Wiradjuri | Jotup

First Peoples’ land overlaps with 130 imperilled bird species – and their knowledge may be vital to saving them

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Our new research explored this opportunity by examining where Australia’s imperilled birds overlap with the Country of First Peoples.

Key Points:

Our new research explored this opportunity by examining where Australia’s imperilled birds overlap with the Country of First Peoples.
The includes but is not confined to Indigenous Protected Areas, native title land and areas controlled by Indigenous land councils.
Our analysis found 64% of these, or about 130 species, occur on lands and waters to which First Peoples’ groups have a legal determination.

‘Threatened species’ is a Western concept

In the decades since Australia’s threatened species legislation was passed in 1992, First Peoples have become key partners in conservation.
For millennia, birds have been integral to the cultural practice and livelihoods of Australia’s First Peoples.
The concept of “threatened species” is founded in Western science and is not necessarily a term First Peoples use.

What we found

Under Australian law, First Peoples lack legal title to much of their ancestral lands.
Regardless, connections to Country – and species that live there – remain.
For example, the entire population of Australia’s rarest bird, the mukarrthippi grasswren, lives on Ngiyampaa Country in central NSW.
And the entire range of three threatened species is on the Country of Tiwi Islander First Peoples.

How First Peoples can become more involved

But it may help First Peoples know which threatened bird species occur on their Country.
For example, First Peoples may seek expansion of Indigenous Protected Areas where the species occur.
The monitoring of imperilled birds is another activity where First Peoples already contribute strongly but could be more involved.

Compensation for centuries of damage

For example, Indigenous Protected Areas make up almost half of Australia’s conservation areas, yet receive just a fraction of funding for the federal conservation estate.
Australia’s First Peoples were begrudgingly granted land rights after two centuries of having their ownership denied.
They also have a right to compensation for the damage done.

Amanda Lilleyman is affiliated with BirdLife Australia. She works for and consults to Aboriginal ranger groups and Charles Darwin University. Jack Pascoe is affiliated with Back to Country and is Co-Chief Councilor of the Biodiversity Council. Stephen Garnett works for Charles Darwin University. He receives funding from the Australian Research Council. He is affiliated with BirdLife Australia.

First Peoples’ land overlaps with 130 imperilled bird species – and this knowledge may be vital to saving them

Retrieved on:

Monday, February 12, 2024

Our new research explored this opportunity by examining where Australia’s imperilled birds overlap with the Country of First Peoples.

Key Points:

Our new research explored this opportunity by examining where Australia’s imperilled birds overlap with the Country of First Peoples.
The includes but is not confined to Indigenous Protected Areas, native title land and areas controlled by Indigenous land councils.
Our analysis found 64% of these, or about 130 species, occur on lands and waters to which First Peoples’ groups have a legal determination.

‘Threatened species’ is a Western concept

In the decades since Australia’s threatened species legislation was passed in 1992, First Peoples have become key partners in conservation.
For millennia, birds have been integral to the cultural practice and livelihoods of Australia’s First Peoples.
The concept of “threatened species” is founded in Western science and is not necessarily a term First Peoples use.

What we found

Under Australian law, First Peoples lack legal title to much of their ancestral lands.
Regardless, connections to Country – and species that live there – remain.
For example, the entire population of Australia’s rarest bird, the mukarrthippi grasswren, lives on Ngiyampaa Country in central NSW.
And the entire range of three threatened species is on the Country of Tiwi Islander First Peoples.

How First Peoples can become more involved

But it may help First Peoples know which threatened bird species occur on their Country.
For example, First Peoples may seek expansion of Indigenous Protected Areas where the species occur.
The monitoring of imperilled birds is another activity where First Peoples already contribute strongly but could be more involved.

Compensation for centuries of damage

For example, Indigenous Protected Areas make up almost half of Australia’s conservation areas, yet receive just a fraction of funding for the federal conservation estate.
Australia’s First Peoples were begrudgingly granted land rights after two centuries of having their ownership denied.
They also have a right to compensation for the damage done.

How First Nations artists are reclaiming colonial objects and celebrating culture through garments

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, February 7, 2024

Destiny, Plant, Wathaurong, Tablecloth, Fashion week, Table, First Nations, History, Clothing, Exhibition, Ngarigo, Wiradjuri, Animal, Australian Fashion Week, Name, Textile, Culture, Aborigine, Fashion design

Now, I own more than ten scarves with images ranging from Western depictions of First Nations art and objects, to Indigenous people in tokenistic scenes.

Key Points:

Now, I own more than ten scarves with images ranging from Western depictions of First Nations art and objects, to Indigenous people in tokenistic scenes.
Kitsch items are often gathered and reclaimed by First Nations peoples, artists, designers and academics.

I did so as a creative response to my academic work on First Nations fashion, art and style and to engage with the practice of First Nations garmenting – the use of clothing and adornment as art.

Aboriginalia and Koori Kitsch

Artists such as Destiny Deacon and Tony Albert use several names to describe items with Western depictions of First Nations people, art and objects, including Koori Kitsch and Aboriginalia.
Destiny Deacon (KuKu/Erub/Mer) has used Koori Kitsch objects for decades.
Albert has been credited with creating the term “Aboriginalia” to describe the portrayal of Western stereotypes of First Nations peoples and cultures in kitsch items.

