Caring for Ngarigo Country
Caring for Country and Caring for Tribe means the same thing.
Purpose
The revival and maintenance of Tribe and Country
Values
It is based on traditional Ngarigo values of caring, sharing, respect, compassion, connection, and inclusiveness. This incorporates a holistic sense of oneness and interdependence with Country and the Universe and community-based decision making.
Success
Success is measured by the degree of connectedness and vibrational balance, not material possessions
Issues to address in Caring for Country
Bringing our people home to tribe and Country
Social and emotional well being
Cultural integrity of the tribe
Physical preservation of tribe and Country
Spiritual preservation of tribe and Country
Connecting contemporary to traditional values
Role as Custodian of Country
The role of the custodian is not reflected simply what is on top of the land and water.
The Ngarigo custodian is part of the land and water and everything above, in and below it, the flora, the fauna, the human population, the seasons, the weather, the rhythm, the maxi and micro, the alpha and omega and the multi-consciousness that pervades everything.
We attract and bond with a conscious energy from the land and water which matches our internal DNA cellular consciousness. Our role is to maintain a rhythm with Country which maintains the well being of all.
Rights and responsibilities with Country
We have the ancestor/creator given right to an intimate relationship with Country that cannot be broken by separation, adversity or occupation.
We have a responsibility to maintain Country according to the desires of our Old Ones, our Ancestors, our Dreaming.
Our Dreaming
The principles which Ngarigo people operate upon in relation to the future of our Country are imbedded in the present, in the Dreaming. The Dreaming is our creation place, the place where Biame, Creation Beings, Ancestors and ourselves interact to maintain the created experience.
Over time the nature of how we look after Country changes as circumstances change and our Ancestors influence us on what Country needs and what Country should be.
The consequences of us not doing it, of being prevented or separated from our traditional role are significant. The impact manifests in the Tribe and in our Country at the same rate and to the same extent.
Tribal Revival
We have a process called Tribal Revival, it is a healing and restorative process which has begun, will take time, but is essential for the survival of the tribe and the Country we have been gifted by Biame.
Opportunities
There is a new energy permeating the planet which is emerging to challenge and heal the destructive energy which has been dominating the planet for the last several hundred years. It is an energy which seeks a balance and partnership with nature, with country, with spirit which has been missing from the industrial, ownership-oriented paradigm of western globalism.
This movement is present in all cultures and is particularly noticeable in First Nations people of Australia. There is a continent-wide movement of grass roots people being empowered by spirit, being made aware of restorative pathways to a connected, healthy, joyful life of well being.
This is reflected in the National model for Mental Health and Social and Emotional Well-being which has emerged in the last ten years as a framework to restore balance in First Nations people. It is the basis of the Tribal Revival movement.
Accessing the internet and communication pathways such as Google and Zoom allow people to communicate regularly across distance, help reconnect back to culture and Country in a way not possible even 5 years ago.
Similarly there is a need for both First Nations and other like-minded people to calibrate a balance between development and environment. New paradigms for managing resources are required and for Ngarigo people, it is reverting to traditional methods of managing resources.
Threats
Ongoing disrespect for Aboriginal people, a deep sense, particularly at a sub conscious level that we are inferior to the mainstream ‘wheel’ discoverers.
Truth distortion which paints alternative living paradigms such as ours as inferior with no real understanding of what the purpose and lived experience is when one is connected.
Ongoing paternalism in government policy which reflects the deep belief that we are not fully capable, cannot manage our affairs and require ongoing intervention to help us have good lives.
The failure of these policies and attitudes are overwhelmingly obvious, have been identified in numerous reports and reflect the underlying prejudice that exists in the executive and administrative arms of government, the media and as a consequence, the general population.
The Issue Of Given Back Stolen Land and Waters
The simple answer is no one wants to give them back to us. The history of native title shows this dramatically. Two attempts to stop land and water reclamation by Acts of Parliament, the creation of Native Title where we have to prove that we are Aboriginal, have to prove to government an ongoing connection to land and water when there has been a deliberate government policy of breaking connection for over two hundred years and the ultimate decision makers as to whether you are Aboriginal or not under Native Title is made by white people under a white framework which has fractured us as a collective group with divisions previously unseen.
We need to get our people back home. This is an antithetical move to the Native Title movement. What we want is reconnection, not gammin control over our land and water with no real power to manage it the way we want. We can have it on the condition that many of our people are excluded. This is wrong, not supported by our ancestors and will not survive over time.
For us, if you have Ngarigo DNA, we want to give you the opportunity to reconnect to your tribe, to claim your inheritance.
Bringing them home
Reviving the tribe, finding lost members is a much wider problem that the Stolen Generation which manifested in the twentieth century. We also have the Hidden Generation from the nineteenth century who were taken from their traditional land and lifestyles in the early days of colonisation.
Summary
Principles for managing country are embedded in the tribal revival framework which reflects our national mental health and social and emotional wellbeing framework
We need to take control of our own affairs
We need to do this with or without government assistance
We need to set our own rules, our own agenda, our own timeframe and our own principles which will ensure that the life we live, the community we support and the broader society we also live in is underpinned by a movement of well-being, based on connection not acquisition.
We are custodians already, with or without title and with or without recognition
Custodian is a holistic responsibility of mind, body and spirit operating to nurture and protect Country for ourselves, our future generations both indigenous and mainstream
This means we must also be protecting ourselves, we come from Country, we have a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship, we share the same DNA connection