Friends of the Earth attended the National Indigenous Disaster Resilience (NIDR) Gathering 2024 on Bundjalung Country in Lismore last month, September 2024. The gathering showcased Indigenous leadership and excellence in disaster resilience, emergency management, community recovery, and caring for Country.

It was a privilege to be present for the gathering’s Indigenous-led dialogue and the Indigenous knowledge that was shared. The gathering included on-Country activities, such as a cultural burn.

The event really highlighted how Indigenous people caring for the land reduces disaster risk, as well as the need for First Nations people to be not only part of the conversation, but leading the conversation around climate resilience. As stated by a speaker at the event, “the colonisers have shared their ideas, it’s time to turn that around and for mob to share their ideas.”

Indigenous communities, which have contributed the least to the causes of climate change, are often hit first and worst by the impacts. In addition, these regional and remote communities are left behind - both in preparing and during recovery. 

Issues that are unknown and incomprehensible to those not living in or visiting these remote communities were brought to light at NIDR 2024. For instance, in Aboriginal communities in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) lands in South Australia, the numerous feral camels attack and break running air conditioning units due to the water dripping from them. This means people have been stuck in hot and uncomfortable conditions dangerous to human health because camels knock down fences to get to the houses and try to get water through their air-conditioners.

The gathering brought together representatives from disaster resilience and emergency management sectors, government, researchers, non-government organisations, Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, Indigenous ranger groups, Native Title groups, and other land and water management organisations to build awareness, share knowledge, connect, and support an Indigenous-led conversation on disaster resilience.

Keynote Session: Listen, Look Back & Learn

Keynote speaker, Naomi Moran of the Koori Mail spoke on their disaster response to the Lismore floods being grounded in Indigenous knowledge, Country, culture and connection. She highlighted the need to listen deeply to needs during disaster response, saying, “Leadership is determined by your willingness to listen”. She also spoke on the need for spaces of cultural safety and for Indigenous people to be in all conversations.

The need for money being put into Indigenous-led programmes and not while-led research was highlighted by Dr Amy Cardinal Christianson of the Indigenous Leadership Initiative. She also stated that the Government needs to stop conducting more research when we need more action. She called out racist and anti-Indigenous disaster management that is patriarchal and militarised and doesn’t speak to Indigenous people.

Litea Biukoto from the Pacific Community shared that more value needs to be placed in the conversations had with people who live on and with the land. She noted that we need to look back and learn, and that a routine culture of learning is required. The improvement of lives and livelihoods and ensuring social resilience should be a focus according to her, as “it’s not just about economics”. She shared how current warnings do not give the information needed and are not fit for purpose, and called for better communication.

Cultural Burning: Caring for Country Reduces Risk

As well as being privileged to witness a cultural burn on Country, there was also much said about cultural burning practices on panels, including those of Indigenous peoples from other countries such as Turtle Island (Canada) and Aotearoa (New Zealand). 

Speakers at the session on the role of cultural burning in mitigating against disasters were Oliver Costello of Jagun Alliance, Joe Gilchrist of Salish Fire Keepers Society, and Rachael Cavanagh of Balun Budjabin Consulting. It was chaired by A/Prof Timothy Neale from Deakin University.

It was noted that “fire comes because no one is out there looking after Country” and that current “systems are there to continue colonisation and they continue to damage Country, so need to support people to do things a different way”. The solution noted was to “listen and follow old ways and manage the way meant to be and fires don’t get big”.

There was much discussion around what good fire is throughout the gathering, with answers including:

• “moves on ground in good way” 
• “moves snake-like”
• “feel like you’re with the elders”
• “behaves way should behave”
• “done for a reason - to grow medicine, food to eat, beneficial to land, turn sick Country good”
• “done at the right time in the burn cycle - Country tells you when it’s the right time” 
• “knowledge enables us to keep control”
• “not separate from fire - we are Country - it’s about the relationship with land”

It was noted that you “don’t see a lot of good fire due to mismanagement - usually it’s more triage due to this”, and it’s hard to understand until you experience it. It’s about the relationship with land - “we’re not separate from fire - we are Country”.

The importance of young people getting fire experience and knowledge was highlighted - “being able to read fire and have knowledge of the bush is vital and we’re losing it”. It was noted that “doing it while kids are running around is usual - it’s how they learn, and need old people with stories there”. 

What is being called out and called for includes:

• “fully resourced cultural fire training!” 
• “9-5 doesn’t work, can burn for 3 weeks if burning well and shouldn’t be put out” 
• “asked do more work than need to do with government systems”
• “need old people with stories and young people there - make jump through hoops for.”
• “driven by neglect and misunderstanding fire”
• “listen and follow old ways”
• “move away from partnerships/collaboration colonial system - is it useful, valuable, reciprocal? Often one way”
• “community controlled networks e.g. Firesticks Alliance”
• “rangers on Country doing their own thing”
• “build actual relationships - practical solutions”
• “teach people how to understand landscape - fire and flood not problem, people are”
• “need resourcing - longer term investment is important!”
• “Indigenous leadership not partnerships - land back!”

