Voice of Country
We need to Listen to Country – to be the voice for Country.
VOICE OF COUNTRY PLEDGE
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The First Astronomers: How Indigenous Elders read the stars
by Duane Hamacher, with Elders and Knowledge Holders
Our eyes have been drawn away from the skies to our screens. We no longer look to the stars to forecast the weather, predict the seasons or plant our gardens. But First Nations Elders around the world still maintain this knowledge, and there is much we can learn from them.
These Elders are expert observers of the stars. They teach that everything on the land is reflected in the sky, and everything in the sky is reflected on the land. How does this work, and how can we better understand our place in the universe?
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Country has rights: to be cared for and respected
As each day passes, the need to protect Australia’s environment grows more urgent.
As noted in the most recent State of Environment Report in 2021, we are increasingly turning to “measures of last resort” to prevent species extinctions and the collapse of ecosystems.
Alexandra McEwan, Michael Hewson, and Rolf Schlagloth, in:‘Rights of nature’ are being recognised overseas. In Australia, local leadership gives cause for optimism (The Conversation, December 27, 2023) write that:
In legal theory, the “rights of nature” acknowledges all Earth’s natural elements as having an inherent right to exist and flourish.
Developments towards recognition of the rights of nature have attracted international attention. In some countries, they have come about through legislative reform, constitutional amendment and the courts.
For the CSIRO First Nations Australian Peoples led research initiative Our Knowledge, Our Way, connection to Country is a cultural must. For First Nations peoples, Country already has “rights”: to be cared for, respected and listened to. This is a relationship that arises organically and is entwined in the experience of being human.
MMM Issue 43, April-May 2024
