There is doubt about the benefits of a transitional housing facility for Aboriginal people in Coober Pedy, a member of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples, Brian Butler has warned.

The South Australian Government announced the construction of the $3.4 million facility would be brought forward to stimulate the building industry.

Mr Butler is an Elder with long experience in housing and policy issues for Indigenous people and doubts the facility will benefit Aboriginal people.

Mr Butler said Coober Pedy had many services already and resources established in more remote locations with the input of people from the area would be more beneficial.

“I strongly believe from past practices, from past programs that have come to Coober Pedy, Aboriginal people really haven’t benefited from those programs,” he said.

He said there are existing facilities that could be better used, rather than building new ones.

“If they need to develop anything, they should build on what they’ve already got, instead of planning to set up some new thing that’s not going to have the input of Aboriginal people,” he said.

“They’ve got to own the program, they’ve got to own anything that comes in.”

- ABC

The Wirrimanu Aboriginal Corporation’s Michael Gravener recently asked the question: “Where DID the playgroup GO?” as more Federal Government funding appears to have disappeared in full view of the Federal Minister responsible, Jenny Macklin.

Two years ago, in April, 2011 Jenny Macklin, the Minister for the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) visited the remote Aboriginal community of Balgo in Western Australia.

As a result of that visit Ms Macklin announced $264,000 would be granted to the community through the Wirrimanu Aboriginal Corporation (WAC) for the purpose of developing a community women’s initiative playgroup which has been fully sponsored and supported by the BoysTown Charity for over two years at a cost of about $100,000 per year.

Research suggests early intervention in the form of playgroups play a vital role in the social and cognitive development of a child as they progress through the early years of their life and as they enter into the schooling system.

Brian Butler, Director of Chamber 3 of the National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples who is also a life member of the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC), is adamant that when preschool and playgroup programs are developed by community, for community and ensuring the participation of Elders, children have the potential to develop positive social skills and cognition through maintaining a strong connection to culture and maintaining kinship ties.

“A self-determination approach allows children to see this leadership and to grow strong in culture, through caring, sharing and nurturing which in turn fosters empowerment and the necessary sense of cultural safety needed for survival within mainstream Australia both now and into the future as they shift into adulthood,” Mr Butler said.

Unfortunately it would appear that after much effort by many concerned people, who continue to inform the Department that nothing has changed, there still remains no development where this important work is concerned.

Mr Gravener advised that BoysTown stood aside in September 2012 for WAC to take on the development of this community women’s initiative but the $264,000 promised by Jenny Macklin still does not appear on the annual financial accounts, yet Canberra bureaucrats insisted that WAC has been running the service since October, 2011 and under the full view of Departmental staff.

So where did the taxpayer’s money promised by Ms Macklin go? Mr Gravener and the rest of us want to know.

One of the main fundamental provisions Brian Butler has continued to call for over the past 30 odd years is for an Aboriginal and Islander (including the Torres Strait) auditing body, with the primary responsibility and function of assessing all Government and non-government departments and organisations which receive funding grants and monies intended for the benefit of Aboriginal and Islander people and their communities.

Mr Butler made this call so everyone could be seen to be held accountable and to ensure that all of the individuals within each community had access to and benefit from the funding being provided and the initiatives, services and programs that are developed.

Mr Gravener is asking what, if anything, has Ms Macklin done to address what seemed to have become such a personal issue for her when she visited Balgo in April of 2011?

Where are the accountability measures for the responsible use of federal grant funding?

These questions and the many arising out of the growing number of accounts of the misappropriation of taxpayers money that have come to light in recent months, money that has supposedly been directed to Indigenous initiatives that just seems to evaporate with no real outcomes or success or sustainability for our people needs to be addressed. Something must be done to turn this dire situation around.

Mr Gravener also asks the most important question of “where did the essential services of early intervention programs go for severely disenfranchised Aboriginal children in the community of Balgo?”

“Young babies and their Mums need this program now otherwise another generation of the community’s children will be lost,” he said.

In a world where our young babies are considered sacred and our families continue to be caught up in Lateral Violence and suffer from the perpetual grief of intergenerational and trans-generational traumas with domestic violence and abuse reaching astronomical proportions, it really begs the question as to what the true intentions are of this colonialist government and its heads of State?

We continue to see our people suffering across all levels of society with many remote communities existing in below third world standards while mainstream Australia continues to exist in what many still regard as the “lucky country”.

It all smells a bit too much like genocide by stealth if you ask me.

http://nit.com.au/news/2839-wirrimanu-ask-jenny-macklin-where-did-the-money-for-balgo-playgroup-go.html

Moves are afoot in South Australia to create a formal repatriation committee to oversee future returns to the State after the South Australian Museum became the custodian of a collection of Aboriginal remains after they spent a century in Europe.

Narungga-Kaurna man, Mr Tauto Sansbury said he wanted to see a formal system established to streamline the process of having ancestral remains returned to Country.

