The shifting landscapes of reconciliation

 

Sorry Day 26 May and Reconciliation Week has arrived carrying the theme Now More Than Ever. The theme is clever, timely and so relevant to our times. The term ‘Reconciliation’ has been part of the vernacular since the 1990s and has defined efforts to bring First Nations and the rest of us together. Yet post-referendum many are questioning what reconciliation stands for and maybe it is time for new directions. This presents a challenge to Reconciliation Australia and Reconciliation WA.  So I’ve been watching and listening to voices to understand how the landscape may be shifting

At the Danjoo Koorliny festival in March I attended a circle breakout session led by three young Noongar artists. They spoke of the loss of the referendum as deeply hurtful and are now emerging with a new sense of purpose. One said she is finished with doing art sessions for corporates and community events and will now only work with kids and Noongars. Another said she is not sure what she will do but she knows she will not go back to what she had been doing – applying for grants and being in the wajela way of being. There was a sense of support amongst themselves and excitement of the unknown path ahead. They all agreed they want to do things their own way where ever that may lead. My role? Allow them the space and offer support when the time comes.

Other voices also speak in terms of self-determining ways of being and advised us wajelas to be listening and supporting their approaches and to stop dictating how they should be. Rather than them attending our events and our RAP efforts, they wanted us to turn up to their events – which is what Danjoo Koorliny represents. Today I went to the Fremantle Arts Centre to see Revealed – an exhibition featuring new and emerging artists celebrating ‘the diversity, talent and passion of contemporary Aboriginal Art practice in Western Australia’.

The Allies for Uluru dialog has heard from emerging First Nation voices urging us to remain committed to the Uluru process for Truth Telling Voice and Treaty despite the Voice element being hit on the head in the Federal context.

Personally so many times I’ve thought of good ideas and expected others to agree – ‘what if we had a reconciliation labyrinth on the river and get Noongar leaders to talk about the significance of the place’ or my judgemental assessments of indigenous art and thinking how I can be inspired to recreate my own interpretations.

The fundamentals of the Reconciliation process remain – to establish relationships and make connections, recognise and acknowledge history and cultural wisdom, and to make reparations for healing. Many times I’ve been advised that we have lots of work to do on our side and we should allow Noongar leaders to do what they need to do themselves.

There are voices that have moved to truth-telling as a needed process and I can understand how that acknowledgement still does not extend through our communities. I agree that what is more important than truth telling is truth LISTENING as so much has already been told the problem is on the listening side!

The call for healing remains and is certainly needed Now More Than Ever. The healing is on many levels – individually, communally and for country including our lands, waters and sky. So my byline for this week is ‘Be a part of the healing of country and community’.

So in the Active Hope context:

Gratitude: I’m very grateful to the elders who hold the wisdom people who have been resilient. 

Honouring the Pain: I acknowledge the dents in hopes for the voice, and more broadly the failure to listen and acknowledge the shortcomings of our western approaches.

Seeing with new eyes: There are so many ways to tap into different ways of seeing the world. Trevor Ryan (ECU) described today the need to tune into the vibrations and I admit that I’m a long way from that level of connection.

Going Forth: I commit to listening to voices and country and specifically to learning more noongar words to try and understand Noongar ways of framing our world. As Cass Lynch says how to be ‘living a good life on Noongar country’. 

Photo: my pavement art, 26 May 2024.

What more do we need?

My colleague gave a presentation following his attendance at COP28 on an update of the climate. It was a summary of a report he co-authored for IPCC that detailed the changes over the 2011-20 decade compared to previous in terms of temperatures (air and ocean), sea level, rainfall, ice cover and extreme events. It was headlined  ‘accelerating changes’ and some takeaways include:

Temperature: The rise in global air and sea temperatures is accelerating - the global graph says it all. 2023 was the hottest year since records started and 1.18°C above the 20th century average. I remember when 1998 was regarded as an anomaly it being so much hotter than previous records and now it looks benign. How will 2023 be regarded in another 25 years I wonder?

