Author: Olabud Doogethu

One Big Mob. One Big Family.

Posted on by Olabud Doogethu

To come together, you need to respect the other one too. Respect is the biggest thing.

For me, you can only do this through listening. When you listen, you can get a better understanding of both sides. But I also think you need to turn the tables where everybody can listen to First Nations people and hear about our stories, our history, our cultures.

Reconciliation is all about coming together. We should have opportunities where we can take people out bush and share stories. It’s important when you come into a town, like Halls Creek, that you respect the locals – the people who have lived here for a long time. But also if you can engage culturally – men and women – having a yarn with the local people but also getting smoked and just have a better understanding of the people, places and culture.

Because when I think of a reconciled Australia, I think of one big mob. One big family. Coming together. We should all come together, forget about the past, move on and to think about the future for our children.

Dean Mosquito
Executive Officer, Culture and Transformation

It’s Time For Us To Move Forward

Posted on by Olabud Doogethu

I’ve always had trouble thinking about what reconciliation means. But when you look at this town, there’s been so many changes. It’s about community coming together. The town is moving forward. It’s a time for us to start doing something to better our people. Reconciliation could be about a person or a community needing help. But most of all, it’s “us”.

I say, it’s time for us to move forward and we can do this together in this world. You’ve got one stick, it’s easy to break. But when you’ve got a big mob of sticks, you cannot break it. This is why we need each other to work on this. 

Reconciliation is also a celebration. For people who have worked hard over these years, by getting Aboriginal people back together. You’ve got people walking around this town who don’t know about reconciliation, but it’s time we start.

From what I’ve seen, learnt, and heard over these years, I think it’s time for us to do something within this town and our communities because it’s the community that we look after. It’s the people that live here.

Dennis Chungulla
Human Rights Coordinator, Olabud Doogethu

Read more about what reconciliation means for Olabud Doogethu in the June Milibud (“Our Mob” in Kimberley Kriol) – click here.

Reconciliation: For Our Family, For Our Kids

Posted on by Olabud Doogethu

Reconciliation for me is about getting our family, our children, back to their Country and into their culture because we have a lot of broken homes from the Stolen Generations.

Trying to find our connections on both our Mother and Father’s side and coming together as a family together and talking about history.

How can we bring our families back together? It’s like Olabud (‘All of us’). We may all be Aboriginal people, but we have different lifestyles.

When you think about reconciliation, you’ve got to go back to the Stolen Generations. A lot of people were moved away from their home, their families, and grew up differently. How can they find their family again?

For all Australians, it’s important to work together, in unity, and help each other.

In the future, I’d like to see families reunited together. We’re still searching for the answers, so in 50 years down the track, the younger generation would hopefully find those answers and have that information.

Rosemary Stretch
Director, Olabud Doogethu

Read more about what reconciliation means for Olabud Doogethu in the June Milibud (“Our Mob” in Kimberley Kriol) – click here.

Towards A Better Future For Men

Posted on by Olabud Doogethu

Donald Butcher is a Kija and Jaru Elder working to build a Men's Tribal Centre in Halls Creek to help guide men and young people towards a better future.

Halls Creek in the 1960s

Donald Butcher, a Kija and Jaru man, was born and raised in Halls Creek. Growing up in Halls Creek in the 1960s, he recalls: ‘it was pretty scrubby… we had plenty of people from different tribes and we got on well when I was young’.

Like many others of his generation, Don finished school and worked in a stockyard and as a station hand. ‘I grew up mostly doing work on the stock yard… on the station… In this town, most of the old people, it was the only life we knew when we left school,’ said Don.

Looking back on his life, Don said the Halls Creek he grew up in was a lot different to what Halls Creek is today.

‘The kids are different now… they don’t have what we had – discipline… and being taught by our family everything that we know,’ said Don.

A community-led Men’s Tribal Centre

Olabud Doogethu, together with the local communities, identified the need for a Men’s Tribal Area, where men can come together and learn from each other, as well as the local Elders.

‘We’re starting to set up a Men’s Tribal Area, an area for fathers and sons… try to keep them out of trouble and have a better future… They got everything they need – but they need jobs and someone to give them that push,’ said Don.

‘We are trying to see what we can establish and slowly engage them and address the troubles in this town… it’s all about getting young men involved, so they know in the future they’ve got something to achieve,’ said Don.

