We Interview Banjima Elder May Byrne

Hearing from May it is clear that her elders have had a profound influence on her growing up. When asking her what the NAIDOC theme "For Our Elders" means to her, May recalled how her elders serve as the spokespeople for their bajarli (clan). To her, being an elder and a spokesperson is not an exclusive position, but rather a cycle in which younger individuals will eventually step into the role when they become elders themselves. When reflecting on the influence of her elders May reflects: “My elders were kind compassionate and had empathy were forthright and was strong cultural people.”

Growing up in Onslow on the old reserve, May's childhood was filled with memorable moments, including watching the construction of her family's house whilst living in a tent. As well as life on pastoral stations. When asked about her connection to Country, May shares, "I live on country and am always teaching my family. We all learn at a young age how our old people cooked bush tucker. My dad had very old ways and used to cook the kangaroo whole with hot stones in the stomach under the hot embers under the ground." Reflecting on her role as an elder, May emphasizes the value of "RESPECT" as the most important lesson to impart to the next generation.

Amid the many stories shared by her Banjima elders, one narrative holds particular significance—the tale of the crow and the eagle. “My mum use to tell the story of crow and eagle a creation story about kinship system/punishment story if wrong garltharda (skin group marry) mum did this story in Banjima and I translated for her.”

Throughout the years, May has witnessed significant changes in her community. The introduction of Native Title brought both chaos and acknowledgment as proud Aboriginal people. May firmly believes that traditional knowledge and practices continue to play a crucial role in modern life. Aboriginal communities still rely on bush medicines and bush tucker, demonstrating the ongoing relevance and effectiveness of these practices in our world today.

May passionately emphasizes a crucial message she ardently advocates for—learning one's language. She even shares a few commonly mistranslated words, for us all to keep in mind:

Marada: Is first born (from the mum)

Mulharda: Is all children in the middle

Nidinghu: Is the last born child Be sure not to say Niyidi for last born child

Niyidi: Is mother-in-law/son-in-law (a very strict avoidance relationship).

Embracing the Wisdom of Our Elders with Connie Robinson

Join us in our latest interview with Connie, a proud Banjima woman, as she shares her cherished memories and the stories passed down by her elders. This article offers a unique perspective from our Banjima community, exploring the profound connections, cultural traditions, and invaluable life lessons learned from our admired Banjima elders from those who look up to them the most.

What does the theme “For Our Elders” mean to you? 

For me, when I think about elders, I get that feeling of the strong love that they have and their knowledge, their respect, their wisdom of culture, and knowing our family connections, the garltharda (skin colour). Our elders are our teachers for song lines, dancers, and our languages. And they know the different languages as well, from the different language groups and their stories. Our elders are also astronomers. They know the names and stories of our solar system and dreamtime stories that belong to the milky way (e.g the emu in the sky). They teach us about the seasons and that goes into our hunting and gathering. They know what's in season and the best place to go hunting and fishing and of course they know our Country. To do anything we need their permission if we want to do anything and we always go and seek their guidance and counsel and then that's passed down to us. Being an elder, it's not so much about your age, it's got to do with how much you know and your knowledge of Lore and culture. 

Do you have a memory or a story that highlights something the elders have taught you?

There has been a lot of times that we sat down and had a yarn, especially with Youngaleena, boss Papa Tim's father, and the times that we spent with him and the times that we spent out at Waka listening to mum and her grandmothers talking. So I have a lot of good stories and memories that I remember. I remember out at Youngaleena boss was telling me the story of the seven sisters. He used to tell us that they would get fire sticks and hit it against the white gum just as they started to travel in the winter sky at night. Once you hit the sticks against the tree, all the embers keep the 7 sisters warm as they are travelling. And then other ones about when we went travelling with the two old fellas and they told us about the three sisters’ story and how that wasn't a good place to go to.

What do you think you have learnt from the elders that you value the most?

That love and that knowledge for country. That feeling of coming back home knowing that we belong there as far back as we can go, we belong. You feel it, when you go back on Country, and you have that feeling of them teaching you and them being with you. 

How do you see the role of elders in preserving and passing down cultural knowledge?

It's essential. It’s pretty much everything for our Banjima culture to survive from language to dance, to song.

What do you think are some challenges faced by elders today and how do you think we could address them now?

Talking to them and listening to them if anything. Building that connection with them more again and going back on country and learning from them. And not just my own close family, but there's so many elders within our Banjima Language group. Connecting with all of them would be great to go out on a camp or a dinner out or something with them and learning. They all got their own individual stories and learning and how they are and what they've learnt. The more you get to know them, the more knowledge you hopefully get passed down. 

What differences do you see in how your elders grew up to how you & your children have grown up? Has it gotten better or worse maybe?

It’s not so much worse, it's better because mum's gotten to know more of it as we have grown up. So, you know, she's gained that knowledge, but it's also being down in Perth, you know, getting back up and being around the family. Mum’s generation learnt from her old people. So with the old people that we've already lost a lot have died with them and has not been passed down. I feel some parts there that we have missed out on this my generation and now my kids and grandchildren's generation. That's why I'm saying to get together with as many old people as we can to rebuild that.

Things are different. Back in the day our old people had to work on the stations with no pay. Everything was separated into black and white. They were denied access to the same education as we have today. We are lucky, my generation and the younger generation because we didn’t go through what our old people did, like for my grandmother who was a part of the stolen generation.

This year I think everyone should embrace the wisdom of our elders. I wish they could live forever, but I suppose they do as they pass their knowledge down to us.

We Interview Banjima Elder Michelle Ingram

As we took in the beauty of Karijini National Park during the Karijini Experience, we had the honour of talking with Banjima elder Michelle Ingram. During the enlightening conversation, we delved into the significance of this year's NAIDOC theme, "For Our Elders." Michelle touchingly expressed her deep appreciation for the role of elders in families and their invaluable contributions to passing on history and culture. 

