Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa

Vol 21 February / March 2014

Start of another big year for KJ

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Groote Eylandt mob visit Parnngurr

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Ranger program updates

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Leadership program update

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Puntura-ya Ninti update

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Whats coming up
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Start of another big year for KJ

It is good to see everyone getting back to work for what is going to be another busy year for KJ. The mens ranger teams have been getting back out to country such as Jilukurru, Warntili, Well 35 and up the Wapet Road starting to do the work that has been planned for this year. New rangers will start in Jigalong and Kunawarritji as KJs ranger program expands. The women are back at work too, going out and working on country checking water holes, tracking for animals and seeing how healthy country is. It will be an exciting year for the women with the mankarr teams becoming womens ranger teams with their own uniforms, looking after womens sites and other activities important to women The Bidyadanga mob are also keen to do work on Kulyakartu so there will be some small trips there to start to look after that country. This year will also see more Puntura-ya Ninti (culture and heritage) work to keep Martu culture strong and to provide opportunities for old people to pass on knowledge and stories to young people. There will be Kalyuku Ninti (return to country) trips to Karlamilyi and Kulyakartu, more helicopter mapping and more photos on the Community Access Library (CAL) in each community. If you want to be involved and work with KJ, talk to a KJ staff member or KJ director in your community. Enjoy the newsletter.

Nyaparu See, CEO

Groote Eylandt Mob visit the desert

Last year Waka, Karnu, Bakery (MJ) and Ngangkari had a chance to visit the ranger team on Groote Eylandt. Groote Eylandt is about 200kms east of Darwin in the Gulf of Carpentaria. It was an incredible experience and great hospitality was shown to us by the Anindilyakwa people. We were taken around in boats, Toyotas and even a plane. Like many other mobs around Australia, the Anindilyakwa people have declared an Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) over their land and sea country. The IPA is managed mainly for the sustainable use of natural ecosystems so it allows Anindilyakwa to continue to hunt and fish as they have always done. There is also a large manganese mine on Groote Eylandt which continues to operate alongside the IPA. Recently Martu had the chance to return the hospitality when a group of young Anindilyakwa rangers from Groote Eylandt spent a week visiting Parnngurr community. For these rangers that would often get into a boat rather than a Toyota, it was obvious that this was going to be a big experience visiting Martu in the desert. We figured out that the drive out to Parnngurr community alone was like doing 3 laps of Groote Eylandt! They were greeted upon arrival by Waka, Karnu and Muuki and very soon found themselves, along with many others from the community, on the way to a very beautiful water place called Warntili. Located near well 24 on the Canning Stock Route. This was also the first overnight trip for the Parnngurr womens ranger team and everyone was in good spirits. Especially when Waka and the rangers shot kipara (bush turkeys) as we made our way to camp. Upon arrival at Warntili we were happy to find that it was full and made a camp for three days. Both of the mens and womens ranger teams did a fine job of running the camp and making sure everybody was well fed and looked after. Several dingos could be heard at the end of the day as they joined in to remind us we werent the only ones enjoying Warntili.

Upon arrival back at Parnngurr the Groote Eylandt visitors barely had time to unpack before they were sitting with the entire Parnngurr community watching about 20 dancers, led by Muuki, perform a welcome dance. It was a very impressive sight, with Waka leading the song at one end of the area and the dancers wielding spears as they wound in between two large fires. Everything was arranged by the Parnngurr mens ranger team. Finally the Groote Eylandt mob were taken for a day trip to Kunti Kunti. They were accompanied by a lot of people from both the womens and mens ranger teams. They were treated to a glamorous water place that was full and once again they enjoyed a feast of bush foods including kirti kirti (hill kangaroo). Kunti kunti is a special place for many people in Parnngurr as many people still hold strong stories about this area from pujiman (bushmen) days. Although not wanting to leave, the group returned to the community that night in the dark and went to bed early for a departure the next morning back to Newman. Needless to say the Groote Eylandt rangers have had an incredible few days that I know they will remember for a long time. We feel sure this story is only just beginning as the relationship between these two ranger mobs develops and quite possibly sees more visits by the teams to each others country.
Page 2 top: Groote Eylandt visitors at Warntili with the mens and womens Parnngurr ranger teams. Page 2 middle: On the way to Warntili near well 24 on the Canning Stock Route. Page 3 top: Groote Eylandt visitors getting in and helping prepare the kipara. Page 3 middle: A day trip to Kunti Kunti with the Parnngurr ranger teams. Page 3 bottom: A welcome dance for the Groote visitors.