“Myself, on travelling and the two other delegates have decided to look at establishing a South Australian Aboriginal Repatriation Committee and then negotiate with the Federal Government to have the return of all Aboriginal remains directed through that committee so we can then appoint the right people from South Australia to go anywhere in the world to bring back our ancestors,” Mr Sansbury said.

The South Australian Museum has now become the custodian of this particular collection with museum archaeologist, Keryn Walshe saying the repatriation was part of a global effort to return Indigenous remains to their countries of origin.

“There are a number of international institutions who are very keen and very committed to repatriation of human remains and particularly for Indigenous people,” Ms Walshe said.

“Some years ago it was more difficult but now it’s certainly a commitment all of the major institutions are taking on.”

The call for South Australia to create a formal repatriation committee to oversee future returns comes after the ceremony was held in Adelaide last week to welcome home the first ever ancestral remains to be sent home from Germany, some nine items, including full skeletons from the Charite University Hospital in Berlin.

It is estimated tens of thousands of Aboriginal remains are still held in museums and research institutes around the world and many Aboriginal people acknowledge it will be a long and difficult process to return them home.

Ngarrindjeri Elder, Major Sumner performed a cleansing smoking ceremony with song and dance over a trolley of boxes containing the remains of nine ancestors using a feather to direct smoke over the Aboriginal flag draped boxes and also over the senior Aboriginal people who journeyed with the remains from Berlin’s Charite University hospital.

Mr Sansbury was part of the team that escorted the remains home, where they were welcomed by Kaurna Elder, Uncle Lewis O’Brien.

“On behalf of our community and accepting those ancestral remains of ours is one of our illustrious leaders, Uncle Lewis O’Brien. Uncle Lewis, I now hand these back to you,” Ms Sansbury said. “Thank you Tauto, thank you,” Uncle Lewis said which was followed by a Kaurna language dedication.

Other remains were also collected from the Charite University hospital for repatriation to Queensland, New South Wales and Western Australia.

A century ago, it was common practice for Australia to donate Aboriginal body parts to overseas researchers in the name of science.

“They done the research because they believed the Aboriginal race was going to be extinct and they needed to be researched,” Mr Sansbury said.

As Mr Sansbury sees it, successive Australian governments were complicit in crimes for which they’ve not apologised. “And it seems to have been just something that was accepted, to go and take Aboriginal remains out of graves, kill Aboriginal people and remove them out of Australia. So for us many things have happened to us and we’ve never really received the apology that really should be.”

Mr Sansbury said the ancestors just returned to South Australia have endured a long journey through various museums, hospitals and even the hands of the Nazi German scientists.

“Everybody knows what the Nazis had done to the Jews, you know and if they done that bad to the Jews just imagine what they done to our Aboriginal ancestors while they were over there. So yeah, it’s a terrible thing to think about, but, you know, I mean I would rather think about what we’re going to do with what we’ve brought back,” Mr Sansbury said.

It’s a journey that’s not quite complete. The places these remains were originally collected from are not known, so they can’t be reunited with a particular community.

Only one of the remains has been identified and will be returned to ancestors at Tarcoola, in South Australia’s far north.

Instead, the South Australian Museum will be their custodian until perhaps new technologies can unlock the secrets of their past when, Mr Sansbury says, their spirits can finally be laid to rest.

“There’s got to be a lot more work done on it and there’s got to be some DNA testing done on them so we can actually find out who they are and where they come from. Once that’s done we’ll return them to the right Aboriginal communities for burial,” Mr Sansbury said.

The lack of provenance of all remains presents significant challenges about who are the appropriate people to oversee their repatriation.

http://nit.com.au/news/2880-kaurna-elders-want-to-form-repatriation-committee-for-return-of-ancestral-remains.html

Nine female Indigenous students taking part in last week’s RAAF Indigenous Youth Program (RAAFIYP) were welcomed to RAAF Base Richmond by Air Commander Australia, Air Vice-Marshal Mel Hupfeld.

“It is a great privilege for me to meet young Indigenous people so passionate about aviation and this program provides them with the opportunity to experience Air Force life in general,” Air Vice-Marshal Hupfeld said.

“Students will also participate in a number of planned activities and will be given the chance to explore the different trades available should they wish to pursue an Air Force career once they complete their schooling.”

The RAAFIYP is a collaborative effort between Air Force and Boorowa Aviation (BA), an Indigenous employment program operating through the Illawarra Aboriginal Corporation.

RAAFIYP participants are selected by BA through their extensive connections with Aboriginal communities in eastern Australia.

In 2012, Uncle Harry Allie was appointed as the first Air Force Indigenous Elder, having served in the Royal Australian Air Force from 1966 to 1989.

“We are honoured to have Uncle Harry represent Air Force on official occasions and appreciate his advice on ways to increase participation of Indigenous people in Air Force,” Air Vice-Marshal Hupfeld said.

This is the third RAAFIYP to be held and aims to encourage young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people towards career opportunities associated with aviation and Air Force.

http://nit.com.au/business/2771-indigenous-students-get-a-taste-for-air-force-life.html

When Australia went to war, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people went to war voluntarily to fight for our own country, Corporal Les Kropinyeri, a returned serviceman and Board Member of the Aboriginal Health Council of SA Inc said.

