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Projects and partnerships with Traditional Owner groups.
NQ Dry Tropics acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of Australia. We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of land and sea country across the Burdekin Dry Tropics region, and pay our sincere respect to the Elders past and present. We acknowledge and pay respect to the Warrungnu, Nywaigi, Manbarra, Wulgurukaba, Bindal, Gugu Badhun, Gudjala, Juru, Birriah, Gia, Widi, Jangga, Wangan and Jagalingou, Bidjara, Yirendali, and Iningai Traditional Owner groups and celebrate the diversity and knowledge of the regional community where we live, work and continue to learn.
NQ Dry Tropics acknowledges the Traditional Owners who are the traditional custodians of land and sea Country… and we’re keen to partner with them to deliver effective and insightful natural resource management.
There are 16 groups whose land and sea Country is part of the Burdekin Dry Tropics region: Warrungnu, Nywaigi, Wulgurukaba, Manbarra, Bindal, Gugu Badhun, Gudjala, Juru, Birriah, Gia, Widi, Jangga, Wangan and Jagalingou, Bidjara, Yirendali, and Iningai Traditional Owners and Custodians of Country.
They have an enduring deep connection with the region’s natural resources and play an important role in protecting them for future generations.
“Our customary knowledge and practices, lores, and identities as Warrungnu, Nywaigi, Manbarra, Wulgurukaba, Bindal, Gugu Badhun, Gudjal, Juru, Birriah, Gia, Widi, Jangga, Wangan and Jagalingou, Bidjara, Yirendali, and Iningai Traditional Owners are inter-connected with our land and sea Country.
Access to Country and revitalising connection to Country for our people is a strong priority for Traditional Owners in this region, along with caring for Country, reviving our cultural knowledge, cultural practices and having opportunities to share this knowledge with our younger generation on Country.”
Richard Hoolihan
RICHARD HOOLIHAN,
CHAIR,
BURDEKIN DRY TROPICS TRADITIONAL OWNER MANAGEMENT GROUP
NQ Dry Tropics has developed strong partnerships with Traditional Owners during more than two decades of operation.
Today, this is reflected in our continued commitment to the Burdekin Dry Tropics Traditional Owner Management Group (TOMG), together with our delivery work on the ground, and our support for growing the capacity and capability of Traditional Owners to lead ranger programs and natural resource management projects.
Since 2003, NQ Dry Tropics has supported and facilitated the TOMG – a forum attended by representatives from 14 Traditional Owner groups across the region.
This group of leaders is the cornerstone of NQ Dry Tropics’ engagement with Traditional Owners. Members meet regularly to share ideas, knowledge and resources, discuss projects with staff and provide cultural direction and advice.
The TOMG was instrumental in developing NQ Dry Tropics’ first Reconciliation Action Plan, and the Cultural Fire for Grazing Landscapes project.
During a 20-year celebration in October 2023, five founder members, Eddie Smallwood (Bindal), Jim Gaston (Juru), Phil Rist (Nywaigi), Sheryl Wake (Gia) and Walter Palm Island (Manbarra) were formally recognised for their exceptional contributions to the group.
In October 2023, the NQ Dry Tropics Board launched our Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan 2023-25 (RAP).
The RAP outlines the actions we are taking to strengthen our relationships with the region’s Traditional Owners and the broader Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. We are doing this by building respect and connections, sharing knowledge, improving cultural awareness and competency, and supporting employment and economic opportunities in the region.
Our vision for reconciliation is to be all working together to care for Country, and this will be achieved by building respectful relationships and creating meaningful opportunities that provide diverse pathways towards reconciliation.
As a Natural Resource Management (NRM) organisation, we can contribute to, and revitalise, respect for cultural knowledge and connection of Traditional Owners with Country across the Burdekin Dry Tropics region.
We envision a future where Traditional Owner knowledge and leadership is widely celebrated, respected and applied in NRM. NQ Dry Tropics is committed to empowering Traditional Owners of the Burdekin Dry Tropics region and working with all stakeholders to care for Country.
A big thanks to members of the RAP Working Group and the Burdekin Dry Tropics Traditional Owner Management Group who have contributed time and effort, shared deeply personal stories, and given careful consideration to what we can aspire to and achieve together. We look forward to our next steps together on the reconciliation journey and reporting progress.