First Nations garmenting

Paul McCann (Marrithiyel) has embellished couture outfits with vintage textiles depicting First Nations peoples, animals and plants.
While Aboriginalia and Koori Kitsch are popular terms, First Nations garmenting is a recent definition yet to reach mainstream use.
This could look like creating modern versions of traditional pieces, or critiquing and talking back to colonial clothing forced upon First Nations peoples.
He often works with young First Nations people to develop their own versions.

Disrupting, reclaiming and Indigenising

This can be through artists exhibiting their works, fashion designers telling their stories, or everyday First Nations people who like to practise culture through outfits.
When First Nations artists use colonial souvenirs and garments, they can disrupt colonisation and celebrate their culture.

Treena Clark has received funding through the University of Technology Sydney Chancellor’s Indigenous Research Fellowship scheme.

The brumby debate will never be settled until we face the role horses played in colonisation

Retrieved on:

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Neither a heritage listing in 2018 nor the 2021 Management Plan brought the issue to a close.

Key Points:

Neither a heritage listing in 2018 nor the 2021 Management Plan brought the issue to a close.
The horse-human partnership has existed for around 4,000 years, and humans and horses share a co-evolutionary history.
Horses, we are often told, have a special connection with the Australian character and are part of our national psyche.

Horses and colonisation

Horses were crucial to the colonisation of this land.
Richard Swain (Wiradjuri) is an ambassador for the Invasive Species Council and a founding member of Reclaim Kosci, an organisation that seeks to raise awareness about the impacts of feral horses and create support for their humane reduction.
He has been targeted in racist attacks from the pro-horse lobby, including being threatened with the “colonial experience”.
Read more:
Feral horses will rule one third of the fragile Kosciuszko National Park under a proposed NSW government plan

A symbol of belonging

Compare horses with camels.
Camels are culturally and historically significant for Arab peoples, yet here they are routinely culled without a second thought.
Despite their long history in Australia, camels are associated with Asia and the Middle East and seen as exotic and foreign.

An evolving conversation

Beyond the wild horses, an understanding and acceptance of this element of our dark colonial history may also better enable us to embrace reconciliation.
Read more:
If The Man from Snowy River is Indigenous, what does that mean for our national myth-making?

As ABC chair, Ita Buttrose stood up for the broadcaster's independence. It's time others did the same

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, August 23, 2023

Ita Buttrose has announced she will not seek a second term as ABC chair, which means her term will expire in March 2024.

Key Points:

Ita Buttrose has announced she will not seek a second term as ABC chair, which means her term will expire in March 2024.
Four of the seven non-executive directors already there had been appointed outside the merit system by Mitch Fifield as minister for communication.
Buttrose herself put ABC independence at the centre of her commitments.
I will fight any attempts to muzzle the national broadcaster or interfere with its obligations to the Australian public.
He sued the ABC for defamation but the ABC defended it vigorously and he discontinued the action.
There have been many analyses of how nine years of Coalition government attacks demoralised the ABC.
But with Buttrose’s departure now on the horizon, it is time for others at the top to stand up.

iStock Awards $20,000 to Four Emerging Commercial Photographers, Videographers and Illustrators Globally as Part of Inaugural Inclusion Grant

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, February 9, 2022

NEW YORK, Feb. 09, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- iStock, a leader in affordable visual communications for the creative, entrepreneurial, student and SMB communities, today announces the four creative commercial artists chosen to receive its inaugural Inclusion Grant, designed to support them as they endeavor to draw attention to underrepresented communities through their work. The grant was open to commercial photographers, videographers and illustrators based in the U.S., UK, LATAM and Australia and is being awarded in partnership with U.S.-based organization Black Women Photographers, UK-based organization Creative Access, Fotografas Latam and Australia Council for the Arts.

Key Points:

Malaika creates short videos, coupled with portraits to connect her audience to varied people, communities, and experiences that may be foreign or familiar.
Mathushaas work often examines her identity - Tamil Eelam ethnicity and British nationality, which is reflected through traditions, history and fashion photography.
The iStock Inclusion Grant is part of Getty Images wider grants program which has awarded US$1.8 million to photographers and filmmakers worldwide since its inception.
You can also download the iStock app where you can easily search, save and share premium-quality content to create standout visual communications.

Tara June Winch's THE YIELD wins the Australian 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award

Retrieved on:

Wednesday, July 22, 2020

Given names, Tara June Winch, Wiradjuri, Miles Franklin Award, Țara

NEW YORK, July 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tara June Winch's THE YIELD (HarperVia; June 2, 2020; $27.99) has just won the Australian 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award.

Key Points:

NEW YORK, July 22, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Tara June Winch's THE YIELD (HarperVia; June 2, 2020; $27.99) has just won the Australian 2020 Miles Franklin Literary Award.
Each year the prestigious prize, first established in 1957, is awarded to a novel of literary merit focusing on Australian life.
"The story at the heart of Tara June Winch's novel is as moving as it is important.
About the Author: Tara June Winch is the Wiradjuri author of novelSwallow the Airand short story collectionAfter the Carnage.