Becoming knowledgeable: Indigenous embodied praxis

The relationship with others is at the core of bringing stories to life. (Phillips and Bunda 2018: 86).

The Phillips and Bunda quote that starts this chapter contains the core idea of relationality that is central to this story; a story of senior Aboriginal women’s activism by the Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta (senior Aboriginal women from Coober Pedy, South Australia); a story of deep responsibility to protect Country as part as the Irati Wanti – ‘Leave the Poison’ campaign in the late 1990s opposing a proposal by the Australian government to build a nuclear waste dump in the remote part of South Australia. The women spoke strong and talked straight out about their opposition to the proposed waste dump, in their words they stated:

We are the Aboriginal women. Yankunytjatjara, Antikarinya, and Kokatha. We know the Country. The poison the Government is talking about will poison the land. We say ‘No’ Radioactive dump in our ngura– in our Country. It’s strictly poison. We had enough at Maralinga and Emu Junction. They never let people know, never ask Aboriginal people. We never tell them to go ahead, wiya no. This time we say “NO”. But they are still coming. We say ‘NO’. We’re crying for the little ones. Little ones coming up.They want to see the old Country too. (Kupa Piti Kungka Tjuta Editorial Committee et al. 2005: 53)