For sea levels the decadal rise was 4.5mm/year – doesn’t sound like much but if you consider the next 100 years that equates to almost half a metre and the trend is increasing so it is likely a lot more. Many coastal areas won’t cope with 0.5m rise.

Rainfall - a story of floods and droughts. Santiago had lower rain than normal for the entire decade and the South African drought 2015-17 put Cape Town’s water supply under great threat. Interestingly the heavy rain over the Sahel region has long term consequences for Lake Victoria and flows along the Nile that takes years to respond.

Ice cover: Antarctica lost nearly 75% more ice in 2011-20 than 2001-10 especially over west Antarctica. There has been dramatic ice loss over water since 2016 but there is higher uncertainty of ice estimates over the land mass. Glaciers are all retreating though there have been some local short term increases.

I was scientifically impressed with the amount of rigour and effort that went into the data. What stood out is the studies on attribution of extreme events - what are the reasons causing the changes? In the vast majority climate change is a strong contributing factor to the extreme events. In some cases the data is not available to prove one way or another.

This is of course no surprise and nor is should the general public claim ignorance. The term global heating is also beginning to usurp climate change as well which is something I hope takes general acceptance.         

Of course the data is one thing – and experiences of floods, droughts and bushfires permeate communities everywhere. What is missing is how that translates to behaviour change and policy changes. What can we do and what is stopping us from doing it?

At a neighbourhood Christmas party which touched on the recent heat, one neighbour chimed in that his grandchildren will probably want to guillotine him for all the emissions he was responsible for and possibly for his generation too. Yet he said it in a semi-jovial way that went with the attitude but I’m of course not going to change and went on to describe their international holiday intentions and expected confirmation this was socially admirable.

Sonja Geiger, an environmental psychologist has studied behavioural change and says that information alone does not change our behaviour. As someone who knows he could lose a few kg for a few years but still eats to not lose it I can resonate with that. Sonja noted the one thing that most influences is the ‘social norm’ factor. We change when everyone else (ours social peers at least) is doing it. Less people smoke now because less people smoke! It helps to become a vegetarian if you are married to one. Of course establishing the social norm is not easy and takes leadership on multiple levels.

Some point the finger and expect governments to do the work but I’m channelling the spirit of Franciscan priest Richard Rohr in saying it is all – me you, local government, state government, all governments, UN, small business to large corporations, schools, Unis – EVERYONE everywhere has a responsibility to change to reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. And being neutral is not good enough we must work to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations not merely maintain them.  We should all be accountable of our carbon footprint – using the data to make our assessments. See Carbon calculator: https://wwf.org.au/get-involved/ecological-footprint-calculator/

I think that is something we need to think deeply on and deserves its own post.

At COP28 the report card is bleak reading. One standout positive is the status of the ozone hole – it continues to improve. A showcase to all that if we collectively agree to act on the science (Montreal protocol to curb CFC emissions) then progress can be made. So there is hope!

As I write Trump is about to win the first of the US primary election ballots in Iowa - the state where I spent a year as an exchange student now 40 years ago. I wonder how information there can win out over rhetoric but I digress…

So in the Active Hope context:

Gratitude: I’m very grateful to the people who have provided us with such deep knowledge of this world across the millennia. 

Honouring the Pain: I acknowledge the ongoing suffering and the negative legacies we are leaving the next generations with respect to a hotter world.

Seeing with new eyes: I observe myself making life choices that differ from previously and also how hard it is and how long it can take. I read of inspirational people doing things differently.

Going Forth: The need to have conversations everywhere, promote a low emissions lifestyle and restore our planet’s health. Rethinking consumption choices to tread more lightly. Being carbon negative (climate positive) as a conscious choice. So much to do …                                                                                    

Photo: Global temperatures. https://berkeleyearth.org/global-temperature-report-for-2023/

The voice – hope for unity

I’m experiencing mixed  emotions in the lead up to the Voice to Parliamement referendum. Hopeful to realise a step forward for all of us in recognising the First Nations people and their value to our nation; concern for their well-being and what the future may hold should the vote not get up, and wonder as I hear the spectrum of viewpoints across society. 

