and 70's.

But in addition to her nursing career, Faith was the first Aboriginal woman to play test cricket for Australia in 1958, and the first Aboriginal person to represent Australia in any sport when she played for the Australian National team in an international match against England.

Film and media company Ninti Media secured funding from NITV this year to complete a documentary they have been working on about Faith's incredible life.

We caught up with Adelaide local Tyson Baird who's co-producing the film alongside the media company.