Future leader of the Pacific
By Wynston Shovellor-Sesar
From the 5th to the 11th of September I was lucky to take part in a program called The Future Leaders of The Pacific that took place in Hawaii with fourteen pacific Islanders who are passionate about climate change and environmental issues around their homelands, it was part of the IUCN Conservation Congress that was also held there.
I was nervous at first that I was going to be traveling alone and hadn’t fully understood what I was getting myself into but when I arrived to Honolulu I was welcomed with open arms. We gathered and had a group discussion where we introduced ourselves and what we learnt at end of the day.
I had the privilege to meet many passionate, intelligent young leaders who are working to lead for their people and country. We shared many stories about ourselves and what we do back home. I felt challenged about opening up to strangers, but I became more confident and relaxed around others as we grew our relationship. We developed an international network of brothers and sisters who share the same values for culture and land who are concerned about climate change. We met with The Leaders from Pacific Islands and visited few of Hawaii’s National Historical Parks with the Park Rangers and tour of the National Energy Laboratory in Kona ‘Big’ Island. We then surfed some waves, walked the trail up to Diamond Head and had dinner together on the last night. The highlight of my trip was I enjoyed was meeting all the pacific Islanders and the trip to the Polynesian Cultural Centre.
It was a full on five days program that I had enjoyed and won’t forget about the experience, I am so thankful for getting the opportunity to be a part of something that is truly a life changing experience and that I want to be able to be a part of again. I would like to thank everyone involved in the selection process for choosing me, it had made me feel like anything is achievable. Living in a remote community in Western Australia that sometime isolating, opportunities like this show that there is more out there to explore wherever in the world.
Attika Edgar on Rome, education, and the importance of family
“Education is a priority for us. It’s the key to unlocking our self determination.”
--Attika Edgar.
KRED Enterprises awarded Attika Edgar a Nipper Tabagee Scholarship to assist her with travel to Italy to pursue her studies.
Attika’s currently undertaking an Associate Degree in Business Administration (Indigenous Studies) through the Australian Catholic University. As part of the course, students have the option of studying international business and international marketing over an intensive ten day block in Rome—a city famous for its architecture, fashion and food.
While thrilled by all of these things, it was the nature of the family structure that really struck Attika.
“I learnt that Indigenous people and Italian people are really similar in some ways. We have a similar family structure and we have very closely knit families. Business stays in the family.”
Overseas travel, or cultural exchanges, often makes us look at things in a different way. As Seneca famously wrote, “Travel and change of place impart new vigour to the mind."
This was certainly the case for Attika.
“It made me want to work harder to create a stronger family unit, even from an economic perspective. Following the trip, I want to make things better for my children and Indigenous people as a whole,” Attika says.
KRED Enterprises is proud to offer Nipper Tabagee Scholarships to all Kimberley Aboriginal people wishing to pursue their educational, artistic, musical or sporting ambitions. Check out our scholarships page for more information.
Meet Nipper Tabagee Scholarship Recipient Amarah Treacy!
“It’s vital that we, as a community, work in collaboration with the elders and youth, listening and learning from each other, to make a difference and eliminate suicide amongst our people.”
--Nipper Tabagee Scholarship recipient Amarah Treacy, pictured top right.
KRED Enterprises awarded Amarah Treacy a Nipper Tabagee Scholarship to attend and present at the World Indigenous Suicide Prevention conference and the World Youth Summit in New Zealand in June. She was representing the Kimberley Aboriginal Youth Leaders Committee, and presenting on the Kimberley Aboriginal Youth Leadership Program, which aims to promote Indigenous youth participation in decision-making, civic engagement and community responsibility.
Amarah says both conference and summit were deeply moving.
“I was sad to see how many people all over the world are committing suicide and all those affected by it. But it was also inspiring to see how other countries are working together in their respective communities in the fight against suicide.”
Amarah’s no stranger to some of the most difficult issues afflicting our mob. In addition to sitting on the Kimberley Aboriginal Youth Leaders Committee, she’s also a co-ordinator of the Deadly Sista Girlz Program. Based in Broome, the program aims to engage, inspire and empower young Indigenous women to make informed decisions in order to leave healthy positive lifestyles and to become role models in their families, schools, and communities.
We’re proud to offer our Nipper Tabagee Scholarships to exceptional young Indigenous people in our community. When KRED talked to Amarah, she too, was super grateful!
“I would like to thank KRED. I appreciate their support. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to attend the conference.”
The WA State Government consistently undermines Aboriginal landowners
OXFAM REPORT: Making rights a reality
Read the full original version here
The situation for Aboriginal people and land rights in the Kimberley is a case study in the contradictory nature of Indigenous policy in Australia. The most vulnerable Australians have to fight – sometimes for decades – to be formally recognized under law as traditional landowners, only to come up against a wall of red tape, or in some cases outright discrimination, preventing the full utilization of their land rights.
Today, Aboriginal people in the Kimberley region are calling for a full and fair realization of their Native Title rights, to enable them to care for their country, to practise their culture and secure their future.
This paper highlights four examples of how the Western Australian government is actively undermining the rights of Aboriginal landowners in the Kimberley:2 from threatening to force communities off hard-won homelands, to denying Aboriginal people the right to make decisions about their sacred sites and cultural heritage; from conservation projects that go against human rights principles and demand landowners surrender their Native Title rights, to actively campaigning against proven and popular traditional land management programmes that create jobs and help tackle climate change. The actions of the Western Australian government serve to deliberately undermine Native Title rights and interests, putting Aboriginal people at further disadvantage.
Taken together, the examples set out below reveal concerning and systemic policies and procedures that undermine Aboriginal land rights in Western Australia, including economic, social and cultural rights protected under international human rights law.
More broadly, they represent a government critically out of step at a time where there is a groundswell of interest from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and non-Indigenous Australians on how to confront their history and its enduring impacts meaningfully, and create a fairer, more equitable future that embraces, values and nourishes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and cultures.