The Martu Aboriginal people of Western Australia are gearing up for another month’s walk across their desert country to oppose planned uranium mining there. They’re calling for people from everywhere to join them. Traditional Owner, Kado Muir, explains.
Walkatjurra Walkabout is a celebration of Wangkatja country, a testament to the strength of the community who have fought to stop uranium mining at Yeelirrie for over forty years, and a chance to come together to continue to share our commitment to a sustainable future without nuclear.
Walking for country is to reconnect people with land and culture and to revive the tradition of walking for country.
The Walkatjurra Walkabout is a pilgrimage across Wangkatja country in the spirit of our ancestors, so together, we as present custodians, can protect our land and our culture for future generations.
My people have resisted destructive mining on our land and our sacred sites for generations. For over forty years we have fought to stop uranium mining at Yeelirrie, we stopped the removal of sacred stones from Weebo and for the last twenty years we have stopped destruction of 200 sites at Yakabindie.
We are not opposed to responsible development, but cannot stand wanton destruction of our land, our culture and our environment.
We invite all people, from all places, to come together to walk with us, to send a clear message that we want the environment here, and our sacred places left alone.
While this walk is a valuable personal experience, it is also a non-violent direct action that plays an important role in the broader environmental and Aboriginal sovereignty movements. It is a partnership to share knowledge, culture and environmental awareness in a campaign supporting the sovereign rights of Aboriginal people to protect their lands and support a nuclear free future.
Kado Muir, Traditional Owner, Yeelirrie
The one-month walk from Wiluna to Leonora will be from 7 August to 7 September. It will be led by Walkatjurra Rangers, in partnership with Footprints for Peace, Western Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (WANFA), the Anti Nuclear Alliance of Western Australia (ANAWA) and the Conservation Council of Western Australia (CCWA).
REGISTRATION
Each person that would like to participate in the walk is required to fill in a registration form and send it to the Walkatjurra Walkabout organisers. They need numbers to help them plan transport and food preparations so if you are interested in joining the walk, please register today.
Transport to and from the walk
A bus will leave Perth early in the morning on the 7th of August. Travel on it will cost $100 to help cover the cost of the bus and fuel – contact Marcus if you are interested in taking this bus option, or if you will be taking your own vehicle on the walk.
We will meet in Kalgoorlie on the 7th of August if you want to join us there. We will be camping the night in Kalgoorlie at the Wongutha Birni Cultural Centre, and then driving up to Wiluna on the morning of the 8th of August. Our first walking day will be on the 11th August.
Other recent news about Aborigines
Why no-one should climb Uluru | More Australian indigenous people than ever dying behind bars | Troubled Outback town’s successful Aboriginal medical service turns 30 | Chance to tell the world the indigenous story - take part or picket | Brisbane outcry over coal mine approval amid worst Barrier Reef bleaching | Australian place names still celebrate colonial mass murderers | “Fuck your constitutional recognition, I want a treaty”
Aboriginal health news
A culinary classroom on wheels run by Jamie’s Ministry of Food will visit a remote Aboriginal community in north Queensland to deliver a five-week, hands-on cooking programme to help locals make nutritional food, fast and on a budget. | New statistics shows Australians are consuming more added sugars than, with the problem worst in teenagers. | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are successfully becoming ex-smokers, dramatically improving their health. | “Rampant over-servicing and a lack of competition and transparency has seen the average incomes of surgeons, anaesthetists and specialist physicians surge almost 30 per cent in five years, putting extra strain on a health system near breaking point." | Vulnerable Aboriginal communities must lead their own recovery | 154 million Indigenous and tribal people in 23 countries and around the world suffer poor health. | Community health issues uncovered after dozens of arrests during a major police operation targeting drug trafficking in the south-west Queensland town of Cunnamulla has prompted a local Aboriginal healthcare provider to develop and deliver a free social education program. | Northern Territory urged to act on foetal alcohol spectrum disorder | Peak doctors groups call for election commitments to fix rural health | 20 Indigenous health research papers | Aboriginal people up to three times more likely to have a stroke