IPA Consultation Project

Over the past few years, there has been lots of wangka (talking) about Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs) and whether Martu want to declare an IPA or a number of IPAs for special areas that Martu want to look after. Many other mobs have IPAs they are bit like an Aboriginal national park where the traditional owners manage the area based on their own priorities. Important areas that people previously have said need to be looked after include Wirnpa and the Percival Lakes, the Canning Stock Route, Lake Disappointment, Karlamilyi, Jilukurru, Kaalpi and Rirrakaja (stony country). Some Martu want to include everyones country in an IPA as everyones country is important. Martu have met other mobs across Australia who have IPAs including: Anindilyakwa (Groote Eylandt); Birriliburu; Warlu Jilajaa Jumu IPA (Ngurra country); Paruku (Walmajarri, Jaru and Kukatja peoples); and Kalka-Pipalyatjara (APY). KLC and the traditional owners in the Kimberley have identified IPAs as their preferred way of looking after country. The Kimberley is home to nine IPAs of which the KLC helps look after seven. More recently Nyaparu See briefed Noel Whitehead from WDLAC about IPAs and how they do not impact on native title rights or stop mining, which is managed by WDLAC and is regulated by separate laws. To help us learn more about IPAs, there will be a number of other trips this coming year including to: Nirrippi, Yuendumu and the Southern Tanami (Walpiri country); Kiwirrkurra who may declare a new IPA later this year; and World Parks Congress in Sydney. If you want to know more about IPAs talk to Ngangkari.
Top: Map made during consultations showing what areas Martu want to look after. Middle: Group of Martu visiting Wirnpa (2008). Bottom: Pervical lakes.

Womens ranger program update

There are going to be big changes this year as the mankarr program changes to the new Womens Ranger Program. The main changes will be new uniforms and equipment, a new permanent team based at Parnngurr and more work for women across the communities. The womens ranger program provides women - young and old - an opportunity to work on country, using traditional knowledge and contemporary science to keep country healthy. The teams will be looking after womens sites, keeping bush tucker healthy, monitoring and managing threatened species (that may pass away), looking after waterholes and doing some fire work. The womens ranger teams in Jigalong have already started for the year. The Jigalong womens ranger team did four trips at the end of March. Each trip was attended by five to eight women, including a few children on the two weekend trips. The team conducted water quality monitoring at four sites: Ngujapunya waterhole; Meeka spring; Nuka spring; and Kaparna Creek.

The team used the CyberTracker equipment to record signs of animals at one old and two new monitoring plots. There were signs of kilu (Spinifex hopping mouse) and yalapara (goanna). Ladies who have been out many times before helped the women and children joining in for the first time with using the equipment. The Womens Program manager, Tracy Carboon, went to Jigalong with Kat Mac to talk with the team about the program. There were lots of conversations about what the ladies want to do and how they might go about doing them. Some of the ideas were working with the Jigalong school, working with the Jigalong mens ranger team, more right-way burning and more monitoring of threatened animals that are at risk of passing. It looks like it will be a busy year for the team. The Punmu womens ranger team will be starting work again in early April. Princess (Fiona Webb) in Punmu is looking forward to working with familiar faces this year and hopefully some new ones as well. In Parnngurr, there are many ladies interested in becoming permanent as well as casual rangers. This year Mukaluk (Katherine), the Parnngurr womens ranger coordinator, hopes to get out on country a lot with the team to more far away country around Parnngurr. The Parnngurr womens ranger team is also looking forward to going out on joint trips with the mens Parnngurr ranger team. All families are welcome to join in the program.
Top: Parnngurr and Punmu women rangers. Bottom left: Kat Mac with the Jigalong women rangers conducting water monitoring.

