Project Reports
Report on Cross-cultural tour
The Mary MacKillop Foundation provided funding to enable the Traditional Owners to travel with non-indigenous people into their own lands in order to present to some conservation groups an appreciation of their land and of traditional farming methods.
The non-indigenous participants provided much of the cost but the grant from the Foundation allowed for more elders to participate and to experience the sense of self worth and respect that are appropriately related to their positions. The project was important in the process of reconciliation.
One of the greatest areas of distress for these traditional owners is the loss of culture and story and appreciation of traditional ways as the young people get involved in self-destructive practices and lose touch with their heritage.
The project promoted 'an indigenous connection with the land amid the complexities of contemporary environmental challenges'. The traditional stories were heard in situ and the learnings of the past applied to questions of today. The elders were enabled to share their wisdom and to see how others engaged with them in seeking ways forward.
