Healing Country through Wiradjuri and Wolgalu-led cultural land management

Healing Country through Wiradjuri and Wolgalu-led Cultural land management is a community-led place-based research project working with and supporting the Wiradjuri/Wolgalu Aboriginal community of Brungle/Tumut (NSW) and their Indigenous ranger program (Bugang Bila). Bugang Bila aims to put Wiradjuri/Wolgalu at the centre of land management on their traditional Country by collaborating with government and non-government natural resource management (NRM) agencies. Aligning this research project with Bugang Bila provided a valuable opportunity to gain insights and answers to the question: what supports Wiradjuri/Wolgalu cultural land management practices (caring for Country) and what are the barriers? This question broadly underpins similar programs being established across Australia and speaks to the aspirations of Traditional Owners and NRM agencies who want to consult, support and partner with Indigenous communities.

The project utilised multiple qualitative research methodologies, including semi-structured interviews (with community and NRM agencies), yarning, on Country workshops and activities and ethnographic style observations followed by research team reflections. A critical component of the project was the employment of two local community research assistants, which allowed for shared ownership of the research and adherence to cultural protocols and respect for community dynamics.

We identified barriers to Wiradjuri/Wolgalu accessing and participating in both cultural and NRM activities on their Country, which include:

• Indigenous people often have very different value systems to NRM agencies.
• The working environment and procedure of NRM agencies often impact Indigenous people’s cultural confidence.
• Limited capacity to share knowledge and reconnect with neighboring Nations.
• Insufficient opportunities and time to build trusting, respectful relationships with relevant NRM agency staff.
• Restricted access to Country, due to government policies and insufficient resources.
• Lack of understanding and consideration of community dynamics by NRM agencies.

Our research suggests that achieving the widely held objective of ‘healthy Country, healthy people’ requires an alignment of values and establishment of trusting relationships, which can only be achieved through a process of two-way learning where NRM agency staff work closely with Traditional Owners. For this to happen, policy, procedures and resourcing need to strategically support Traditional Owners in key areas: building cultural confidence, supporting women’s participation, investing in individuals through long-term funding security and a greater number of identified positions within NRM agencies. Positive change in this direction has already been observed during the first three years of the Bugang Bila project. A key to this achievement was the funding of and support for Cultural NRM Officers within the community, who established and maintained the necessary relationships between community and the different NRM agencies who currently manage much of their traditional lands.