Punmu and Kunawarritji ranger team update

The Punmu and Kunawarritji rangers have started the year and are off to a great start. The team began the year by fixing up the ranger station at the old lake house, making it an easier place to work from and also made up a room for the casual Punmu women rangers. It has made a big difference for the team and everyone is excited about the year to come. Our first trip was with Longman and Nyaparu Lane to Kun Kun, south of Kunawarritji. On the trip we visited lots of special waterholes between Punmu and Kunawarritji. We have started doing some burning on some trips, talking with waru man (Gareth) and trying to do it the right way. On one of these trips, we saw hundreds of camels along the Wapet Road, which was a worry. We are looking forward to getting our guns so we can help reduce the number of camels and help to look after our waterholes. On a trip up to well 35 we took Flaki Stevens. He told us lots of stories and took us to a place where his oldest brother was born, a jurnu (rockhole) called Ngajilpa east of the Canning Stock Route. While we were at well 35 we put some posts in to make sure that tourists cant drive all the way up to the site. The Kunawarritji community were really happy that we had protected this place.
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Top: Punmu and Kunawarritji rangers checking the mornings route. Top right: McClean and Gavin fixing up the ranger station. Bottom right: Ray Thomas and Dwayne Minyardie at Wilurr.

Parnngurr ranger team update

After a long summer holiday period the Parnngurr mens ranger team started nice and fresh in to the new field season. After getting the gear organised in the first few days the team headed off to check out the waterholes in the area. Many of them had a lot of water and kept us cool in the middle of the still very hot days. Although the season is still very young we already have a highlight. We discovered some warru (rock wallabies) in the Parnngurr area. We invited Alicia from the Department of Parks and Wildlife (DPaW, which used to be called DEC or CALM) to help us search for them. Not only did we find a lot of tracks, but we were also able to see some animals and were able to take photos of them. They all seemed to be male warru. To be able to get more information on the warru living in that area we set up cameras around caves that provide a good home for the animals. Over the next few months we will be checking the cameras to see whether there are more photos of the warru. The discovery of the warru could potentially lead to a long term project for the Parnngurr ranger teams together with DPaW. At this stage more information is needed on the how many warru there are, if there are any females and how far they are spread out. With the start of the Parnngurr womens ranger team we have be able to do some trips together. It is great to see both teams going really well and being strong. It looks to be another great year with many trips already being planned and the calendar is already starting to look very busy.
Top: Neville getting the remote camera into position. Bottom left: Warru found outside of Parnngurr. Bottom right: Clifton setting up the camera under Alicias guidance.

Jigalong ranger team update

Aaron Eulenstein and his nyupa, Helen, and jiji (child) have moved to Jigalong to help Jamo with running the Jigalong ranger teams. They are very excited to be living in Jigalong and working with such a great group of rangers. Already the team has been busy this year. The Jigalong rangers cut the very long grass around the community and did a great job cleaning up 10 yards, the HACC centre and the old peoples home. All of the team were glad to be back at work and the community is looking better after their fabulous work. The first trip of the year was out overnight to Puntawarri to clear the area so that the rangers can stop there on the way out to the Canning Stock Route. A small group of five rangers set many small waru (fires) to freshen up the area and reduce the fuel loads around some of the houses and other special places out there. The team then did a day trip out through the Robertson Ranges to check on a spring. The team worked hard to clean up and get the spring flowing again. The rangers then went to check on a beautiful big deep rock pool and some of the rangers enjoyed a nice swim. The big trip so far was out to Jilukurru with Alicia from DPaW. The aim of the trip was to monitor the warru (rock wallabies) that were translocated last September from Kaalpi.
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The rangers worked very hard over four days and signs of nearly all the warru were found. A second warru unfortunately had passed away but the others were all alive and well with the exception of one that has not been found, possibly because it has moved out of range with its VHF collar. So far the warru translocation project is regarded as a great success. One of the best results was an image taken of a warru on one of the motion cameras that clearly showed a female warru with a very full pouch. This is a very good sign. It shows that the young are continuing to grow and that the animals are not too stressed. Work will continue out at Jilukurru throughout the year to protect the warru from cats and to help the new population survive. The biggest news for the Jigalong rangers so far this year though is the increase of permanent rangers from 4 to 12. This will mean regular work for more young men in Jigalong.