I’ve been trying to dig behind the No people’s concerns and see what approaches might change their hearts and minds. 

As I sat listening to a relative and her husband go through the list of NO perspectives I was challenged to reply with confidence, respect and find the ‘hook’ that might get them to sit back and reflect on another way, rather than just be argumentative. It wasn’t easy and I realised (again) that when values are so different it is difficult to reach people, no matter how pleasant they may be. To a point I understand as my education also lacked empathy and insights into First Nations people, their cultures and wisdoms. Even though in hindsight I was school friends with some, their identity was denied so it was never even a consideration except when some were labelled with being a ‘black bastard’. My journey has been blessed with opportunities for understanding and knowledge. Through friendships, reading and listening, and experiences of connection with Country that has shown a pathway to recognising the traditional wisdoms.

Now we are being asked whether we want to approve what First Nations people are asking for. I reflect upon the recent journey towards this point in time:

In December 2015 The Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Leader of the Opposition Bill Shorten appointed a 16 person Referendum Council on constitutional recognition led by Pat Dodson and Mark Liebler. The brief was to conduct a national consultation process on how Australians think Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be recognised in the Constitution.  The indigenous sub-committee oversaw 12 indigenous-led dialogues attended by 1200 people to seek input on a way forward. This culminated in the Uluru conference in March 2017 where the Uluru Statement from the Heart was agreed by 250 delegates. 

In June 2017 the Referendum Council released their report to Government. Unfortunately the political timing was wrong as Malcolm Turnbull was under great pressure from the right wing and sadly the government quickly dismissed the report. Roll the clock forward and the Albanese government came to power with a commitment to the Uluru Statement so here we are months before the referendum with polls showing the result is on a knife edge.

Are we prepared as a community to listen to what First Nations people have asked for? Or do we just keep on making decisions for them,` thinking we know better?

 Independent Kate Chaney offered this “The Uluru statement is a generous invitation to invest the time in listening and understanding. It’s an acknowledgement that we are in the season of makuru, the season of fertility. We have the ideas, but we’re not yet ready to implement them. Through the voice, let’s invest in building relationships and respect. Let’s invest in listening and learning. Let’s commit, in our constitution, to continuing to try to get it right together.”

Amanda Vanstone noted “A loss would set back by a decade, probably more, the opportunity to move forward together as a nation in both coming to terms with our past and building a better future. It would do a great disservice to indigenous Australians.”

So in the Active Hope context: 

Gratitude: I’m very grateful to the wisdom within the Uluru Statement from the Heart and to the many  elders and contributors in the process that led us to this point

Honouring the Pain: the history of Australia since 1788 is based upon the foundation of British dominance over the First Nations people. The colonial history was at the expense of their cultures and people. Ignorance and self-interest crushed generations. Now they are in the spotlight increasing vulnerability.

Seeing with new eyes: It is important to understand the concerns from all sides. The First Nations people who don’t see how a voice will make a difference to their lives and want a treaty instead to those who think it will just divide the nation by having one group have something special that others don’t. How can we bring people together to walk forwards.  

Going Forth: The sense of urgency to basically convince the majority to vote YES in October. The ongoing truthtelling and education imperative to reach our young people primarily who will shape our future as those older generations are swept away.                                                

This is a time for activating our hope!

Photo: Advocating for the YES.

Which box am I in?

At times like the census we are asked to define ourselves in a survey. While this is usually a straightforward affair some like religion present a challenge – which box do I tick? For most of my life this was easy as I was brought up catholic and so I ticked accordingly. However, like many of my contemporaries it seems like the church has stayed the same while I have aged and my views on life and the universe have evolved. For decades I have sought a pathway within the church and have attached myself to the Franciscan approach and to people like Fr Richard Rohr who eloquently presents a view that I understand and appreciate. His daily meditations are still a source of inspiration. See: https://cac.org/daily-meditations/

It follows many themes but underlying are hope, love, the prophetic and inclusion.

And yet there is a far greater contrary positions on exclusion, moralising, and the great silence on the many issues that I’m concerned about. The structure of the church as I have experienced seems to stay in the conservative, patriarchal mode treating us in the parent-child approach.