“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people used Afghan names or any other name to enlist as service men and women,” Mr Kropinyeri said.

“We didn’t have to go to war. We wanted to go to war to fight for our country and to protect what we have for all Australians.”.

This is the story that is often unheard, the story of our Indigenous Australians who numbered in their thousands to fight for freedom.

More than 3,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women enlisted in World War II and over 800 are known to have served in World War I according to Reconciliation Australia.

The true number is likely to be much higher. There are up to 7,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans and war widows in the Australian community today and more than 800 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians currently serve with distinction in the Australian Defence Forces.

Les Kropinyeri who went into the Defence Force in April 1967, served in Vietnam from 1968-69 in the 9th Battalion of the Royal Australian Regiment, five months before the end of his voluntary two year national service.

He recalls the infantry, “Charlie Company”, where he was in charge of a section of men within the 7th Platoon, comprising 10 in all, including a rifle section, a gun section and forward scouts. Les Kropinyeri was a Section Commander and proud of it.

Les Kropinyeri has since served his community and all Australians well including as a Board Member of the Aboriginal Health Council of SA Inc. Chairperson of the Council, Mr John Singer paid particular respect on behalf of the Board to Les Kropinyeri and his fellow Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander service men and women on Anzac Day last week.

Led by Sir Eric Neale, $1 million has been fundraised to erect a Memorial for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia at the Torrens Parade Ground in South Australia. Les Kropinyeri said this was a first because most other States have only erected memorials for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people of their own States.

A Committee was formed comprising retired, non-active service men and service women including Les Kropinyeri, Gill Green, Frank Clarke, Francis Lampard (active serviceman and Deputy Chairperson), Marj Tripp (Chairperson), Bill Hignett, Bill Denny, Mike Mummery, Garth Dodd (representing Janine Haynes), Elaine Lomas, Lowitja O’Donoghue, Rossalyn Cox, Mark Waters, Eunmi Parke, Ian Smith and Barry Forrest. This Committee decided to record all the names of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in Australia who served on any war and the list is growing.

Names have been gathered from everywhere with Elders Groups being the main contributors.

“There will be a roll somewhere in time when we have completed the list,” Les Kropinyeri said.

Considering the funds raised through Sir Eric Neale, it was decided to erect a Memorial and now the Committee is concentrating on completing the bronze statues of male and female Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who served in the wars.

It is expected that the Memorial will be unveiled in November.

The Aboriginal Health Council of SA Inc. honoured Les Kropinyeri and all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans at Anzac Day services last week.

“We are suitably proud of Les Kropinyeri and his fellow returned service men and women and the fact they voluntarily fought for our country and freedom,” Chairperson, Mr John Singer said.

The Aboriginal Health Council of SA Inc. (AHCSA) is the peak body representing Aboriginal community controlled health and substance misuse services and Aboriginal health advisory committees across South Australia.

AHCSA is an affiliate of the National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation.

http://nit.com.au/opinion/2813-we-went-to-war-to-fight-for-our-own-country-les-kropinyeri.html

A recent article published by The Australian newspaper regarding the misappropriation of substantial government funding on the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands is only the tip of the iceberg in regards to the demoralising, destructive conditions being experienced by the Traditional Owners, the Anangu. Nicola Butler prepared this special report.

The APY Lands cover more than 10 per cent of the South Australian land mass. Anangu hold the title to these lands under the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights Act 1981. More than 2000 Anangu live on the APY Lands.

Rob Lucas, a member of the State’s Liberal opposition, recently exposed the South Australian Government’s spend of $360,000 on motorbikes which were supposed to be used as part of a program for youths in the APY Lands area.

After they were purchased they then sat unused in a locked up shed in Marla, in the far north of the State.

The information only came to light after documents were obtained under the Freedom of Information laws Mr Lucas. It revealed the 30 motorbikes purchased for a now defunct program – a program that could have been a positive empowerment and suicide prevention program for young Aboriginal men and boys on APY Lands – had been acquired over a four year period since 2005.

Mr Lucas said the motorbikes were just one of a “series of dubious purchases” made by the State’s Department for Communities and Social Inclusion, which he claimed went on an end-of-financial-year “spending spree” in March last year.

But it does demonstrate an endemic problem – the waste and ineffectiveness of largely government funded programs in the APY Lands.

The particular documents in relation to this instance of financial misappropriation also showed that in the lead-up to the last State budget, the Department for Communities and Social Inclusion (DCSI) bought five heavy duty microwaves at a cost of $10,000 each; six washing machines at $10,000 each; five commercial food processors for $2300 each and four baby-change tables imported from the US costing $2400 each.

Mr Lucas also said information provided by whistleblowers suggested this $150,000 spending spree was needed to reduce the department’s surplus before the budget allocation last June.

