Traditional owners want say in managing totem species

Sonya Takau says dingoes are the family of the Jirrbal people and therefore, according to traditional knowledge, they cannot be harmed.

He wants farmers to co-exist with demonized dogs rather than poisoning them.

Dingo advocates say the gang in North Queensland has a longstanding relationship with the animal they call Ganibarra.

Ms Takau told AAP dingoes helped them hunt, provided protection and had excellent water-finding abilities.

“They are a family, thanks to the kinship system and our story.

“So the information here is that we can’t hurt them.

“Ganibarra are the bosses of the Country; they keep everything in balance.”

The dingo is among 22 case studies of “culturally significant entities” important to Indigenous peoples in Australia in the National Environmental Science Project run by Curtin University.

They are often protected within national parks and reserves, but to protect the animals they are shot, trapped or poisoned on sheep and cattle farms.

“I completely understand where farmers are coming from,” Ms. Takau says.

“They have to make a living.

“But instead of lethal solutions, we need to try to live together.”

The dingo has cultural significance to the Jirrbal people but is also important in the natural environment because it suppresses invasive species such as foxes, cats, feral pigs and goats.

Ms Takau says dingo control laws are all about helping farmers, but Indigenous people are also important stakeholders in dingo management.

“There are government-approved killing programs.

“It is the government that sets policy through legislation, and when you look at that legislation there is no reflection of our cultural values.”

Ms Takau says some farmers are considering giving up the fight against 1080 poison for dingoes and just living with them.

He notes that there are non-lethal alternatives, such as relocation and the use of foster animals with sheep.

Coastal emus are also a culturally important asset to the Bundjalung people of north-east NSW and south-east Queensland, and they want a greater say in ensuring their lands thrive again.

Oliver Costello, an advocate for the giant bird his people call Nguruny, is keen to explore innovative solutions to restore and protect emu populations in Bundjalung Country.

This may include farming as well as breeding programs for reintroduction into the wild and cultural burning to restore species’ food sources and habitat.

Selling emu meat products locally and hunting emu to keep skills and traditional knowledge alive could also be solutions, Mr Costello says.

Curtin University research explored the animals, plants and ecological communities vital to Indigenous cultural identity, knowledge systems and the health of the Country.

Such beings may be part of creation stories and song lyrics, serve as totems, provide food, medicine or materials, signal the health of ecosystems, or play a role in ceremonies and traditional practices.

Researchers worked with 300 participants in six national workshops over 18 months to develop case studies spanning Australia.

It included studies of dingoes, emus, freshwater mussels, green turtles, humpback whales, Quandong berry, Bogong moths, Brolga cranes, black cockatoos, Murray cod, sugarbag bees and Macquarie Marshes.

Curtin’s Dr Teagan Shields, who co-led the project with Professor Stephen van Leeuwen, says the aim is to provide a way to incorporate Indigenous knowledge and stewardship into land and sea management.

Dr. Recovery plans for the Great Desert Skink and bilby that include significant indigenous input are examples to be followed by policymakers and legislators, Shields told AAP.

“Once they start to understand the importance of these species to the mafia and that this mafia has so much knowledge, that’s really important to manage them sustainably; those recovery plans become much stronger.”

Dr Shields says focusing on culturally significant assets helps govern the Country, as Australia has significant Indigenous-administered lands.

Governments needed to shift from viewing Indigenous Australians as stakeholders to recognizing them as rights holders with cultural entitlements and responsibilities to Country.