The church is full of so many contradictions. For example, I am heartened by the Australian Bishops conference support for the Uluru Statement from the heart and the Yes campaign  https://mediablog.catholic.org.au/bishops-issue-statement-on-indigenous-voice-to-parliament/ but to my understanding, this message is not getting inserted to the sermons in your local parish.

The broader Australian church seems dominated by the conservative right-wing types that espouse neo-liberal values. Reading the Quadrant e.g. https://mediablog.catholic.org.au/bishops-issue-statement-on-indigenous-voice-to-parliament/ and hearing others speaking as Christians make my blood boil that they should be seen to be speaking from a ‘christian’ perspective. How could I be aligned to such a group of people?

So where does that leave me?  Do I have the energy to push from the inside to shape a better church? What do I believe in and where does that best sit in terms of the religious spectrum?  Which box should I click on the census form?

I do believe in the power of gratitude (the Buddhists seem best at that); in the connections of all life and the natural world (modern science, first nations people and the Gaia followers excel here); my responsibility to live in harmony, to walk humbly and lightly upon the earth; and basically to act from a position of hope and love having kindness to ourselves, each other and the natural world.

Joanna Macy is pretty close to the mark. Those tenets are definitely aligned with the Gospel just not with the Christian churches!

A shame to have to tick ‘other’ though!

Career deviations to open door to new challenges

So much of my identity is defined by my profession. Having been employed as a meteorologist for 34 years, it is difficult to not be defined and recognised as one. My job still provides great interest for me and motivation to do more and contribute to the greater good remains. Working full time does mean that other options are minimised and while I poke my nose into many other activities I find they are occasional. What would happen if I stepped away? Even for just a bit…

What potential awaits and what doors should I open?

The reality is the world is at a tipping point and urgent action is required to change our ways to help restore the planet and communities. I feel called to be more meaningfully involved in that transformation process.

 

Gratitude:

To have choices

To have a job I enjoy and can return to

To have time available to explore

To have people who support me and my activities

That there is still time, maybe just?

That there are so many people on this positive transformation process already and the science and pathways already exist

 

Acknowledging the pain of the world

There is so much pain going on. My focus goes to healing the land on which we live – so much stems from that – biodiversity, habitat for our wildlife, water quality, air quality and climate, restoring indigenous connections, demonstrating our connection with the wider non-anthropogenic universal community, and taking people especially the youth into the bush for their own healing and wellbeing.

The focus on healing extends naturally to pollution – microplastics, over consumption, animal welfare, and economic activity. Although I'm more connected with life on land I'm increasingly distressed by what we have done to the oceans and feel called to be part of the movement to restore health in that environment too.

mmm… that list is getting long.

 

Seeing with new eyes

In 2023 I have the opportunity to take long service leave (hopefully from 15 May through to end of September). This provides an opportunity to dive deep into other places of my life. Previously the focus would be on travel as in our 6-month adventure in 1999. This time some travel is certainly on the agenda, but most of the time I'll be at home. I do have goals to work on better health, to have more time for creative pursuits and time with family and friends. I have a sense of waiting for emergence and use this time leading up to sharpen the focus. For now I sense the urgency and call to connect with healing country – rewilding what has been broken.

 

Going forth

Noting the intention to allow the potential to emerge between now and then there are already doors opening. I'm on the learning journey to understand regeneration so am in an exploratory phase with Anne and friends.  Bruce Ivers (Trees Australia) has taken a mission to use tree planting activities as a means to inspire young people about land regeneration and to create more habitat for our fauna. He is an inspiration, and comes with knowledge and capability.

We thought why not plant a million trees – that is 50000 for the next 20 years. Never enough but we need bold plans.

Then again why not focus on building wildlife corridors or creating more wildlife sanctuaries and joining in with other organisations already on that track: Australian Wildlife Conservancy, Bush Heritage etc.

Advocacy: using the One World Centre as a vehicle to connect to people, possibly half day open invitation (Wed/Thurs afternoon) to explore an issue using the approach of 1/3 input, 1/3 discussion, 1/3 action.

