Aboriginal Way

Did you know that a growing number of Aboriginal children and young people are being unnecessarily and disproportionately removed from their families and communities in South Australia? AW speaks to SA's first Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People, April Lawrie, about her Inquiry, which has uncovered some shocking statistics. Some statistics here in South Australia: Aboriginal...

Nukunu Wapma Thura (Aboriginal Corporation) [NWTAC] recently led a cultural burn at Wilmington alongside Firesticks Alliance, supported by SA Native Title Services. Nukunu fire practitioners in uniform demonstrated traditional knowledge-sharing principles about the inherent sacredness of fire to the Nukunu People; how it interacts with Nukunu culture and their understanding of traditional ecologic...

During this week's program we spoke with Reconciliation SA CEO Jason Downs about the not-for-profits involvement with National Reconciliation Week. The listed events run between May 27 - June 3rd, with the dates commemorating the passing of the 1967 referendum (May 27) and the anniversary of the landmark Mabo decision (June 3). This year's theme is 'Now More Than Ever', with a focu...

A time of healing, for women and for Country. Imagine a gathering solely for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women from all over Australia to come together in celebration of the unique role they share in caring for Country. The National Indigenous Women's Fire Workshop, Ngangkirna Kardlatidli: Women with Fire, was recently held on Kaurna land for Indigenous women to share important knowl...

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 Kau...

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 putt...

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 lar...

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...

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 presen...

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 lang...

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 Agiu...

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 tr...

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 ot...

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...

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...

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...

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 o...

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...

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...