It was shared: “[It’s a] land justice issue not a land management issue. You can’t internalise it in government structures. Funding is reactionary - not to care for Country. Funding cycles are not geared up for the future. Educate and show people the right way of doing it and the benefits of doing it - there are lots of community benefits.”

“We burn to care for Country, not to reduce the risk, but caring for Country reduces the risk” - Oliver Costello, Bundjalung man from the northern rivers of NSW, and Jagun Alliance Executive Director

How the language around and perspective of fire is very different was pointed out: “‘Fire fighting’ - very different language to caring for Country - coming from different perspective. Two quotes around this are: 

“You don’t manage your mother, you care for your mother.” - name unknown

Applying a Cultural Lens to Data, Healing, Rivers & Floods

Other panel discussions attended included ones on Indigenous data sovereignty and governance, which is a human right, and collective healing, which includes retelling, holding each other, dancing, deep listening, and body work. 

At the Indigenous data session, Dr Skye Trudgett from Kowa Collaboration talked about “collaborative and culturally responsive learning versus objective and metric driven”. Looking at the “broader spectrum of impact including social, cultural, and environmental” was noted. How data needs to reflect worldview and be contextualised and available in a form can use was shared, as well as the need to care for data so data can be used to care for Country - to make own decisions (how, why, what) for own community. The importance of authority/decision making power was brought up - “not advisory”.

Indigenous healing is relational, anti-hierarchical and anti-colonial (people in the circle have the skills but no one on top), and based on authentic partnerships - “relationships are everything”. It was noted that there is a “need to build connection to Country too - Country has to be healthy to heal from trauma.”

Brendan Kennedy, Tati Tati and Wadi Wadi Traditional Owner and Tati Tati Kaiejin Director, shared how Indigenous people were “dispossessed from the narrative of the Murray floods.” He noted how “water is being prevented from flowing where it wants to go” and it is “not a ‘disaster’”. He wants a cultural lens applied to post flood assessment to “assess cultural landscape using their science”, saying this is “part of caring for Country”. 

“We need the cultural flows of water. Currently blocking the veins of Country due to commodification of water. Not treating it as a living entity and the landscape is not how it should be.” - Brendan Kennedy, Tati Tati and Wadi Wadi Traditional Owner and Tati Tati Kaiejin Director

See the entire packed program here.

Indigenous Initiatives Leading the Way

Examples of Indigenous initiatives present at or mentioned over the three days are:

• Firesticks - national Indigenous network that empowers communities to protect and enhance Country and wellbeing by reviving Cultural knowledge practices.
• Jagun Alliance - uses its partnerships with Aboriginal enterprises to implement innovative projects to heal Country through conservation and natural resource management.
• Fire to Flourish - long-term community impact program providing direct support to communities as the first and last responders to disasters. It supports communities to lead their own recovery and resilience-building. It takes a collaborative approach, tailored to the local Indigenous and broader community context and the priorities of the people that live there.
• National Indigenous Disaster Resilience (NIDR) - a research program within Fire to Flourish enhancing the resilience of Indigenous communities in the face of increasing disasters.
• Tati Tati Kaiejin - Indigenous-owned and operated not-for-profit organisation whose aim is to reconnect First Nations peoples to waterways and Country. It is conducting cultural mapping on Tati Tati Country along the Murray River so that First Nations’ knowledge can be included in the planning, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of water for the environment. It is seeking water entitlements and rights for First Nations communities in the Murray-Darling Basin and has a Tati Tati Flood Recovery Assessment Project.
• Deadly Inspiring Youth Doing Good (DIYDG) - youth-led, charitable organisation that provides a platform for young people to do good, and lead in their communities. It has provided flood recovery services to the community.
• Koori Mail - 100% Aboriginal owned and operated national newspaper that covers news, views, culture and sports of Indigenous Australians. The flooded offices of the Koori Mail became ground zero to help Lismore residents after the floods in February 2022: How the women of the Koori Mail stepped up for their community in Lismore amid the flood crisis | Success of Koori Mail flood response in Lismore prompts calls for First Nations first responders
• Yurruungga Aboriginal Corporation Waagay Julu (Fire Team) - uses traditional practices to help promote biodiversity, reduce bushfire risks and preserve the cultural heritage of the land. A donated bushfire tanker helps YAC’s Waagay Julu to conduct cultural burns and hazard reduction.
• Jabalbina Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation - dedicated to preserving Yalanji Bama culture through diverse programs and projects both on and off country. It ensures the care of Yalanji land, fostering economic and community potential, while safeguarding cultural integrity and optimising benefits for Kuku Yalanji Traditional Owners. Its rangers were instrumental in flood recovery services.
• Country Needs People - a campaign calling on decision-makers to: double the number of Indigenous rangers, create a fund for ranger training, capacity building, networking and capital costs, double the funding for the Indigenous Protected Area (IPA) program, and ensure equal employment opportunities for women rangers by 2030. 
• Pathways Together Aboriginal Corporation - dedicated to promoting the social, cultural and economic development of local Aboriginal people. It offers a range of programs for both adults and youth centred around education and training, health and wellbeing, employment, housing, and community development.
• Balun Budjabin Consulting - provides ​advice and leadership ​that embed First ​Nations knowledge and ​expertise by developing ​strategies, policies and ​programs throughout ​organisations and ​businesses.
• Kowa Collaboration - champions First Nations-led impact measurement and evaluation based on placemaking, centring cultural knowledge, and Indigenous data sovereignty, firmly grounded in the principles of First Nations self-determination.
• Whānau & Emergency Response Team (Aotearoa/New Zealand) - Jamie Ruwhiu from Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu presented at NIDR 2024. The Emergency Response Team mapped and checked on people emergency grant and direct to support - Australian bushfires - preparing communities by providing Starlink and emergency pods, through digital online tools, and ensuring emergency facilitators and preparedness roles.
• Indigenous Leadership Initiative (Turtle Island/Canada) - dedicated to facilitating the strengthening of Indigenous Nationhood for the fulfilment of the Indigenous cultural responsibility to our lands, the emergence of new generations of Indigenous leaders, and helping communities develop the skills and capacity that they will need as they continue to become fully respected and equally treated partners in Canada’s system of governance and its economic and social growth.
• Redfire Lab (Turtle Island/Canada) - interdisciplinary research hub that supports Inherent and Treaty rights of Indigenous peoples to steward a healthy and resilient cultural landscape with fire.
• Salish Fire Keepers Society - Interior Salish indigenous and non-indigenous members, who understand cultural land management principles, specifically cultural burning, and want to improve public awareness and address public misconceptions, advocate and build support networks for cultural land management practices, and build the capacity of future generations of Fire Keepers.

Resilient Lismore, which delivers a range of community-led disaster recovery and resilience programs and activities, and is working across the Northern Rivers to rebuild homes and lives and prepare communities for future disasters also had a presence at the gathering. The community and volunteer based organisation was built from the ground up by Elly Bird after the Lismore floods in 2022. It has delivered more than $5 million of aid into Lismore and surrounding communities, repaired more than 600 homes, and operated a community service hub in the epicentre of the disaster area.

Suggested reading and listening

Suggested reading and listening from those at the gathering include:

• First Nations Wildfire Evacuations: A Guide for Communities and External Agencies by Tara K. McGee and Amy Cardinal Christianson (book)
• Planning Evacuations with Indigenous Communities - Australian Institute for Disaster Resilience (report)
• Good Fire Podcast (podcast)

Conclusion: Indigenous Led, Indigenous Knowledge Prioritised & Land Back

It was made clear at the gathering that listening to, or consulting or partnering with Indigenous people is not enough. They need to be the ones leading. First Nations people need to be there in the room when decisions are made - not just asked their opinion on what the government wants to do. 

“There is a need to understand the stories and why doing what needs to be done. We have to be part of the conversation. They are changing the landscape without understanding what shaped it. You need the knowledge holders in the room.” 

“We have compromised too long.”

First Nations people and projects are “not getting enough of the money” and they “should be given money and then they can decide what to do with”. Projects need to be long lasting, as rangers need to keep going back.

Also made obvious was that land needs to be returned to Indigenous people to enable them to care for the land. First Peoples need to be supported to care for Country and to do so in a way that passes on traditional practices to future generations. It is important that the youth get fire experience and knowledge, for example, so they can read fire and continue cultural burning practices safely.

“The colonial project is killing Country - it’s not their land or their responsibility.”

Country being sick and needing to be healed through traditional methods was a thread throughout. If Country is sick, we are sick and it needs to be cared for out of a responsibility for future generations. We’re dealing with “a sick, altered landscape due to destruction from only thinking what can get today from it, not about future”.

Aboriginal people need to be given custodianship of Country. Although not the motivation behind it, Aboriginal people caring for Country will reduce disaster risk. 

Bugalbeh (thank you in Bundjalung dialect) to the Bundjalung people who welcomed us to their lands and shared their knowledge with us, along with other Indigenous folks from so-called Australia and other countries, at the Lismore Showgrounds, which has been a special gathering place for Aboriginal people for thousands of years.

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