Weirs]]> Floods]]> Traditional ecological knowledge]]> Fishing--Australia]]> Racism]]> Cotton]]> Silt]]> Water quality]]> Water pollution]]> Cultural Flows]]> Coalbed methane]]> Aquifers--Australia]]> Cyanides]]> Riparian areas]]> Ecological sustainability]]> Environmental conservation]]> Salinity]]> Sacred sites]]> Connection to Country]]> Land custodianship]]> Aboriginal spirituality (Baiame)]]> Wiradjuri people]]> Gamilaraay / Gamilaroi / Kamilaroi language]]> Water--Symbolic aspects]]>
Phil Duncan is an Aboriginal man with both Wiradjuri and Gamilaraay heritage. He identifies predominantly as a Gamilaraay man who grew up in Moree in northern New South Wales. Born in 1963, Phil is Chair of the First Peoples' Water Engagement Council and has witnessed a number of important changes in this region regarding cotton farming, weirs and dams, and the water quality.

Phil is knowledgeable in his heritage and emphasises the importance of Aboriginal connection to Country, and caring for Country as an important responsibility for Aboriginal people. He recommends that traditional Aboriginal knowledges be adhered to regarding the conservation of Country as Western land management methods have had a detrimental impact.


Mentioned:

Turtles, sheep & cattle (farming), worms.

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CC BY-NC]]> Moree, NSW [populated place]]]> Terry Hie Hie, NSW [populated place]]]> Terry Hie Hie Creek, NSW [stream]]]> Mehi River, NSW [stream]]]> Boomi Nature Reserve, NSW [reserve]]]> Mungindi, Qld [farm]]]> Barwon River, NSW [stream]]]> Narrabri, NSW [populated place]]]> Gwydir River, NSW [stream]]]> Boolaroo, NSW [section of populated place]]]> Copeton Dam, NSW [dam]]]> Namoi River, NSW [stream]]]> Cubbie, Qld [homestead]]]> Keepit Dam, NSW [lake]]]> Narran Lake, NSW [lake]]]> Macquarie Marshes, NSW [marsh(es)]]]> Boolaroo, NSW [populated place]]]> Mungindi, NSW [populated place]]]>
An archival version of the Talking Fish Collection is managed by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Data Archive (ATSIDA).]]>
Fishes--Identification]]> Floods]]> Weirs]]> Aboriginal fish traps]]> Aboriginal art]]> Water quality]]> Ngiyambaa / Ngemba language]]> Silt]]> Totems]]> Rock paintings]]> Paakantyi / Paakantji / Barkindji people]]> Muruwari / Murrawarri people]]> Wiradjuri people]]> Gamilaraay / Gamilaroi / Kamilaroi language]]> Connection to Country]]> Aboriginal kinship systems]]>
Phillip passionately discusses a wide range of topics that include growing up along the river; the impacts on the Upper Darling and surrounds caused by weirs and restrictions; Aboriginal history; the significance of connection to Country and water; Aboriginal law and personal responsibilities; and the relationships between neighbouring Aboriginal nations. He also points out the cultural shifts he has witnessed; from that of a group-focused, collectivist culture, to a more Western-aligned culture of individualism with its self-focused culture, and its consequences on Aboriginal kinship values, society and the environment.

Mention of: King Brown Snake. Eastern Brown Snake. Long neck turtles.

Quandong. Gum trees. Coolabah trees. Spinifex.]]>
CC BY-NC]]>
The data from this study region includes 7 oral histories (audio as mp3s, and transcripts) and 4 image galleries, as well as a georeferenced hand-drawn map of the area.

The Namoi River is fed by the rivers of the western slopes of the Great Dividing range from whence it winds its way through 42 000 square kilometres of blacksoil plain in the north east of New South Wales.

This region is the traditional lands of the Gamilaraay people. The Namoi today is a very different river to the one the Gamilaraay people once knew and fished. Now its flows are held by Split Rock, Keepit and Chaffey Dams and numerous weirs, as water is diverted to irrigate cotton.

(Source: Frawley, J., Nichols, S., Goodall, H. and Baker, E. 2011. Namoi: Talking fish, making connections with the rivers of the Murray‐Darling Basin. Murray‐Darling Basin Authority, Canberra)]]>
Map image attribution: Murray-Darling Basin Authority, Talking Fish Project see details...]]> http://geonode.research.uts.edu.au/layers/geonode%3Afrawley2012page158]]> View or download from publisher...]]>