Mid West

3-10 July is NAIDOC Week

Posted: June 20th, 2011

Filed under: Mid West, NAIDOC, Pilbara

NAIDOC Week, an annual celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, is fast approaching. NAIDOC is a time for both Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to celebrate.  The week is a great opportunity to participate in a range of activities and to support your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community.

NAIDOC originally stood for ‘National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee’. This committee was once responsible for organising national activities during NAIDOC Week and its acronym has since become the name of the week itself.

There are a number of community celebrations in the MidWest and Pilbara, including NAIDOC Idol in Karratha, A family day in Geraldton, a community concert in Port Hedland, and a film festival in Carnarvon, to name just a few.

To find out about NAIDOC Week activities in your area, contact your nearest Indigenous Coordination Centre (ICC) on free call 1800 079 098. There are ICC offices in South Hedland, Geraldton, Perth, and many other locations nationally.

Midwest Traditional Owners look forward to agreement outcomes

Posted: January 12th, 2011

Filed under: agreement, Mid West, Peter Jeffries, Ron Shay, Sandfire Resources, Yugunga-Nya

The Yugunga-Nya native title group have announced a claim wide land access agreement over their traditional country with mining company, Sandfire Resources.

Yugunga-Nya country covers approximately 30,335 square kilometres of land in the Midwest region of Western Australia, and includes the mining towns of Meekatharra and Cue.

The land access agreement covers Sandfire Resources DeGrussa copper-gold project, situated 150km north of Meekatharra. The agreement provides a range of financial and non-financial benefits to the Yugunga-Nya community. These include employment and contracting opportunities, as well as cultural awareness training for Sandfire employees. The agreement also includes a position for a Yugunga-Nya member to be employed as an Aboriginal Liaison Officer, further developing the good working relationship established between the community and Sandfire.

Ron Shay is a well respected Yugunga-Nya community member and is looking forward to the new opportunities the land access agreement will bring to his people.

“We already have four Yugunga-Nya people working with Sandfire, but through this agreement we hope to see many more benefits flow through to our community, including future employment and training,” he said.

Peter Jeffries, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation (YMAC), said, “I would like to congratulate the Yugunga-Nya people on the successful completion of their negotiations with Sandfire Resources and look forward to the opportunities that this agreement will bring to the community.

It’s a great start to the year for Yugunga-Nya and we look forward to many more positive stories for Traditional Owners of the Midwest region in 2011.”

YMAC Hosts Regional Indigenous Discussions

Posted: May 16th, 2010

Filed under: Gascoyne, IIB, Mid West, Yamatji.

YMAC recently hosted the Mid West Conversation (10 & 11 May in Geraldton) and Gascoyne Conversation (13 May in Carnarvon) events, on behalf of the WA State Government’s Indigenous Implementation Board (IIB). The conversations were an open discussion for Aboriginal people, aimed at opening up a new way of working together in the region.

YMAC’s Co-Chairperson, Roy Bellotti, YMAC Regional Manager, Donna Murdock with Dr Sue Gordon from the IIB.

Around 35 Aboriginal leaders, community members and service providers attended each event to discuss key issues and priorities in the region including; health, education, employment, justice and regional governance. The key outcomes of the conversations will be put into a report for the WA State Government’s ‘Indigenous Implementation Board’ (IIB), which then makes recommendations to Minister of Indigenous Affairs Kim Hames.