The meeting of the founders of Gunawuna Jungai, Barry and Kieran, was pivotal in the visioning and actualisation of a community-controlled organisation for Doomadgee. The significance is demonstrated through the events that followed. According to Barry, he had always had a vision for Doomadgee, but it wasn’t until he met Kieran that he could see how his vision could be realised. Working together, their complementary attributes, shared values and vision strengthened their resolve for self-determined futures for the people of Doomadgee.
The moment in which the vision for Gunawuna Jungai was documented is described by both as occurring in one sitting. According to Barry, one night he said “Kieran you best get this out of my head. Put it somewhere”. Barry talked, and Kieran typed, into the early hours of the morning.
That night “Voice of Gangalidda”, a seminal document for Gunawuna Jungai was created (consider adding link to the Voice of Gangalidda here). Kieran explains:
“This is probably the absolute origin of Gunawuna Jungai. It’s one piece of paper, we exist to see the Gangalidda people are acknowledged valued and respected as a distinct tribe and traditional owners of the land on which Doomadgee exists. Empowering Gangalidda people. So, it’s empowering language even back then. Empowering Gangalidda people in Doomadgee to focus on building the next generation of leaders, educating Gangalidda people with knowledge, traditional knowledge, understanding traditional law and custom communicating official decisions, educating the whole community newsletters, forums, disseminating information, participating in community events. Increasing appropriate interaction with government and NGOs coming into Doomadgee.”
The community-controlled organisation in their vision needed to be able to navigate two systems and be recognised as legitimate in both. This was the challenge that the founders accepted as they worked towards their vision of a community-controlled organisation that formalised the cultural system of Doomadgee and was seen as legitimate within a western system.
“We need the two worlds to come together and to create something legitimate, in the eyes of the Western system. But also start to, because the cultural systems live in oral tradition, it needed some level of formalization. To give it some level of not just validity to the Western world, but within community as well.” (Kieran).
Doomadgee, like all Australian First Nations communities, was colonised, and experience that has shaped the lives of First Nations people and the systems that operate in the communities that exist today. The vision for Gunawuna Jungai was a community-controlled organisation for all of Doomadgee, and as such, would bring the members of the Doomadgee community together.
Voice of Gangalidda*
(written by Barry Walden & Kieran Smith, June 2010)
VISION: The Voice of Gangalidda People is Heard and Respected as Traditional Owners Throughout Doomadgee
MISSION: We exist to see that Gangalidda People are acknowledged, valued and respected as a distinct tribe and as traditional owners of the land on which Doomadgee exists.
Objectives:
*Please Note: The spelling of ‘Gungalidda’ in the original version has been revised to Gangalidda.