“It is an example of the financial mismanagement and waste in the area at a time when many other important programs and projects either haven’t been funded or have lost funding,” Mr Lucas said.

“This is a massive waste of taxpayer money.”

This is all really hard to comprehend when you read some of the stories that have been raised by respected Anangu Elder, George Kenmore over the past 18 months. These wasted funds on unused material possessions could have gone a long way to addressing some of his concerns if applied with a commonsense approach, a think before you spend affirmative action.

Here are some of the issues extracted from a Letter to the Editor that was sent on 21 November 21, 2012 by George Kenmore a number of newspapers where he implored readers to take on a journey… a reality trip on the Lands if you will.

“A large number of your relatives live in community on their own property and you pay them a visit. The following scenes play out before your very eyes.

I wonder what you would do if…

Scene One – A young disabled cousin (who has a dedicated carer) has indicated she needs assistance with being helped out of her wheelchair. You carefully lift her and assist her to become comfortable; at the same time you become aware of maggots on your arms from where you have lifted her and then notice maggots on the seat of her wheelchair.

Scene Two – An elderly diabetic uncle is lying ill on the ground and as you approach him family members explain the kitchen is locked (the manager is away for a week and has not made arrangements to leave a key) and the staff who prepare the daily meals for the disabled and elderly have gone intrastate on a work conference for a week. Other elderly family members too are hungry waiting for their meal. An uncle quickly takes the appropriate steps to find food to feed these vulnerable people. The next day this same uncle uses bolt cutters to enable him entry to the kitchen to feed his sick and needy relatives. He then replaces the lock with a new one. He submits a report to the Director detailing the situation that had played out. The blame for this disgraceful state of affairs is then laid at the feet of Centrelink paid workers rather than the manager who is paid a very large salary by the government by the way.

Scene Three – Excited chatter is emanating from a group of female family members (they work for Centrelink payments) because they have just been advised of the staff Christmas lunch (as had been discussed and decided at an earlier senior staff meeting). As these low paid workers read on they discover they will have to travel about 200km to the chosen venue (company vehicles will be made available for this). The email goes on to say “all staff will be responsible for paying for the meal, drinks and accommodation. I realise this may change some people’s intentions of attending. To help you make the decision I have outlined the cost of the meal. A 3 course buffet style, all you can eat $60 per head. $25 for children. Free for children under 3 or their normal menu which starts from about $15. Accommodation: cabins, basic $60 for two people. $50 for one person. Motel room: $155 for two people. Camping available. Sleeping on the grass is an option if people don’t have tent/swags $7.50 per person.” This, I know is hard for you to believe however, you have a copy in writing from management of the email detailing the above and so you know it to be true.

Scene Four – An uncle who is well respected and trusted is the only family member with a full time job in the entire community (he has a contract). He attempts on numerous occasions to bring to the attention of the appropriate authorities the many hideous situations that he encounters. The end result is that his contract is not renewed, despite him being a 2012 NAIDOC Community Award recipient. There are copious other untold stories of abuse the uncle witnessed in this community and they are still occurring.”

The community Mr Kenmore is speaking of is the Aboriginal community of Mimili on the APY Lands in the far north of South Australia. Mr Kenmore has appealed for the help of many people over time including Ministers, Chief Executive Officers, Directors and many others from various government and private organisations but all to no avail.

In desperation Mr Kenmore is attempting to take these diabolical situations to his fellow Australians urging us all to raise our voices in unison at the injustices as described above.

“The white supremacist mind-set overrides any chance of positive change for Anangu,” Mr Kenmore said.

“Despite over 200 years of white intervention, enormous amounts of money plied into white man’s programs that haven’t worked Anangu are still being subjected to this same soul destroying regime and their children are paying the price.”

Against the backdrop of these terrible stories at Mimili the issue of the motor bikes that sat in storage all those years before being sold off when the program was closed down is minor but it reflects the problem of white governments dictating to Indigenous people how to run their own communities.

The motor bikes were supposed to go to the young Anangu men and boys on the Lands. The idea had merit because had the motor bikes been used as they were intended it had the potential to be soul saving. But the problem was the wrong people were engaged by the government department.

If those motor bikes had been in the hands of Indigenbous people from the community there is no doubt they would have been used for the young men.

“I have grave concerns for the well being of our youth going forward,” Mr Kenmore said. “Some of these kids, as evidenced in communities across the lands and on the streets of Alice Springs, are lost in their own country as too are their families.

“They can’t help themselves let alone their children as they too are suffering the same fate of being oppressed and disrespected on their own land.

“Daily these kids are looked down upon and judged by non-Anangu. They know it. They react to it.

“Their future is in Australia’s hands. Please advocate for real jobs with real pay for Anangu so that they can flourish and prosper in the land that was theirs originally.”

Had this simple plea been heeded, taken seriously and enacted upon on the Lands, the funds wasted on the motor bikes may have been contributing positively to the self determination of Anangu, their children and their families.

And then there is this disgraceful act where a non-Anangu DCSI staff member who was responsible for providing lunch for aged care, infirm and disabled clients at Mimili on Friday, March 15.