What does the theme “For Our Elders” mean to you? 

For me, it's the recognition of how important elders are to families, and for the work that they've done and the way they pass on history because we never had the written word to pass on to the kids and that was the way our stories and culture were passed on. You want people to understand that this is the way our culture works. This is how the elders are, this is what they're there for and to recognise them and show that respect to them. 

How does it feel to be able to impart your knowledge and what you've learnt down to your grandchildren?

It's something that was taught to me from my grandparents, my mother and father and even my uncles and aunts, they've always taught me the main thing is respect your elders, listen and learn. These are the things that I've passed on to my kids and all my siblings do the same, that's what they feel is important and the fact that I can be recognised as an elder and that respect is shown to me is very heartwarming and we've passed enough on to the kids that they are going to be able to do the same thing. That's the way our culture will keep going but we have to pass it on. 

Was there a story that one of your elders have told you that has influenced you the most?

I think for me it is the story about my dad being taken away, it makes me want to keep my family really close, just the heartbreaking thing of him saying he can remember his mum standing there crying, calling out for him and these people taking him away. He used to say “I was only a little boy but I remember that” and then when I watched the movie Rabbit Proof Fence, I cried and cried because it just, I could see it, that was my dad, you know, that’s what happened to him and the thought of my children being taken away like that would be horrendous. My mother had a different childhood, she had a grandmother who used to pack them up, so if she got wind of the welfare coming she’d pack the kids, her grannies and kids up and she’d take them bush and hide them so they were able to live on the station and mum got to go to school too whereas my father didn’t. When they met she was able to get married and have all of us kids so it’s, I guess the two different sides of the upbringing of my parents. That story is quite heartbreaking to me.

How does your family keep culture strong?  

Dad was very good at art, very good and I feel that he’s passed on to us his connection to his home country through his art because when we were kids growing up, I was telling the people and the ladies at the Elders Tent today that he used to bring us up here through the Pilbara, even though we lived in Carnarvon because he drove a truck through the Pilbara, to go to Tom Price and he used to go to Dampier, across to Newman, up to Port Hedland and during the school holidays he would make sure that he brought two of us at a time with him, and it was, we realised, to connect us with the country even if we didn’t find many family members he was connecting us with his and our country, and we’ve always had that, you know, always had that feeling that this is where we come from and I just get that feeling every time I come back here as well.

It is a feeling of coming home and we just love it and just connecting with family now and I mean even my kids do now, my son came up the other day with his two friends and they came here to Karijini and he said “you know , I could feel it, Mum, the connection”

What was life like for you growing up? 

When we were living and growing up in Carnarvon and most of my mum’s family came to live in Carnarvon our grandparents used to take us to the stations with them and we learned some culture from them. The paintings my Dad used to do were what he remembered from here and we used to sit and look at his pictures and this is what I guess he was passing on to us but my grandparents, they taught us how to help with the work they did on the stations like the fencing and helping in the shearing sheds, my grandfather and uncles were shearers too. We’d have to get out there and help. When you di the fencing you had the poles there and the wire on a reel, one of us would get the wire and run it through the holes in the poles all the way down the fence line and somebody else would do the next one. So they taught us the importance of hard work and so did Dad by helping him on his trips.

My grandmother, she taught us to cook damper and roo tails in the ground. I remember one time we were out on the station , my grandfather and uncles were doing the fencing and she said ‘We’ll go and cook the damper now’ and she was showing us how to make the damper and put them in the fire and these big, black clouds were coming up and Grandmum said ‘We might get a thunderstorm but we’ll see how this goes’ and sure enough, down it came, this rain so we all ran and got out of the rain and we said “What about the damper?” and she said “They’ll be right, we’ll see how the fire goes”. After the rain she went out and stoked the fire up and opened the coals and sure enough, those dampers were there all cooked and ready. She also taught us the importance of not taking from the land what you don’t need or shouldn’t move, and when we kill a kangaroo, we eat all of it. A big part of my childhood was always teaching us to have respect for our elders and that’s something I have always tried to instil in my kids and I feel that they have learnt that because it’s not only me and their father they respect, they respect their family elders but any elders and they’ve always been like that, even Jo, my sister and her family. I mean, Craig is an example of that, he’s just very respectful to all of us. I just loved growing up around here. While we didn’t live on country we got to come here with Dad and we got to stop along the way and swim in the creeks and rivers and just experience living on the land.

What do you think is the most important thing to teach the next generation?

I think the most important thing would be to be proud of who you are and follow the values you have been taught by your elders. And just that respect, it always for me comes back to that respect. You give what you expect to get back. You show respect, you'll get respect. You show kindness, you'll get kindness. And you show love, and you'll get love back. What you give, you get back. 

Was there anything you wanted to add? 

I guess NAIDOC this year, as I said, just the fact that elders are being recognised for the hard work they've done over their lives. I just would like to see that the kids of today really take it on board. It's not just a token thing, this is for life. This is what you do for life. You show that respect, and you'd be thankful that you have elders and role models like that. It's something that they would help, I guess, in them becoming better people.

I worked in the school for 24 years. The one thing I noticed is every now and again I will come across kids that I've worked with and the respect that they show me, and they're grateful for what I've done for them. And, you know, I think, well, what did I do? I sat there and helped you learn how to read, but, you know, I might have connected with you, your family. I tried to do that more than you think, connect with them, and give them a mum or an aunt or a grandmother in the school. The fact that they come and show me that, and that's very heartwarming. I would like that for all elders. If they've done some little thing for you, go and acknowledge it.