Don hopes that the future generation hears his words:

‘You are the next generation. You’ve got to look forward to what you can achieve and build on it – for your family, for your community, and for this town.’

Kutjungka: Community Navigators

Posted on by Olabud Doogethu

The Kutjungka ('as one') project will support the remote desert communities of Mulan, Wirrimanu (Balgo), Mindibungu (Billiuna) and Kundat Djaru (Ringer Soak) to improve access to services in each community through local Community Navigators.

Community leaders from Mulan, Wirrimanu (Balgo), Mindibungu (Billiuna), Kundat Djaru (Ringer Soak) and the Tjurabalan Native Title Land Aboriginal Corporation joined Olabud Doogethu in Halls Creek on 28-29 April 2021 to discuss the Kutjungka (‘as one’) project.

The two-day meeting was an opportunity for the community leaders to identify a governance committee that will help steer the future of the Kutjungka project, to identify the key priorities in each community, as well as the shared key priorities at a broader strategic level.

Mulan, Wirrimanu (Balgo), Mindibungu (Billiuna) and Kundat Djaru (Ringer Soak) identified similar issues in terms of what they would like the Community Navigators to focus on – from short-term to long-term priorities. This included key priority areas such as housing, health, and local community infrastructure.

The Community Navigators will work on the local level within their own communities, while the governance committee will advocate and lobby for issues that are shared among the communities.

‘When you work together, you learn from each other,’ said one of the community leaders at the meeting in Halls Creek.

The development of Kutjungka project is led by the local community leaders of Mulan, Wirrimanu (Balgo), Mindibungu (Billiuna) and Kundat Djaru (Ringer Soak) . Kutjungka is funded by the National Indigenous Australians Agency and is supported by Olabud Doogethu and the Shire of Halls Creek.

Professor Harry Blagg: Community Justice

Posted on by Olabud Doogethu

Professor Harry Blagg from the University of Western Australia visited Halls Creek to learn from the community about how the justice system can change to better serve the community and its people.

‘I was blown away by the warmth of the welcome I received on Jaru and Kija country. It was an unforgettable trip, seeing the massive levels of commitment by Aboriginal people to making their community a safe place to live in for everyone. Local people are making a major difference to their quality of life,’ said Professor Blagg.

Professor Blagg travelled to Halls Creek on 20-23 April 2021 to meet with Olabud Doogethu and the community to talk about the justice system, their challenges, and what can be changed to support their community.

‘Early indications suggest that Aboriginal people want a system based on genuine partnership between Aboriginal law and white law,’ said Professor Blagg.

‘Local people I met with want to see a greater role for Aboriginal Law and Culture, rather than just Gardya law. For example, having Elders sit with magistrates in the court. People commented that the new court in Halls Creek was an example of colonial thinking, there are no toilet facilities for people waiting outside and the area has little shade,’ said Professor Blagg.

While Professor Blagg’s research is still in its early stages, there are a key number of themes that have emerged from his discussions with community so far. This included Olabud Doogethu and other organisations meeting regularly with police, justice and courts to develop local strategies to keep kids on country, keeping families strong and involving Elders as co-educators to help support the learning of children.

Mibala: Learning On Country

Posted on by Olabud Doogethu

The first of its kind in Australia, the Certificate II in Mibala ('Us Together' in Kriol) Learning Country is a nationally accredited course that provides an alternative education pathway.

The purpose of the course, developed by Olabud Doogethu is to develop children’s sense of identity and connection to culture, while re-engaging them in schooling.

‘[Through Mibala], we want to help empower the children to become the next generation of leaders… and to help find their voice through their sense of identity and through a stronger connection to culture’ said Arron Little, On Track Coordinator.

On 12-15 April 2021, Olabud Doogethu leaders, including Arron, completed formal training to develop their skills to teach children on country.

‘We learnt how to create lesson plans, learnt how to break skills down for children, and the different ways of teaching.’ said Arron.

The first of its kind in Australia, the nationally accredited – Certificate II in Mibala Learning Country – is led by Olabud Doogethu in partnership with the Shire of Halls Creek.

Through its accredited status, this course will be soon be able to be adapted and implemented in any language and Country in Australia. Olabud Doogethu will work closely with the schools to

identify the children that need the additional support and what they can do to help.

