Aboriginal Way

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...

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 l...

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...

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 an...

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 c...

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...

“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 governmen...

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 communic...

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 c...

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...

Faith Thomas AM, the first Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person to play for Australia in any sport, has died at aged 90. The Adnyamathanha woman, who was born at the Nepabunna Aboriginal Mission in 1933 to an Aboriginal mother and German father was selected to play cricket for South Australia in the 1950’s, before going on to play Test Cricket for Australia against England at Melbourne'...

“There’s a sense of excitement that something really big is growing from this and it’s encompassing not just the school, but everything around the school that’s linked to it… I’m awed that my boys get to have this experience and know that it will be a visible part of their lives forevermore. It’s not going to be this hidden, misunderstood almost myth that you hear about as a child, that’s edited s...

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 C...

The biggest South Australian event dedicated to improving the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is coming up quickly. The annual “Closing the Gap day” from Sonder and Nunkuwarrin Yunti will be held on Kaurna Country at the Adelaide Showgrounds on Thursday, 16th March from 11am to 3pm. Here to tell us about it on the show today is Njirrah Rowe, the Team Leader of Sonder's Closi...

Legendary Wiradjuri tracker Alec Riley was the first Indigenous police sergeant on the New South Wales Police Force, where he served for 40 years from 1911. In parallel to that now, many years later, his Great-Great nephew Daniel Riley has been named the first Indigenous director of an Australian dance company, in his new role as Artistic Director of Australian Dance Theatre. In one of his first w...

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 Just...

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 p...

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...

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...

Are you a First Nations business or entrepreneur? Then don't miss this week's episode of Aboriginal Way with Kelly May, Operations Manager of The Circle. The Circle was set up as a partnership between the South Australian and Australian governments with funding from the National Indigenous Australians Agency, based at Lot Fourteen. "We've been established as a conduit between First Nations busines...

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...

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...

The Minister for Indigenous Australians, Linda Burney, met with Aboriginal Way to answer important questions about an Indigenous Voice to Parliament. The Voice would be a body enshrined in the constitution that enables Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to provide advice to the parliament on policies and projects that impact their lives. Representing all First Nations in the Voice will b...

InFocus is a segment where we speak to PBCs who are creating exciting social and economic developments for their Aboriginal members and communities. In this week's episode, we yarn with Yandruwandha woman, Teresa Gallo, who is the Chairperson of Yandruwandha Yawarrawarrka Traditional Land Owners Aboriginal Corporation (YYTLOAC). YYTLOAC acts as the agent for the native title rights and interests o...

How do Aboriginal groups reach native title status and what happens to them when they do? Today we're speaking with the CEO of South Australian Native Title Services, Keith Thomas, to find out more about: •the services needed to reach native title status •the services available after native title is claimed •support and services available to Aboriginal groups here in South AustraliaIf you're a reg...