Yolŋu leaders from across Arnhem Land enjoy the Opening Ceremony of the first Yolŋu Nations Assembly. Photo by Zephyr L'Green.

The first ever Yolŋu Nations Assembly (YNA) was held from 14^th-17^th October in Galiwin’ku, bringing together clan leaders from across Arnhem Land.

Below is a letter of thanks from Yolŋu leaders to those who supported the gathering.

31^st October 2011

Dear Supporters,

On behalf of Yolŋu Nations Assembly (YNA), I would like to extend our deep gratitude for your support of the first assembly from Friday 14^th to Monday 17^th October.

 The Yolŋu Nations Assembly has been formed to represent eight traditional states that cover East, Central and West Arnhem Land. These states are called: Miwatj, Laynha, Raminy, Marthakal, Garriny, Gumurr-Rawarraŋ, Gaṯtjirrik and Miḏiyirrk.

 The outcomes of the assembly will be made public in the coming months.

The First Yolŋu Nations Assembly was a very uplifting time for all the leaders involved. It cannot be expressed how greatly this action has provided a source of hope for the Arnhem Land people. One can’t help feel that this is a changing of the tide for this region, an expression of self-determination in what has been a sad period of external take-over.

It was with your generous support that this uplifting event could take place. More information will follow, but until then, please accept our sincere gratitude for supporting us on this journey.

 Sincerely,

Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM

Djirrikay for Dhurili Clan Nation

 

As a result, the economy of these communities are largely artificial.  Even where private businesses exist, ultimately they are dependent on the influx of taxation revenue from the Australian Government.  For example, the local store in Galiwin’ku is a commercially viable and profitable enterprise that successfully employs local Yolngu staff with wages at and above the industry standard (See ALPA website for their great work).  But ultimately, even businesses like this rely on customers whose income is almost entirely from Centrelink payments or from jobs in Government services, such as the clinic, Centrelink and the Shire council etc.  The other significant non-Government employers in many Arnhem Land communities are the Home Land Resource Centres. These centres run a variety of commercial enterprises, but again, rely on local customers’ welfare payments, or have contracts which come from Government grants and contracts, such as housing and infrastructure projects.  Seriously, if you lived in an Indigenous community your whole life, you should be forgiven for thinking that the whole country’s economy is based on Government handouts – this is the illusionary force that surrounds you as one continues to work in the “Indigenous Industry.”  If the Government suddenly stopped supporting Indigenous communities there would be a very limited monetary economy here.

The biggest source of income outside of the Government is land use royalties, for things such as mining, grazing and pearling, but like welfare payments these do not provide any meaningful employment for locals and are not managed by the people themselves.  These monies are controlled by the Land councils which in the NT, unlike the rest of Australia, are not locally controlled organisations, but statutory organisations that manage income from a huge expanse of  lands on behalf of the true land owners.  The Land councils struggle to determine who should control these monies according to the traditional Indigenous systems, and so tend to divide the profits amongst everyone who puts up a fight for it.  Due to the lack of connection between the payments and the land the monies come from, and the lack of control traditional owners have, these royalties become another form of “free” money.

As the most readily available sources of income are perceived as free money, many people have become trapped by dependency on such devalued income.  Their sense of motivation and power, and motivation to labour dwindles as they start to believe that accessing “free” money is the way one must survive today.  However, do not think that people are all hopelessly dependent or  just “bludging” – there are very limited jobs to go around, so people are forced to make do however they can. Welfare payments become the only option as life in the new world being constructed around them in these “growth towns”, is more and more dependent on access to money.

Workers making compost in a private family run market garden, an enterprise supported by the AHED Project

There are only a few areas of private enterprise that add real value to the local economy and also provide a fulfilling vocation.  These are mostly from the arts, crafts trade and knowledge industries, such as teaching, Indigenous knowledge, and research.  There is almost no primary production, with locally controlled market gardens just starting to become real possibilities (although hampered by the difficulties of finding a motivated workforce, and constant attempts by the DC to force community gardens on people).  This stands in stark contrast to the mission history when all the missions had thriving gardens.  A sustainable tourist industry is also only just starting to spread it wings.

