A remote Indigenous community in WA’s Kimberley region has been formally recognised by the WA government after four decades of advocating for the change. It means the Djarindjin First Nations community can now work towards an Indigenous land-use agreement, and its own by-laws.
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TVTranscript
00:00A proud day for a proud community and culture.
00:07Four decades after being founded, Jadunjin has finally been recognised by the state government.
00:13The proclamation of this community is so much more than a legal document.
00:17They've now been recognised that this is where they came from, this is where their ancestors
00:21came from.
00:24Fadi Jawi's stories were shared through song and dance.
00:30It's taken all of these years for us to write letters and speak to ministers and speak to
00:37bureaucrats.
00:38Before recognition, the community of 250 people had struggled to lift itself up.
00:43If you're not a recognised people and you don't have identity under the system that
00:49controls you as a people, then you really don't have any way forward.
00:56Now the eldest resident says the future is looking bright.
00:59It's been a really long time for this.
01:02This changes for the eldest and mainly the young generation.
01:07The celebrations here today will become an annual event, but locals believe the impacts
01:12will be felt for decades, hopeful this announcement will permanently strengthen the community.
01:18We've now got that piece of paper that says that we can now move into the next area that
01:25we can work towards, which is getting the Iliwa signed and then the bylaws, and then
01:30we can start looking at land tenure.
01:34Plans for a future with more control over their country.