Top left: Jigalong rangers celebrating the water flowing in the spring after clearing it. Top right: Aaron and the Jigalong team Day 2 of the warru monitoring trip. Bottom left: Rangers with lunch caught on Day 2 of the trip. Bottom right: Warru with full pouch

World Vision Australia

KJ is partnering with World Vision Australia to run KJs Ranger Leadership Program. This program will teach Martu rangers about things like government, companies, money, whitefella law and business. It will help them to have a stronger voice for themselves, their families and their communities as well as helping them to run KJ. The leadership program has already had two big trips. In 2012, a group went to Canberra, learned about Parliament, met with government officials and had a course from the National Indigenous Leadership Institute. In 2013, BHP Billiton invited the group to their AGM (see an article about that in this newsletter) and to meetings with their staff. The leadership program will work in the communities and also take people on trips like these to see what people are doing in other parts of Australia and to learn more about the world. World Vision and KJ will be working on the Leadership Program for the next five years, helping men and women rangers in all the communities to learn important skills and knowledge. This will help these men and women and all the Martu communities to have a strong future.

Leadership trip
Late last year, nine Martu rangers travelled to Perth at the invitation of BHP Billiton to see their Annual General Meeting (AGM). The rangers were able to sit in and see how a large company runs its AGM. The meeting lasted about three hours. Lots of people asked the Chairman and directors all sorts of questions about how the company was running and whether the directors were doing a good job. It was clear that any members (shareholders) were able to ask any question they wanted to, even if the questions were difficult for the directors. Lots of the questions were about climate change. The Chairman was very respectful and polite as he answered all their questions or asked another director to answer. While they were in Perth, the group also visited Parliament House and talked to some politicians, including their local member of Parliament, Brendon Grylls.
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He talked about his experience of being a leader. They had breakfast with Ken Wyatt, an Aboriginal Member of Parliament in Canberra. He talked to them about what leadership means to him and about the need for good leaders. The group also gave a presentation to staff of BHP Billiton Iron Ore about the work that they do as rangers.

Left: Leadership group with Jimmy Wilson President of BHPBilliton Iron Ore and Julius Matthys Vice President External Affairs. Middle: Leadership group with Brendon Grylls. Right: Leadership group outside of WA parliament house. Bottom: Leadership group with Ken Wyatt.

Greening Australia Partnership

Over the last year KJ has been working in partnership with Greening Australia WA (GA) to provide training to the rangers in Punmu, Parnngurr and Jigalong. Many people were introduced to GA through the Greening Jigalong project, which has run for a number of years. This project has overseen the tree planting in public places and private homes. GA is now delivering a specialised Indigenous training program, funded by BHP Billiton Iron Ore. The training will provide all current and future Martu rangers with formally recognised certificates in conservation land management (CLM). To date 42 rangers have signed up for the training and 17 Jigalong rangers have completed their Certificate 1 in CLM and have started their Certificate 2 training. Seventeen participants have completed their Support Prescribed Burning unit. Training for 24 rangers in the following CLM units took place during the warru translocation project last year: Participate in OHS processes; Participate in environmentally sustainable work practices; Apply animal trapping techniques; Participate in work place communications; Recognise fauna; maintain cultural places; and Operate in isolated and remote situations. The Parnngurr and Punmu rangers have also started their certificate 1 training. All training has been done in conjunction with on-ground activities in communities or out on-country.
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On-ground activities to date include: Jigalong - planting up of the community office, old folks home, HAC centres, ranger headquarters and 25 house yards. Parnngurr - Certificate 1 training in conjunction with planting around the general store and 4 house yards. Punmu - Certificate 1 Training in conjunction with planting around the HAC centre, the office, shop as well as 3 house yards. It is an exciting opportunity for Martu to be recognised for their land management expertise and to learn new skills. We look forward to the partnership developing and becoming an essential part of the men and womens ranger programs.