Lots of opportunities in the pipeline.

Photos: 1. Drone photo of our tree planting effort at Mt Mackie, just outside York.

2. Bruce Ivers demonstrating plantings in salt affected country near Pingelly.

3. Red tail black cockatoo is running short of suitable habitat hence the urgency to restore suitable areas for these magnificent birds to survive. 

Connecting to my place of origin

 

Noel Nannup said that where you are born is significant and the spirits of that place know you and go with you. Upon reflection I realised that I didn't know much about Cooroy (inland from Noosa in Qld) and especially the indigenous people and culture.

So my visit in June home to family in Caboolture in June provided an opportunity to explore the place and people of my birth. A mini family reunion at Tewantin just down the hill from Cooroy for three nights was a specific time for discovery.

So my first act was to research online. The Kabi Kabi (Gubbi Gubbi and other variations) people of the coastal region north of Brisbane and specifically north of Caboolture to include the Sunshine Coast and Cooroy are the traditional owners. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gubbi_Gubbi_people

This also led to information about first contacts. I found out the 1840-60s was a bad time when mass killings occurred across Qld. This included poisonings and retributions. A particular massacre event in 1949 was the ambush of   100 sleeping people from the 'GinGin' tribe on the Burnett River near Bundaberg. The back and forth cycle of retribution was always going to be one sided as spears would never compete with guns. More general information on massacres can be found here: https://c21ch.newcastle.edu.au/colonialmassacres/

I also found that Warabah was an initiation site. My parents lived at Wamuran on 20 acres backing on to the creek. This led to a conversation with my mum who mentioned the artefacts they uncovered when ploughing for watermelons some 25-30 years ago. The sharpened stones and rocks were put in the shed and likely to have been thrown out when they moved. I have very vague recollections of random things on the shelves of the shed but nothing specific. The loss of this felt closer to home.

As an aside the Sunshine Coast shire has a RAP - the first Qld council to start one back in 2011/12. https://www.sunshinecoast.qld.gov.au/Council/Planning-and-Projects/Council-Plans/Sunshine-Coast-Reconciliation-Action-Plan

Maleny

A day trip to Maleny held a nice surprise. We had previously been impressed by the art of Gary Myers and again we studied his originals in the main gallery in town following lunch. I happed to read community notice board to see an aboriginal gallery https://www.munnimbahdja.com/ in town so I diverted us there thinking it might be a 5 minute aside. Mum rested in the car while Rosie and I went in just in time for the artist BJ Murphy to start giving two other people a guide to his art. Well 20-30minutes later I was buzzing hearing BJ talk about all the things I was interested in. He reminded me what Noel Nannup would have been like in his 30s. Passionate to understand his culture and a real advocate. He was connecting with the elders and carefully treading a path for himself and his family. I was bold enough to befriend him on facebook and am reading of his journey from afar to get a better idea of issues. He is a Jinibara man, Jinibara being the people of Maleny and surrounds just inland from the coastal Kabi Kabi area.  

Tewantin A three day stay with the family at Tewantin provided the opportunity to imbibe the surroundings and investigate further. Not for the first time I studied the landscape and trees and birds with a renewed purpose of discovery. Noosa does have lots of acknowledgement art and signage which is good to see, though juxtaposed with the over the top wealth and tourism activities.

Gainungan gallery: https://gaiungangallery.com.au/ I had a fantastic 30min conversation with the gallery owner Muraay Djeripi Mulcahy a Gamilaroi man from northern NSW. He was on a lifelong mission to educate people of indigenous wisdom so listened to his story and the stories told through his art. I asked if there were coordinated efforts to harness the knowledge and wisdom of people like himself and he lamented that it appeared that it was a collection of individuals.  I mentioned BJ and coincidentally BJ had come to the opening the night before and they had met for the first time. I also mentioned Tyson Yandamooka and his book Sand Talk and he brightened and said that someone had given him the book but he hadn't read it as yet. Mum was with me for half the time and I noticed her listening in and connecting through the art and story aspects.