“Clients were handed a plastic bag with a raw kangaroo tail as well as raw onions, raw potatoes and capsicum for these clients to cook for themselves,” Mr Kenmore said.

The clients Mr Kenmore is talking about included a wheel chair bound person, an intellectually disabled person and an Elder in her nineties to name just a few. None of these people were in a position to gather their own firewood to cook for themselves. Given this situation these clients had little choice but to either go hungry or seek family support (if any was available).

“Do Meals on Wheels provide their aged, frail and disabled clients with raw ingredients to cook for themselves in the city?” as Mr Kenmore wondered how many of his people went hungry on that particular day.

This is not an isolated incident and Mr Kenmore has been reporting such instances for many months now and feels it is all falling on arrogant, deaf ears.

Surely it does not take a rocket scientist to work out the amounts of money wasted year after year by government is happening through inappropriate policies and programs delivered by non-Anangu staff, many of whom have not been appropriately trained to a competent level of Cultural Knowledge to enable Cultural Safety for themselves let alone the Anangu people they serve (some find themselves on the lands without any knowledge of even basic Cultural Awareness).

Surely it should not take a rocket scientist either to realise with appropriate strategies to properly engage the Anangu community these same millions of dollars could have achieved a real solution, one that would and should have by now well and truly extinguished the deplorable conditions people still face on the Lands today.

If something is not done, if the right things are not done now, what will become of the children? Who will ensure there is a future to live for?

Who will enable our young children to grow and prosper with a renewed sense of hope that there will be opportunities to enable them to reach their full potential?

And here again is another example of a failed program when $250,000 was spent on the failed market gardens program set up in the remote Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands. These market gardens are no longer producing food, just two years after they were established to address food security concerns.

“This was an idea that had strong support in Adelaide but which was absolutely disconnected from the reality of food security concerns on the APY Lands,” Uniting Communities Aboriginal policy expert, Jonathan Nicholls said.

He also said the Aboriginal organisation that controls the lands wanted the government to focus on freight costs and community stores to address food security concerns and that the small homeland communities had requested the gardens only after the department had said it could do nothing about freight costs and community stores.

And what about the digital television installations that have just taken place? On the surface this can be seen as a good thing for the APY Lands and means Anangu are at least getting a television service the same as the rest of the population with connection to the outside world.

“We got a big mob of channels today, 17 channels! We’re happy now,” Jonathon Lyons said. “Anangu are in better contact with the world beyond the desert.”

More than 700 households in 15 communities have had individual satellites installed on their roofs, some of the programing is having a positive impact. “Some people are making good movies, some people acting really good, some people are cooking really good! So we’re learning.” Jonathon said.

John Walsh from Ethos Global Foundation, who facilitated the rollout of digital television for the Federal Government, said the APY Lands were a pilot program for large scale installation programs across remote Australia.

“The Government decided they needed to look at an initial region first and foremost and it’s taken about eight months,” Mr Walsh said.

But it’s not all good news. Several community television channels, which often provide content in local Indigenous languages, will not be upgraded to the digital system. As well as the loss of localised channels, Daniel Featherstone said there’s also no ongoing funding for maintenance of satellite dishes and equipment.

“The real cost in getting somebody to fix a satellite dish is to get somebody out form the nearest regional town, wherever that might be,” he said.

“In some cases that might be 1000 kilometers away and at $2.50 per kilometer, that’s $2500 each way. The actual technician cost is going to make it untenable for most people.”

So, is this also going to be another loss of funding to be racked up with the millions of wasted dollars that mainstream Australia will only receive half of the information about which will then lead to further damaging and demoralising stereotypes being bandied around across the country?

As a State Parliamentary Inquiry noted in June 2004: “Inadequate and insecure funding undermines the delivery of some critical human services on the APY Lands. What funding is available is often short term. Many key service providers remain reliant on annual or pilot-funding, with project staff being forced to spend an inordinate amount of time submitting additional funding applications and/or meeting the administrative and accounting requirements of short-term grants. Funding pressures contribute to staff burnout and the subsequent loss of expertise.”

The Government knows this stuff and even reports the finding in its own documentation and still it makes the same mistakes over and over again.

Here is the nub of the problem facing our peoples on APY Lands. It is a problem many communities face around the country and it comes down simply to white governments, white Ministers and white bureaucrats not being prepared to give the responsibility and the funding, the actual dollars to the communities the money was intended for in the first place.

Our people know what needs to be done. The problem is they are not being allowed to fix the problems because they have no control over the funding, how it is used and how it is implemented.

With no genuine effort and foresight going into the ongoing development, maintenance and succession planning for the manpower, technology and infrastructure going into the APY Lands, how can we ever see the benefits with a long term vision for sustainability, productivity and success?

http://nit.com.au/opinion/2814-the-horror-and-degradation-being-inflicted-on-our-apy-lands-people-through-government-inaction-and-waste-now-revealed-for-all-to-see.html

Tjanpi Desert Weavers, a social enterprise supporting more than 400 women of the Central and Western Desert region, is again shaping up for another success worthy of recognition after being awarded a Deadly for Outstanding Achievement in Cultural Advancement last September.