What does this mean in monetary terms for the average household?   The average income in the community is roughly equivalent to a social security payment between about $300 – $480 a fortnight.  Pensioners and people receiving top ups on Community Development Employment Project  payments (CDEP, which is now a form of Newstart Centrelink payment and is being phased out) receive up to about $600 per fortnight in total.  This means on average, people are earning about one fifth to one quarter of the average Australian income ($60,000pa as at August 2010). Some families receive income in addition to this through royalty payments that are usually widely distributed.   This seems to be sufficient for most families to manage rent and buy food and basic items, when they are managing their budget well.  Those who manage their money well, have enough – but those that do not, struggle, and there are those who, for various reasons, have difficulty accessing income including Centrelink payments – who are truly poor.

We need to remember that the economy is not just about the money – the real ecomony involves the transfer and transformation of all valuables.  These include all forms of sweat (hard work and labour, including parenting), using land resources and primary production (growing things).   Many Yolŋu people contribute to the local economy through land management and harvesting traditional foods. For a few young men this is almost a full time job.  While money is rarely exchanged for Yolŋu food items,  the food is exchanged through reciprocal generosity and kin relationships.  Yolŋu native food items are highly valued and are important  contributions to the families’ real income and nutrition.  Significant local elders in Arnhem Land communities also contribute huge amounts of time to governance, dispute resolution and generally maintaining social order through Indigenous systems. This work is mostly devoted to the Indigenous domain – that part of Aboriginal communities that non-Indigenous personnel rarely participate in.  In addition to this some of them also participate, with difficulty, in the Dominant Culture governance system.  This energy is of huge value and is almost always unpaid, and thus remains an important labour contribution to the economy.

In painting this picture, I am not judging people’s use of money or suggesting they need higher incomes.  History show that when incomes increase rapidly in Indigenous communities, money tends to be devalued, creating dependency and even loss of purpose (see previous article).  My focus here is to ask how we can sensibly help people to develop the local economy under these conditions. The answer I believe is found in matching economic policy to support people’s real needs and motivations, while challenging welfare dependency.  This is the topic of the Part 3.

In June, the Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced a “second intervention” to follow the Government’s Northern Territory Emergency Response (NTER).

This is the response from Aboriginal leaders in the Northern Territory to this announcement:

The Government and the people of Australia are only able to achieve true reconciliation with Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory if the environment for negotiation is changed and justice, that was so brutally removed by the Intervention, is restored.  Only through respectful dialogue and working together can we call Australia a nation based on the principles of democracy.

Future negotiations will rely upon:

1. The Aboriginal people in the 73 prescribed communities of the Northern Territory do not welcome any further consultation with the Government until it acknowledges the failures ofthe current Intervention.

2. The Aboriginal people of the Northern Territorywill only endorse a new initiative by the Government to improve the lives of Aboriginal people if the Government first establishes a diplomatic and respectful dialogue, negotiation and relationship with the traditional lawmen and lawwomen in the communities to be affected. These are the people that are seen as the true leaders by their communities, who are charged with maintaining ceremony, language, law and order. They must be properly consulted before any new initiative can take place in their communities.

3. The name “Intervention” and “Emergency Response” must be removed from any future initiative, which should instead focus on the goals of Education and Empowerment of Aboriginal People in the Northern Territory. It must dispel the prejudice and racial discrimination of Aboriginal people that is embedded in the Intervention, and which has created deep emotional pain and shame amongst Aboriginal people.

4. Any initiative aimed at education and training must support the right of Aboriginal people to maintain their Indigenous languages, cultural practices and the capacity to live and work on country.

5. To effectively support appropriate and beneficial development in Aboriginal communities, the Government must replace Government Business Managers with mentors that support and facilitate education, capacity-building and locally-controlled development in Aboriginal communities.

This is the will of the Aboriginal people of the Northern Territory.

Released by: Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM, clan leader of the Dhurili Nation

The Dhurili Nation, comprising the Datiwuy, Golumala, Marrakulu and Marrangu clans have previously confirmed to the Northern Land Council and the Minister for Indigenous Affairs that they are lawful traditional owners of some areas of land that are affected by a new mining lease and agreement with Rio Tinto Alcan in the Gove Peninsula in the Northern Territory.

