“If you wanted to know anything (and) mother and father had no time to tell you… the Elders of our tribe used to have to tell you.”
Kayang Hazel Brown (keye-yahng hay-zull brown), storyteller
“You've got the sticks and that but we've got the stories and without the stories the sticks mean nothing.”
Treasy Woods (tree-see woods), artist, Noongar Heritage Group chair
“They come back to their traditional country… A very strong part of (Noongar culture) is you know where your roots are. You come back.”
Glen Colbung (glen coal-bung), president Aboriginal Legal Service
“In the spirit of our early Noongar resistance fighters we assert that we will not surrender our birthrights. We are not for sale.”
Naomi Smith (nay-oh-mee smith), lead claimant Noongar Native Title case
“Our capacity to hunt, seek healing and communicate spiritually was dependent upon our practices of putting into and returning to our Country the spirit of our people.”
Cliff Humphries (klif hum-freez), language custodian
“Our stories about ourselves and our people are ultimately entwined with stories about our Country and where it is that we, and our spirit, are said to belong.”
Arthur Slater (ahr-therr slay-terr), Chairperson, Ballardong Natural Resource Management Working Group
“Our ethos is rooted in stewardship. We don't own the land, we belong to it.”
Dale Tilbrook (dayl till-brook), native food specialist & educator