The Tjanpi Desert Weavers currently have a big project underway in the NPY Lands working on a commission received from the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) in Sydney, which will be part of an exhibition called “String Theory”.

String Theory: Focus on contemporary Australian art, will be on exhibition from August 16 to October 27 at the Museum of Contemporary Art in George Street at The Rocks, Sydney.

Bringing together Aboriginal and Islander (including the Torres Strait) artists from across Australia working with expanded notions of textile and craft-based traditions, many of the works in the exhibition have string as an integral material in their making.

Others use photography, painting and installation while still being grounded in a textile tradition. Tjanpi (meaning “grass”) began as a series of basket-weaving workshops that the NPY Women’s Council held on the Ngaanyatjarra Lands in 1995.

Women spoke up strongly for meaningful employment opportunities in their homelands, to be able to provide for their families. New found weaving skills were quickly shared with relations on neighbouring communities and weaving spread as Martha Protty, a senior woman from the Northern Territory community of Docker River tells it, “like a bushfire.”

“All the women got really really excited by it,” she said through a translator. “We learned by watching and in a very short time, we all knew how to make baskets.”

Today, more than 400 women are making baskets and sculptures out of grass and other materials and working with fibre in this way is now firmly embedded in Western and Central Desert culture.

At its core Tjanpi is about family and community – walytja. Tjanpi Desert Weavers has met with such phenomenal success because creating Tjanpi work fits so happily alongside the demands, obligations and joys of family.

Not confined by place or purse, Tjanpi work allows the Tjanpi weavers and sculptors to be out bush, at home, or on the road and it can be accomplished with few resources.

It is work that encourages social and cultural obligations; families combine trips out bush to collect grass with gathering bush tucker, hunting, maintaining custodial responsibilities, performing inma (song and dance) and collecting bush medicines.

“Basket making has been really good for us women. We can make them easily in the bush. While you’re digging for (witchety grubs), tjanmarta (bush onion) and tjarla (honey ants), you can collect seeds and grass as well. It also gives us more money,” said Winnie Woods, Papulankutja (Ngaanyatjarra)

The Tjanpi walytja is a wide reaching network of mothers, daughters, aunties, sisters and grandmothers whose shared stories, skills and experiences are the bloodline of the weaving phenomenon that has swept the Western and Central Deserts over the past 16 years.

The Tjanpi family extends across 350 000 sq km and takes in 28 NPY member communities, and is growing all the time.

“The objects that can be made from tjanpi from a woman’s country are more or less endless. She can make people, women, ngintaka (goannas), tjulpu (birds), anything,” said Josephine Mick, Pipalyatjara (Pitjantjatjara)

“We can paint our country with paint on canvas and we can also gather tjanpi from our own land and make an object out of tjanpi which depicts that country. This is a really beautiful thing to do. Tjanpi has Tjukurpa too.”

Manager of Tjanpi Desert Weavers, Michelle Young at the time of receiving the Deadly award said: “The Award provides a wonderful recognition of the many economic, cultural, social, artistic and health benefits that Tjanpi brings to the women of this region and demonstrates how much Tjanpi is valued across the Ngaanyatjarra, Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara Lands.”

Amongst the many successes of the Tjanpi Desert Weavers over the years since 1995 have been the commission to create a giant work for the World Expo in Hanover in 2000, a commission to create an oversized goanna for Manchester airport to coincide with the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the grass-woven Toyota Land Cruiser that won the $40,000 National Indigenous Art Award in 2005.

Demand for Tjanpi’s work is strong with several works created for Tandanya Aboriginal Cultural Institute for the 2012 Adelaide Biennale and a separate sculpture of trees being acquired by a high profile public cultural institution.

Tjanpi’s works are in the collections of institutions such as the National Gallery of Australia, the National Museum of Australia, the National Gallery of Victoria and the Art Gallery of NSW.

All in all, the art work of the Tjanpi artists is simply stunning to say the least, starting from baskets, the women’s sculptures, often finished with raffia or wool, have increasingly pushed their work into the fine art realm.

“This is what we who love art long for. We long for the art that makes the hair come up on the back of your neck,” Marcia Langton said at the opening of an exhibition in Alice Springs last year which saw the Tjanpi women collaborate with highly regarded Sydney artists, Maria Fernanda Cardoso and Alison Clouston.

Ancient stories continue to be shared with the world through the captivating work of the women of Central and Western Desert region as they share their stories and dreaming through their craft of fine art, with us all and by handing down these traditions to the younger women on the lands we can expect to see great things coming from the Tjanpi Desert Weaver’s well into the future.

“We love working, we’re busy people, we’ve got busy hands,” Nyinku Kulitja, a senior law woman from Docker River, said through a translator.

“We also enjoy seeing young people working. Those young people, they are coming behind us and they’re all weaving as well and that’s good work and income for them.”