Cooroy

I gave the crew a reason to come to Cooroy by way of a visit to the Butter Factory Arts Centre  https://www.butterfactoryartscentre.com.au/. A NAIDOC exhibit had some interesting pieces but they were mostly from outside the region. A trip around the streets included all the commentary from mum and Rosie about people who lived here including a stop at our old house. We passed the hospital where I was born, now a private hospital. I really enjoyed the family stories and different recollections of the place. I walked the street with a nostalgia feeling a connection.

We travelled home via the back road past Cooroy mountain on a road that was not there when we lived there so none of us had gone down. There were properties around the mountain which distracted a little from the imposing mountain. I later researched the name from wikipedia: Cooroy Mountain's name came from Mount Cooroy, which was originally called Coorooey, from the Aboriginal word for possum, kurui. Kuri'bigil'ba is the name of Cooroy Mountain in the dialect of the Kabi speaking aboriginal peoples of this area.

Cherbourg

I had the opportunity for a road trip with my mum for a day so I suggested a trip to Cherbourg, a mission town formed after the 1897 Act to bring the aboriginal people together and now a town of 1200 neighbouring Murgon. Mum thought it was not open to non-aboriginal people but I knew the museum would be a good place to go. It was a great day out and also to drive through the countryside up through places like Kingaroy and Kilcoy, site of poisoning of ~60 people back in 1840s and the meatworks where I recall vividly having a primary school excursion there and being traumatised by all the cows being strung up on hoists and blood everywhere to the point that I could not eat my meat sandwiches that day.

It was lunch time when we arrived at the museum http://rationshed.com.au/ and the lovely Natasha kindly advised of what to do. The boys dormitory was filled with stories, original items like beds and artworks. It was truthtelling at its best but a story of resilience and pride as well as sadness. Mum was challenged and a little defensive by commenting on how hard it was for everyone - we didn't have shoes either. To her credit she did identify the forcible removal as being a strong point of difference and was saddened by it. Although she'd had enough well before we had, we stayed to eat our lunch on the verandah out of the cold wind allowing more time to take in the space and for me to ask questions of Natasha. She did say there were Indigenous Knowledge Centres around to work through culture, knowledge and language. The town was very clean and happy kids playing on the streets it being school holidays.

So in the Active Hope framework I go to:

Gratitude: I'm very grateful for being born into a loving family and having an easy childhood. Grateful for the strong people like BJ and Muraay Djeripi and Natasha, and the many others working to make their mob stronger and bring us along as well on the reconciliation journey. I'm also grateful that my mum is still alive and while challenged at times, is willing to listen and discuss all of this further.

Honouring the Pain: Personally it has taken me this long to dig into my birth place so I mourn for the lost time. In general reading the stories of loss in the 1800s particularly the mass poisonings and massacres of the 1840s and 1850s resulted not only in a fracturing of spirit, traditions, family connections and knowledge. The 1897 Act (akin to the WA 1905 Act) which paved the way for removal of children and families in general from their land and people seemed to come out of the desparate plight of indigenous people living as town fringe dwellers in what were considered squalid conditions.

I also think of Brian Foley and Brad Beetson, classmates with aboriginal heritage who did get abused in school even though we mostly used in the context of terms of endearment.

New eyes: I look at the trees and the forest of the region and it appears a little more familiar like getting re-aquainted with someone from my childhood. I'm also trying to see the history and local contemporary issues through the indigenous lens. It is a different one from Noongar situation - so much has been lost and the general community is not as on board with acknowledging the important role indigenous people play in shaping our Australian future. It is a reminder to me that the Uluru voice debate does require more truth-telling and fundamental education to be able to move ahead.

Going Forth: I feel more at peace now to at least started a journey of understanding my birth place and a little more about it. I hope to keep up digging deeper and following developments and sharing this especially with my family. There is more to read and understand that it is for sure. I'd like to return and do some country walks and hopefully with aboriginal leaders like local Noel Nannups to go deeper still.