‘We’ll correspond with the schools… [children] being in the right headspace and a lack of attendance at school are some of the key issues faced by teachers working in Halls Creek,’ said Arron.

A team of men and women in Olabud Doogethu will ensure that Mibala can work effectively to identify the children falling through the cracks and provide that support that isn’t available through mainstream education. ‘People drop off school… due to whatever circumstances…. it can be hard for kids to get back into it,’ said Arron.

Mibala will bring children out on Country to pass down traditional Aboriginal knowledge to them while helping children develop a strong sense of identity and connection to their culture.

The teaching units that are included in the Cert II in Mibala Learning Country involve students learning about local community leaders, exploring their own family history, learning how to use digital devices and more.

For more information on the Certificate II Mibala Learning Country, click here.

Supporting Kids Through Culture

Posted on by Olabud Doogethu

Finding a passion to help others succeed in life, Dean wants to use his lifetime of experience to help children build a better future through Mibala Learning On Country.

Dean is a Kija and Jaru man who grew up in Warmun and Halls Creek. When Dean left school at 15 years old, he quickly found a passion to help children learn and succeed which he has carried through his entire life.

`The best part was helping kids get jobs…. I’d help the teacher by translating the lessons to the kids and help break down the English, since most kids were from out of town,’ Dean recalls from his early days as an ATA.

Dean is Olabud Doogethu’s Executive Officer for Culture and Transformation, which includes providing strategic direction for the Mibala Learning On Country program. Mibala seeks to help children develop a strong sense of ‘self’ by taking them out on to Country to reconnect them to their Aboriginal culture, which will then support their efforts to re-integrate into mainstream schooling or pursuing employment pathways.

‘Mibala will be teaching kids cultural stuff. We’ll try to get them ready [for life]… to identify who they are, where they’re from… because most of our kids don’t know who they are and they’re missing out on what’s really important – which is our identity and culture,’ said Dean.

‘I hope when they come out of Mibala, they feel proud of themselves, what they have achieved, where they’re going in life and to learn how to respect their land, their culture and their language,’ said Dean.

Dean is excited to see how the Mibala program can make an impact on the children in Halls Creek. But he also knows that it’s ultimately up to the next generation to build the future that they want.

‘At the end of the day, it’s all about choice. We can teach you all of this. But as a matter of fact, it’s up to you how you put it together,’ said Dean.

A Role Model For Kids In Halls Creek

Posted on by Olabud Doogethu

Thomas Bradshaw, known commonly as 'Junior T', left Halls Creek for Gippsland when he was just 11 years old. Now, at 19 years old, Junior T has returned home and is a role model for the children in Halls Creek working as a Youth Engagement Night Officer.

‘I was really excited at first… But actually, I was homesick for two weeks straight. I had the phone right next to me when I would go to sleep. Then whenever I would wake up, I just called Mum,’ said Junior T as he recalled how he felt about moving from Halls Creek to Gippsland, Victoria.

Today, Junior T is one of the youngest members of Olabud Doogethu. Junior T joined the YENOs only three months ago, but he’s seen as a young and rising star in Olabud Dooethu.

Walking the streets at night, the YENO team began two years ago as an initiative to keep local kids out of trouble. Growing up in Halls Creek, Junior T has fond memories of Halls Creek, especially with his Grandfather.

Junior T recalls, ‘It’s changed a lot. I used to be out bush with my Granddad a lot. Now he’s got work and that, he’s a very busy man. Back in the day, I used to go road trips with him and now, not anymore.’

‘As a Youth Engagement Night Officer, it’s been really good – being a role model and stuff. Trying to teach them the ways. Some listen, and some don’t. But they all get there,’ said Junior T.

As part of the YENO team, the YENOs rely on their ability to connect and engage with the children. Sometimes, this involves a bit of creativity.

‘We’re actually thinking… like one weekend with a couple of fellas and kids and take them out bush and go camping. So we were planning on doing that – and then, telling the kids, if we get your name down and you have three ticks – you’re not allowed to come,’ said Junior T.

While it’s hard work, Junior T hopes that the children grow up knowing their impact on the community.

Since YENO began two years ago, Halls Creek has successfully achieved a 58% reduction in burglaries; 35% reduction in stolen motor vehicles and 28% reduction in stealing offences.