“We feel very sad because our rights under Madayin Law have been pushed aside and much pain and division has been created. This shows that colonisation is still happening today creating disharmony, by people ignoring due process. Again the failures of the Australian Government and the NLC to work with Yolngu people through a proper process of law has created division between the clans of Arnhem Land. We will not be celebrating along with others the signing of this agreement” said Dr Gondarra.

The Northern Land Council and the Minister have allowed a new lease to be signed, despite the Dhurili Nation raising its concerns about a lack of lawful consultation and a failure to seek the consent of its members in line with the requirements of traditional Madayin law and the Aboriginal Land Rights (Northern Territory) Act 1976.

The Dhurili nation, part of the Yolngu people, were previously recognised as traditional owners of parts of the affected area. For reasons presently unknown to them, they were not properly consulted about the recent negotiations with Rio Tinto Alcan. As a result, the clans of the Dhurili Nation consider that their rights under Australian and traditional Aboriginal law have been breached and that they have been improperly excluded from the negotiation process.

The Dhurili Nation is considering challenging the actions of the Northern Land Council and the Minister for Indigenous Affairs in the Courts.

Dated: 7 June 2011

Contact: Rev. Dr. Djiniyini Gondarra, OAM (on behalf of the Dhurili Nation)

‘Do you know of any good external language courses that are available?’

There are a couple of options to begin learning Yolŋu Matha, the language of north east Arnhem Land.

1. A series of distance education courses are available through Charles Darwin University (CDU).  If you are in Darwin these can also be studied internally, which is recommended. There are several  advantages of these courses.  As it is a university course, it is structured around recommended and required study, along with regular assessment, so it keeps you working. The course teaches much about culture as well as language, which makes it much richer and gives good context. The course is run by extremely knowledgable and passionate staff, who share many personal and traditional stories. Many people struggle with the work load, which does require alot of self learning in order to keep up. The early subjects  have assessments that are very much based on written work. This means that your time can easily get consumed in writting and reading the language, which is less effective for learning to speak and hear. However, the later subjects are more focused on conversational skills (not sure if these can be done externally). The staff are really helpful and if you put the work in you will get alot out of the course.
2. There are a number of self learning courses available through ARDS.  I recommend “Gupapuyngu Alphabet & Pronunciation” followed by, or in combination with the “Gupapuyngu Conversational Course” 1&2.  (ARDS has also begun to publish an identical course in Djambarrpuŋu a sister language).  It is important to understand the alphabet and pronunciation first and try to memorise the sounds, before moving to phrases. But as you get bored with pronunciation practice go to the first of the conversational courses, which have structured lessons and drills on CD for each lesson to test yourself and practice with. The down side to these courses is that you have to be disciplined with yourself to regularly spend time working through the lessons (and repeating them) when there is no one to examine you.    If you choose to do the CDU courses the “Alphabet and Pronunciation” book will help, and you should try to work through it before the course starts as there is little time alotted for learning the alphabet and their sounds.   The advantage of these self learning materials is that they focus on speaking and hearing and you will be off to a very good start to begin learning more by practicing and conversing with Yolngu people once you do enter Arnhem Land. A Gupupuy’ŋu Grammar book is also available, but you will only need this when you get to the stage of asking, ‘Now, how would I say …..” The gramma book has no audio and is best as a reference once you start to use the language with Yolngu people, or if you find yourself exceeding the expectations of the conversational courses (this book is part of the resources for the second CDU subject).

These options and resoures are complementary, so they do work together well to expand your learning options.  However, we  would not recomend attempting to do both the converstional course and the CDU couses at the same time unless you are devoting all your time to language learning while outside Arnhem Land.  It is important to devote time to practice with a native Yolŋu Matha speaker, if possible, even at the early stages of your learning. For example, you could make arrangements to talk by phone with good aquaintences you have made in Arnhem Land.

Good luck.  And please leave a comment if you know of other resources or have some useful insights from your experience with learning Yolŋu matha.