The Indigenous community of Yuendumu

Introduction

This chapter describes the Warlpiri Aboriginal community of Yuendumu in the Northern Territory of Australia. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples were the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and were dispossessed of their land in 1788. This chapter looks at how a remote Aboriginal community is coping with changes to its traditional way of life. See image 1

The Warlpiri Aboriginal Community in Yuendumu

The Warlpiri tribal population of Yuendumu is approximately 1000. It represents one of the largest language groups in the Northern Territory. Relative to the wider Australian average, Yuendumu has a low proportion of people aged 15 and over and the average age is 70 compared to an Australian average of 78.5. There is a low life expectancy and there is considerable pressure on the local community to best meet the needs of its young people. The median (middle) age of this community is 24 compared with the median age of the national Australian population of 34.

The population of Yuendumu features several other demographic trends. The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is 79.6 per cent and there is a 3.7 per cent unemployment rate (low compared to an Australian average unemployment rate of 8.3 per cent). A significant statistic is the 5.7 average persons per Yuendumu household, compared with the Australian average of 2.7 persons per household. Indigenous peoples of Australia are a communal culture, which encourages extended family and even members of the wider community living together. Yet when we note that Yuendumu has a below-average household and individual weekly income, this suggests that these comparatively large households have an extremely tight budget (meaning a relatively small amount of money to feed and clothe each family member).

The Warlpiri community's response to change

An important feature of this community's response to change is how it has embraced technology. In particular, videoconferencing and the internet and email have allowed this remote community to develop. Community development refers to the strategies and tools a community uses to empower and strengthen itself. The Tanami Network is like a community service association, which uses technology, funding and professional expertise to help the Yuendumu population. Videoconferencing has been used extensively by the Tanami Network in developing community programmes in the crucial areas of education, health and employment; videoconferencing allows remote communities to be contacted and it allows the Tanami Network to communicate with government departments in cities like Darwin. Videoconferencing is also used innovatively to connect city-based prisoners with their communities and to organise traditional events. Hence, the Tanami Network uses changing technology to improve the social justice of its people by ensuring adequate provision of essential services like health and education. See image 2

Warlpiri community helps its young people face change

One of the tragic realities in Indigenous communities is the harm caused by substance abuse. One type of abuse is petrol sniffing. The Warlpiri community has developed programmes and services to tackle this social problem. The Mt Theo Petrol Sniffing Program began in 1994 in Yuendumu and was an important community response to change. Young people were disconnecting from their community and gangs of youth were roaming the streets at night. The community harnessed its resources to reconnect its young people to traditional ways of life and to stop the cycle of self-abuse. In this way, the community was also reducing crime, violence, health risks, family crises and even death rates. Mt Theo operated in a remote community location and was run by tribal elders and volunteers with the assistance of government funding. Because the programme was so successful, politicians came to visit the area and more youth programmes were set up to engage young people in sport. See image 3

Keeping cultural traditions and a sense of community in Yuendumu

The Warlpiri community at Yuendumu has several features allowing it to maintain a sense of community and identity. The tradition of kinship is a focus for this community. Kinship can be up to 500 people, so imagine the powerful family bonds this creates. Kinship-based groups and tribes practise communal sharing and engage with elements of ancient tribal life, like kinship rights to sites of Dreaming. The Warlpiri people maintain traditional links to the land, which is their spiritual heartland. The community has partnered with the Northern Territory Government to protect endangered animal species (such as the mala or rufous hare wallaby and the greater bilby). For example, the Warlpiri people have continued to protect the mala habitat, through fire management of the spinifex grass they occupy, and have provided important information about mala to authorities.

The Warlukurlangu Artists Association of Yuendumu preserves the cultural heritage of the Warlpiri people and has distributed local art to the global art market. This association controls the preservation of sacred sites, paintings, body and sand paintings, traditional stories and ceremonies. A 'Festival of the Dreaming' occurred in 1997 at The Art Gallery of New South Wales, which featured Warlpiri art and culture.

Yuendumu also has the Warlpiri Media Association (WMA), a community-run radio and television studio, which has been entertaining and informing the Yuendumu community since 1983. The WMA represents an example of community innovation and empowerment, because it is almost entirely run by unpaid volunteers in the service of the community. The WMA broadcasts Walpiri language and culture shows to help communities preserve their traditional culture in the face of change. Broadcasts use technology to inform the people of their history, important community events and to relay Dreamtime stories. The WMA encourages communities in remote areas around Yuendumu to set up and run their own TV and radio broadcasts. The WMA, through its broadcasts, plays an important role in translating information from government (and other) organisations based in Alice Springs; information in English is translated by WMA into Warlpiri. See animation 1

Even religion provides a sense of community in Yuendumu; a prominent group of Warlpiri Christians creates links to non-Indigenous missionary groups.