 

Photos:

1 Boys dormitory at the Cherbourg mission, now a part of the Ration Shed museum.

2. Cooroy Mountain, from Kabi Kabi word kurui (Coorooyee), the possum.

Connecting with the wisdom of the elders

 Recently I’ve had two different experiences that have sharpened my connection to the wisdom of the indigenous elders of our land. 

The passing of Doolann Leisha Eatts was very sad for her husband Wally, albeit a relief in the end to stop the suffering. I was honoured by being asked by the family to say some words at the funeral, a result of me helping her write her story that was published in 2014. She had a hard life by most standards, growing up on reserves in the wheatbelt, a difficult first marriage but coming through that with a strong sense of who she was and determination to help her people. She was a great friend to reconciliation movement and that is how I met her in 2001 when she did a welcome to country at Lake Monger that our reconciliation group had organised. Through her granny, Fanny Yurleen Bennell, she had heard the old stories. She and Wally have been strong leaders and role models to her extensive family and to all of us. She was gentle yet strong – even telling Prince Phillip off at CHOGM for 'taking our land from us'.

The second was a weekend on country with Noel Nannup and 20 odd others. We were taken around the Avon River catchment listening to stories of the land and the traditions of Noongar people. I have listened to Noel for many years but it was a different experience to have him there on country and not within four walls. His depth of knowledge from learning from his family, his 19 years at CALM and since, going around to listen and ask the ‘old people’ along with his ability to remember them and his story telling powers qualifies him as a living legend of our community. His powers of observation was humbling – ‘can you smell the bush honey?’ No I couldn’t, ‘did you notice the wind has shifted?’ – no I hadn’t; ‘can you hear that bird call can you see it in the tree over there’ – well now that you mention it I can hear it but after 5 minutes of staring into the trees I still couldn’t see it, let alone understand what was going on. 

How useful is this traditional knowledge today? Well some if it has been overtaken by modern scientific understandings but the core element has much to teach us how to live. How to live in harmony with the natural world and with each other. How to live in connection and value each tree, each bird, to observe the seasonal changes and understand the significance of these changes. They did not write any of this down but lived by experiences, music, art and story telling – how impressive is it for them to tell stories of sea level changes, of shifts in the earth’s orbit and comets and other infrequent astronomical happenings.

Am I romanticising the traditional ways too much? Well yes I recognise the fact that I sit in the comfort of my cosy home with electricity and soft bed with medicines to ensure I could live to an old age. Yet that aside, we are lost as a community, we are divided, we can’t deal with conflict, we lock up our children who don’t conform, we treat animals as commodities, we live with anxiety, many in loneliness especially our old people who get put into care. Our solution to global conflict is to build elaborate weapons of mass destruction.

I am convinced that indigenous traditional knowledge is our gift to the world and some day in my lifetime I hope it is given the due recognition it deserves. Wouldn’t it be fitting that kids around the world would be learning traditional ways before learning about the ancient Greeks or Romans? Before then I’d hope our teenagers could be in tune with this understanding and especially for confused noongar kids that they can walk tall in what their mob have to teach us. 

So in active hope terms: I’m grateful to the elders such as Noel and Doolann who retained traditional knowledge and have passed this on to younger generations.

I honour the pain that elders have lived through, their struggle to hold the responsibility and pass on the wisdom especially when demands are so high and social issues are pressing all around.

To see with new eyes: I wish to see with the eyes of the wise, to understand better the world we live in, TO TUNE IN – my theme of the recent weekend. To question my choices when it comes at the expense of others and the environment. 

Going forth: to make time to practice daily listening to country, to stay in wonder, to ask for acceptance, to live in balance, to tread lightly, to be an ally of the elders and be guided by their wisdom rather than pushing my own barrow. I’m also keen to carry on conversations with my own friends and family and be an agent of change in my own sphere of influence.

Photos: 

1. Doolann Leisha Eatts (courtesy City of Perth Cultural Collections by Eva Fernandez, https://moorditjbridyas.heritageperth.com.au/maam-yok-doolann-leisha-eatts-nee-garlett-yarran/

2. Noel Nannup. (source: ABC)