Supported by the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet – Office for the Arts, Westpac Foundation, Caritas Australia, Rio Tinto and Australia Council for the Arts and despite the strong demand for the work, the enterprise relies on philanthropic support to cover the cost of operating over 350,000 square kilometres, an area roughly the size of Germany.

Tjanpi is known as the “happy face” of the women’s council, which delivers services to domestic violence victims, undernourished children, the aged and those with disabilities.

Tjanpi provides income for women in places untouched by the mining boom and where few job opportunities exist.

The Alice Springs event held last year also served as the launch of a book that chronicles the Tjanpi story and features the amazing image of Nyinku Kulitja and her sister Martha Protty from Kaltukatjara (Docker River).

“Tjanpi Desert Weavers” is available through Macmillan Art Publishing and was compiled by Penny Watson for the NPY Women’s Council and is available for sale with the hardcover priced at $110.00 and the softcover at $79.95. There is also a mini book available for just $35.00.

To find out more about the Tjanpi Desert Weavers or to purchase a copy of this wonderful publication visit the website at http://www.tjanpi.com.au

http://nit.com.au/opinion/2815-tjanpi-desert-weavers-set-for-more-success-as-the-world-marvels-at-their-incredible-art.html

Newcastle’s first Aboriginal nurse has been remembered in a moving ceremony at John Hunter Hospital in Newcastle, New South Wales.

Marilyn Elaine Lowe completed her nursing training at the then Royal Newcastle Hospital in 1963 at a time when life was pretty hard for Aboriginal people in Newcastle as it was around the country.

Donna Meehan, Aboriginal Hospital Liaison Officer at the Hospital, remembers the 1960s being a pretty tough time.

“Absolutely, I grew up in Newcastle and I came here in 1960. Because I’m Stolen Generation and there was so much racism because the ’60s were pretty ignorant, so I can’t imagine what she went through,” Ms Meehan said.

“Nowadays we’ve got Abstudy, we’ve got tutors, we’ve got people helping us but I’m pretty sure Marilyn would have had it tough.

“She was loved by her family, so maybe she got support from the Reid family but I often wondered. She was an inspiration,” Ms Meehan said.

Ms Meehan said Ms Lowe’s achievement was all the greater given the situation was so bad in Newcastle at the time that even as late as 1985 Aboriginal people looked to set up their own services.

“It’s a tremendous achievement. Awabakal Co-op set up a medical service in 1985 because a lot of our mob were coming here from Armidale and being treated with racist looks and attitudes. That’s why we set up our own medical service,” she said.

Born on February 1, 1941 at Katherine in the Northern Territory, Marilyn Lowe came to Belmont, a suburb or Newcastle in 1954 at the age of 13 “to be lovingly fostered by Mr and Mrs Reid” she told Robin Gordon, during a visit “home” in October 2006.

Marilyn, who has lived in Canada since 1969, began her General Nursing Training at the Royal Newcastle Hospital in 1959 and finished it in 1963.

At that time a professional portrait of Marilyn was taken and that sat on the Matron’s office wall in the “Irene Hall Nurses’ Home” until its closure.

The portrait then sat out of public view in the main hospital until just this year when it was “discovered” by Uncle Harry Mumbulla of Coffs Harbour.

When Uncle Harry was recovering from surgery he started to wander the halls of the hospital, walking to build his strength.

“It was in that walking and strengthening himself he walked up to the third floor of the hospital and he went down this corridor that only surgeons go down and he found a row of archived photographs from the Royal Newcastle Hospital.

“The second last photograph that was in a frame was of this beautiful Aboriginal woman and it had her story beside it,” Donna Meehan said. “He called me down and we both went and had a look and I said Unc, I didn’t even know it was here. We need to get that down in the main foyer of the hospital where all the people are walking and where our people can see it and to educate non-Aboriginal people.”

And getting Marilyn Lowe’s photo and story out where people can see and learn from it was finalised in a recent ceremony.

“She was the first Aboriginal woman to graduate as a nurse in Newcastle,” Donna Meehan said.

“We found she was still alive, had gone to Canada, had a family and she was very humbled by what we were doing. She would have liked to have come out for the launch but wasn’t well enough.”

While Marilyn Lowe is not well enough to travel at the moment, the launch date was chosen because it marked 50 years since the completion of Ms Lowe’s nurse training. “We chose April because that is the month when she graduated in 1963 so it’s 50 years on. We were very excited because it is a beautiful portrait and we found her brother who lives in Newcastle. He’s in the aged care centre so he came for the launch.”

Aunty Kath Scanlon (originally from Katherine) was asked to unveil the portrait but she had the flu the day before so Anne Pearce was asked to do the honours.

Anne, a registered nurse in 1970, was very honoured to have been asked to do such a beautiful thing for a lady who paved the way for other Aboriginal nurses.

