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| Antony Hegarty, the Martu and the mine: land custodians fight corporate might | Antony Hegarty, the Martu and the mine: land custodians fight corporate might |
| (about 20 hours later) | |
| When an international mining company surveys the Australian land for minerals it sees few physical impediments. | When an international mining company surveys the Australian land for minerals it sees few physical impediments. |
| If necessary rivers can be rerouted, hillocks flattened and giant boulders shifted in order to access the wealth beneath. | If necessary rivers can be rerouted, hillocks flattened and giant boulders shifted in order to access the wealth beneath. |
| Traditional custodians, mindful of the human ancestors and the creationist animals, view terrain quite differently. For them that river is the rainbow serpent, and the hills the spine of a goanna or a crocodile. And those boulders? They could be the eggs – or the newly hatched babies – of the owl or the platypus. | Traditional custodians, mindful of the human ancestors and the creationist animals, view terrain quite differently. For them that river is the rainbow serpent, and the hills the spine of a goanna or a crocodile. And those boulders? They could be the eggs – or the newly hatched babies – of the owl or the platypus. |
| The sanctity of country transcends the commercial value of what lies beneath | The sanctity of country transcends the commercial value of what lies beneath |
| For many Indigenous Australians the sanctity of country transcends the commercial value of what lies beneath. And when Indigenous communities do support mining ventures on traditional lands, assurances are usually sought – if not guaranteed and met – that sacred sites, traditional hunting and burial grounds, will be quarantined and that disruption to the earth and water tables will be minimised. | For many Indigenous Australians the sanctity of country transcends the commercial value of what lies beneath. And when Indigenous communities do support mining ventures on traditional lands, assurances are usually sought – if not guaranteed and met – that sacred sites, traditional hunting and burial grounds, will be quarantined and that disruption to the earth and water tables will be minimised. |
| In the more inevitable clashes between miners – with their millions to spend on PR, community “consultation” and lobbying - and the custodians, outcomes are too often predictable: minerals are extracted and subsequently divided communities ignored; custodians are denied ongoing access to country while the land and waterways are ecologically damaged. | In the more inevitable clashes between miners – with their millions to spend on PR, community “consultation” and lobbying - and the custodians, outcomes are too often predictable: minerals are extracted and subsequently divided communities ignored; custodians are denied ongoing access to country while the land and waterways are ecologically damaged. |
| Related: Jacky Green: 'Nothing has really changed since whitefellas came. First it was horses now bulldozers' | Related: Jacky Green: 'Nothing has really changed since whitefellas came. First it was horses now bulldozers' |
| But thanks to the power of visual art and the advocacy of Antony Hegarty, the New York avant garde transgender singer from Antony and the Johnsons, the plight of one such community in the West Australian Pilbara, Parnngurr, is now starting to attract acute national and international notice. | But thanks to the power of visual art and the advocacy of Antony Hegarty, the New York avant garde transgender singer from Antony and the Johnsons, the plight of one such community in the West Australian Pilbara, Parnngurr, is now starting to attract acute national and international notice. |
| In April the federal government granted conditional approval to the world’s second largest uranium miner, Canada’s Cameco Corporation, and joint venture partner Mitsubishi, to build a mine at Kintyre, inside the Karlamilyi national park, part of the traditional lands of the Pilbara’s Martu people. | In April the federal government granted conditional approval to the world’s second largest uranium miner, Canada’s Cameco Corporation, and joint venture partner Mitsubishi, to build a mine at Kintyre, inside the Karlamilyi national park, part of the traditional lands of the Pilbara’s Martu people. |
| While some Martu have supported the proposed Kintyre mine, those of of Parnngurr – 80 kilometres from the proposed open pit mine – are opposed to uranium mining. They want the plans for the mine to be scrapped. | While some Martu have supported the proposed Kintyre mine, those of of Parnngurr – 80 kilometres from the proposed open pit mine – are opposed to uranium mining. They want the plans for the mine to be scrapped. |
| The Martu of Parnngurr will cross the continent and bring their protest to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney next Monday morning. There, with their collaborative visual artwork about the mine area, Kalyu (water), on display, they will voice their objections to the mine while Hegarty will sing in support of them. | The Martu of Parnngurr will cross the continent and bring their protest to the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney next Monday morning. There, with their collaborative visual artwork about the mine area, Kalyu (water), on display, they will voice their objections to the mine while Hegarty will sing in support of them. |
| For Hegarty the protest is the culmination of insights she received while living with the Martu for 10 days in 2013 during which time Sydney media artist Lynette Wallworth collaborated with the locals on a work of art for the last Adelaide Biennial. | For Hegarty the protest is the culmination of insights she received while living with the Martu for 10 days in 2013 during which time Sydney media artist Lynette Wallworth collaborated with the locals on a work of art for the last Adelaide Biennial. |
| Hegarty explained to Guardian Australia how she made the connection with the Martu of Parnngurr. | |
| “I spent 10 days with them, watching them paint in the art shed in the sweltering heat, occasionally singing a song for them, to their amusement. I am sure I was a sight for sore eyes, but they were very gracious and allowed me to witness their process. I felt so honoured to be afforded the opportunity. I learned so much from watching them. The first day I was there the mob brought me out into the bush to pick womalla [bush tomatoes]. Their understanding of the land and its intricate interconnecting systems is profound, as evident in their paintings and in their approach to land stewardship,” she said. | “I spent 10 days with them, watching them paint in the art shed in the sweltering heat, occasionally singing a song for them, to their amusement. I am sure I was a sight for sore eyes, but they were very gracious and allowed me to witness their process. I felt so honoured to be afforded the opportunity. I learned so much from watching them. The first day I was there the mob brought me out into the bush to pick womalla [bush tomatoes]. Their understanding of the land and its intricate interconnecting systems is profound, as evident in their paintings and in their approach to land stewardship,” she said. |
| Hegarty says that discussions about death raised her awareness of the special link between Indigenous Australians and country. | Hegarty says that discussions about death raised her awareness of the special link between Indigenous Australians and country. |
| “One night I was discussing spirituality with one of the Martu artists. I asked her where she thought people went when they died and she said gently, ‘back to country’. It was so meaningful to me. Raised Catholic, I was taught that when I died nature would expunge my spirit and I would be returned to some paradise in the sky or in another dimension, never to return to this place. But what my Martu teacher suggested to me was that we remain a part of nature in some form, forever. Is that perhaps why Indigenous people traditionally stepped so lightly and carefully on the land, with such consideration and respect, knowing that it was their home now and forever?” | “One night I was discussing spirituality with one of the Martu artists. I asked her where she thought people went when they died and she said gently, ‘back to country’. It was so meaningful to me. Raised Catholic, I was taught that when I died nature would expunge my spirit and I would be returned to some paradise in the sky or in another dimension, never to return to this place. But what my Martu teacher suggested to me was that we remain a part of nature in some form, forever. Is that perhaps why Indigenous people traditionally stepped so lightly and carefully on the land, with such consideration and respect, knowing that it was their home now and forever?” |
| Hegarty believes “some corporations have disingenuously sought to divide and conquer locals, and in the dust cloud of confusion, make off with the spoils”. | Hegarty believes “some corporations have disingenuously sought to divide and conquer locals, and in the dust cloud of confusion, make off with the spoils”. |
| “For the Martu in Parnngurr, the community nearest the proposed uranium mine, the plan is causing distress,” she says. “Some of the women elders of Parnngurr seem not only to fear the potential danger that any uranium mine will obviously pose to the watershed and the local environment, but they also feel an existential burden of responsibility as the stewards of that land to protect dangerous resources from being exploited.” | |
| Some corporations have disingenuously sought to divide and conquer locals, and ... make off with the spoils | Some corporations have disingenuously sought to divide and conquer locals, and ... make off with the spoils |
| Earlier this year Cameco Australia’s managing director, Brian Reilly, said: “We are confident the Kintyre project can be constructed, operated and closed in a way which maintains the ecological functions and environmental values in the area and will ensure all regulatory conditions are met.” | Earlier this year Cameco Australia’s managing director, Brian Reilly, said: “We are confident the Kintyre project can be constructed, operated and closed in a way which maintains the ecological functions and environmental values in the area and will ensure all regulatory conditions are met.” |
| But the Martu of Parnngurr oppose the proposed Kintyre mine on myriad cultural and economic grounds including that the mine will desecrate traditional hunting, fishing and camping grounds, and has the potential to damage complex interconnected ground and surface water systems. These water systems are the focus of the painting Kalyu. | |
| Environmental groups, including the Australian Conservation Foundation and Friends of the Earth, point to several serious safety issues involving Cameco over the years. | Environmental groups, including the Australian Conservation Foundation and Friends of the Earth, point to several serious safety issues involving Cameco over the years. |
| The ACF’s Dave Sweeney says: “This proposed mine is the wrong product in the wrong place. It threatens both the country and community in a beautiful part of Australia and should not be advanced. The Sydney [MCA] event is an important opportunity to ensure that deep community concerns over a risky and radioactive plan in remote Australia helps make it onto the radar elsewhere.” | The ACF’s Dave Sweeney says: “This proposed mine is the wrong product in the wrong place. It threatens both the country and community in a beautiful part of Australia and should not be advanced. The Sydney [MCA] event is an important opportunity to ensure that deep community concerns over a risky and radioactive plan in remote Australia helps make it onto the radar elsewhere.” |
| Related: Antony Hegarty condemns 'genocide' of indigenous peoples in Australia and US | Related: Antony Hegarty condemns 'genocide' of indigenous peoples in Australia and US |
| One of the Parnngurr artists, Wokka Taylor, explained: “Forever that uranium belongs to that place, underground. But it’s poison when you dig it up – when it gets exposed. Like a mother carrying a baby ... we are carrying the land, we are that close. This is the reason we hold our children close, our food, but mainly our waters. We look after our water ... One way, leave it in the ground forever. Old people are less but we have more young people being born. We have to look after them. We are talking up for country.” | |
| Hegarty has donated proceeds from her two concerts at Dark Mofo in Hobart this week towards the Martu. Hegarty will further highlight the impact of the proposed Kintyre uranium mine on the Martu of Parrngurr during her appearance on Monday night’s Q&A on ABC television. The Martu artists from Parnngurr will be in the audience. |