Top: Laying irrigation lines. Middle: Jigalong rangers learning about tree planting. Bottom: Proud Jigalong team.

Puntura-ya Ninti program update

2014 is looking to be a busy year for the Puntura-ya Ninti (Everybodys knowledge) program. Last year saw the roll out of the Community Access Library (CAL) in Bidyadanga, Jigalong, Nullagine, Parnngurr, Punmu and Warralong as well as in the KJ office, EPIS (East Pilbara Independent Service and the Womens shelter in Newman. Cat is back to help out the team and has spent the past few weeks travelling to a few of the communities making sure the program is working well and everyone is happy using it.

The roll out will continue at the end of the month with the installation of two more CAL computers. One computer will be installed at Kunawarritji and one will be installed at Roebourne prison. CAL currently holds over 33,000 photos, audio clips, films and documents. The previous version of the library only held 5,000 media object so we are very pleased with the huge amount of media Martu can now access. The program is also in the process of digitising another 400 films that are a mixture of both old films from the 1980s through to more recent films. Once the films have been digitised the team will slowly work through and upload the films onto CAL. The Puntura-ya Ninti program will continue with helicopter mapping, collecting genealogies and oral histories as well as running Kalyuku Ninti trips later this year Karlamilyi and Kulyakartu. If you would like to be involved in any of these projects please talk to Davenport or Zan.
Top: Bidyadanga community members using CAL. Middle: Mulyatingki pointing out family in a photo from the 1960s. Bottom: Convoy part of 2013 Kalyuku Ninti trip to Yimiri.

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Staff changes
There will be some old and new faces around KJ this coming year.

Ngangkari (Tim Schneider) and family are moving back to Newman in April as Ngangkari is going to be working on the Leadership Program and the IPA Consultation project. This is really exciting news and we look forward to seeing Ngangkari, Kylie and the kids again. Mukaluk (Katherine Mullet) has started as the womens ranger coordinator at Parnngurr. She and her partner Jacob are living in Parnngurr. They are going overseas for a holiday that could not be changed so while they are away Sara Watson (relief ranger coordinator) will be doing Mukaluks job.
Cat Morgan is back helping in a part-time capacity on the Community Access Library (CAL) and installing new computers for Martu to access old photos, films and other objects. Kita Bakker will be going on parenting leave in April as she is having another jiji. We wish her all the best and no doubt will see her in Newman. Sheryl Peterson has been working on the front desk. It has been great having Sheryl around again and we appreciate her helping us out while we have been recruiting a new person for the position. Joanne Lomba will be starting after Easter as our new office administrator / bookkeeper. Finally and not least, Heather had a baby daughter (Sadie Rae) earlier this month. Congratulations to Heather and her family on this exciting news.

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Whats coming up

24 March - 8 April 2 - 4 April: 1 - 13 April 8 - 11 April

Alicia (DPaW) working with ranger teams Board meeting Newman Punmu women ranger work Groote Eylandt representatives visit Parnngurr rangers Parnngurr men and womens ranger teams overnight camp with Martu School Holiday Program Jigalong women ranger work Cultural Awareness Newman Parnngurr ranger McKay ranger trip Helicopter yintakaja mapping Greening Australia working with Jigalong rangers DPaW burning with Parnngurr rangers Punmu women rangers work Jigalong rangers Savory creek trip Ken Hansen (linguist) in Parnngurr Jigalong women ranger work Jigalong rangers trip to Jilukurru Cultural Awareness Newman
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22 - 24 April

24 April - 4 May 29 April - 2 May 28 April - 2 May 4 - 16 May 5 - 9 May

5 - 9 May 5 - 16 May 12 - 16 May 18 May - 7 June 19 - 29 May 19 - 29 May 27 - 29 May

Funders, Partners and Supporters

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