For Donna Meehan, this whole event has been like finding lost treasure. “Nobody knew about her, nobody knew that photo was up there,” she said. “Now people are stopping all the time, reading her story.”

http://nit.com.au/opinion/2816-elders-leisurely-amble-through-corridors-of-hospital-leads-to-a-recognition-of-nurse-marilyn-elaine-lowe.html

Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation in Western Australia is leading the way in trying to have something done at long last about reducing the high rates of Aboriginal youth suicide by convening a Suicide Crisis Summit on May 21.

Governments have effectively neglected the crisis while the youth suicide rates climb.

Robert and Selina Eggington are the directors of the Dumbartung Aboriginal Corporation which maintains a huge presence at the Clontarf Aboriginal College site in Manning, Perth, which only last week was put into total Aboriginal ownership by the Christian Brothers.

The Aboriginal youth suicide rates in the Kimberley are among not only the nation’s worst but among the world’s worst rates.

Aboriginal youth suicide is an endemic tragedy throughout Western Australia and includes the Goldfields, the Western Desert, the Pilbara, the South West, the Great Southern and Perth.

The stressors and underwriters of youth suicide, the high levels of unemployment, lack of substantive education opportunities, chronic and abject poverty, are pernicious throughout Aboriginal communities and especially in the remote regions of Western Australia.

Mr Eggington said Aboriginal communities grieve in an ongoing manner for the loss of their youth.

“We hear of a death almost fortnightly,” Mr Eggington said.

Mr Eggington referred to the suicide of a child as young as 12 years of age.

In Mowanjum, which is near Derby north of Broome, there was the death of a 12-year-old girl. This tragedy was only the other day.

It was only a few years ago that Mowanjum and Balgo recorded a spate of youth suicides.

The Coronial Inquiry which would follow, with State Coroner Alastair Hope presiding, would hear the suicide rate in these towns was nearly 100 times the State average.

The Coroner slammed the Government for a lack of pre-intervention and intervention services and programs.

Mr Eggington spoke of a 15-year-old girl who took her life only weeks ago in Perth and of young men taking their lives as too common an occurrence for Aboriginal families throughout Perth and the south west of the State.

Mr and Mrs Eggington coordinate Aboriginal loss and grief programs and they have assisted hundreds of families. They too have lost a son, their boy Bob, only three years ago when he took his life.

Dumbartung runs many programs and services however it also includes a “mourning room” to assist those grieving and to let them know they are not alone and that no-one has been forgotten, well at least not forgotten by Dumbartung.

The Suicide Crisis Summit will be only three hours long and hopefully a start to something positive.

Dumbartung has invited everyone – State and Federal Governments, WA Police, leading lights from the criminal justice system, Aboriginal luminaries and others to discuss the ways forward and the strategies need to reduce suicide.

They will also discuss how best to secure and expend funding for suicide prevention.

“If suicide prevention programs are working why then are statistics getting worse for our people? Why is the death rate of our people through suicide remaining at the highest in the world?” Mr Eggington said.

Last week, Premier Colin Barnett admitted the billions of dollars spent on Aboriginal services and communities were not reaching the people.

He has now moved to create an Aboriginal Affairs Cabinet subcommittee in an attempt to have more oversight and feedback and to do more directly for Aboriginal peoples.

“State Government expenditure on services for Aboriginal people was about $2.3 billion in 2010-11, or approximately $30,000 person,” the Premier told Parliament on April 17.

The Premier needs to be careful when breaking down monies to a per person basis because this is not how funding works. He should have subtracted Government bureaucratic costs and contractors’ payments.

Acquittal is a major issue that has been failed by design principles – acquittal as an end result should be effectively guaranteed from the outset.

“Despite this reform and investment, outcomes for Aboriginal West Australians are unacceptable,” Mr Barnett said.

But they have been accepted for far too long and if little is done about the homelessness, poverty and suicides then indeed it must be deemed the Government is prepared to accept this state of affairs.

The State Government has failed many times over on a $12 million Broome Hostel promise and instead homelessness is rife throughout the town.

“Mortality rates are two and half times higher and suicide rates three times higher than non-Aboriginal peoples,” he said.

But he did not mention the Kimberley suicide rates.

Mental Health Minister, Helen Morton and Aboriginal Affairs Minister, Peter Collier have each said they will send representatives to the Suicide Crisis Summit.

Hopefully everyone invited, or their representatives, shall attend the Dumbartung Suicide Crisis Summit.

State Government and Federal Governments have let down Aboriginal communities nationwide on youth suicide.

Last year, South Australia’s Tauto Sansbury started a campaign for a 24 hour Aboriginal crisis centre in Adelaide to help reduce the high rate of youth suicides.

In the first 13 days of January he attended eight funerals, all youth suicides. The South Australian State Government promised to work towards funding a crisis centre but nothing has happened since.

Both the Labor Opposition and the Coalition in South Australia are not prepared to find the funds for a crisis centre for Aboriginal youth and therefore no such 24 hour crisis centre exists in Adelaide … but the suicides continue.

http://nit.com.au/news/2804-dumbartung-leads-the-way-with-plans-for-suicide-crisis-summit.html