Aboriginal leaders proud of push for prosperity, 50 years since land rights event

ABC NEWS (Australia)

The Freedom Festival has kicked off in the remote Aboriginal community of Kalkarindji, celebrating the Wave Hill Walkoff and the birth of Indigenous land rights. 50 years on from the first handback of land to Aboriginal people from the Commonwealth, Gurindji leaders say they're proud of what they've achieved, but their fight for economic empowerment is ongoing.

Transcript

00:00A march in recognition of a turning point in Australian history.

00:06Land rights! Land rights!

00:08As the Garingi celebrate the strike that helped create Aboriginal land rights.

00:13They led the pathway for us, and we want to continue that.

00:18There's several hundred people behind me, and they're marching down to the dry riverbank of the Victoria River,

00:24which is where the Garingi people originally made camp when they walked off Wave Hill Station in 1966.

00:31It was one of those pivotal moments in time that took place 50 years ago,

00:36and we still carry on the legacy of Mr Lingiari.

00:40Vincent Lingiari led the stockmen and their families in walking off the station.

00:45His son still remembers the meagre rations they were paid.

00:49Garingi people have a long-standing relationship with Wolperi people from the south,

00:59who joined the walk-off, and invited the family of Kuminjai White,

01:03a young Wolperi man who died in the custody of plain-clothed police

01:07in an Alice Springs supermarket earlier this year.

01:10The support march alongside with our Wave Hill Freedom Day march.

01:16We still respect one another. There's a deep connection there.

01:19The modern operators of Wave Hill Station, who took over a few years ago, are also here,

01:25with plans to help Garingi people find work in the pastoral industry.

01:29Our sort of vision would be work experience and getting some of these kids back out onto Wave Hill in the pastoral side of things.

01:39That is very interesting, but it's a good way to connect. I want to be good mates with them.

01:44Garingi leaders say Vincent Lingiari's dream of a thriving local economy for Aboriginal people is still a work in progress.

01:51We're still struggling, but we're trying to break through those walls. We're trying to make our community viable.

01:57Work still to be done, 50 years after the sand was poured from a Prime Minister's hands.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended