In early March, KJ started delivering audio recorder training sessions in communities. KJ’s Country & Culture team member, Tam (aka Lunkuta) visited Kunawarritji community where rangers, community members and high school students from Rawa School all came together to learn and practice on the new recorder.

While the communities have been locking down due to the Coronavirus the rangers teams, while practising physical distancing, have been busy caring for country, looking after elders, engaging in cultural activities and giving their workspaces a touch-up.

Between late February and early March, over forty Martu Leadership Program (MLP) participants from all communities were involved in a suite of activities in Newman and Perth. This work continues to develop the capacity of the MLP participants to work confidently within the mainstream world and promote Martu aspirations.

A number of day and overnight trips have occurred with over twenty Martu from Jigalong engaging in the program. Martu have also been involved in a number of workshops at the BHP Shed in community: brainstorming how they want the program to run.

Social Ventures Australia (SVA) has featured Martu in their third blog, in a series sharing stories from SVA clients, partners and friends in remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, to highlight people and organisations like KJ who are uniquely affected by the coronavirus crisis.

Many Martu have always said that older and younger Martu need to teach and learn the knowledge and practices of their old people, Pujiman. Retaining and sharing these practices takes time, planning and a community to bring it all together. Martu who work with KJ and Martumili Artists spent time on country to talk about waru (fire).

Atlas Obscura — a global community of explorers and journalists who focus on unique places and stories — have featured Martu in their January edition, with contributing writer, Reina Gattuso, taking a look at KJ ranger’s work of reinstating cultural burns.

Martu have been making family trees for the kids out of leaves, branches and photographs. Afterwards they studied family trees from KJ’s archives. People of all ages came every week to spend time looking through their family trees — all part of the Women & Families Program!

Parnngurr rangers assisted Martumilli to collect grass for a weaving exhibition. They collected four large bags of grasses, plus a few lunki (witchetty grubs) from the white gums while the younger Martu learnt about grasses for weaving and the plants that can be make into bush sandals. 

KJ has been recording more Martu ninti (knowledge) and wangka (language) after Martu told us we needed to do more. With more pujiman (desert-born people) getting older, there has been a big push to learn from the old people, and to record their stories so that Martu can hold these stories into the future.