General News
25 August, 2023
600 at Indigenous gathering
MORE than 600 delegates are in Cairns this week for the sold-out National Custodians of Country Gathering (the Gathering).
Hosted by First Nations people and led by the Firesticks Alliance, the Gathering aims to foster collaboration between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians to work together to address the pressing need for ecological restoration, enhanced biodiversity and community resilience.
Firesticks Alliance co-founder and expert cultural fire practitioner Victor Steffensen said the holistic nature of Indigenous knowledge was significant a contemporary context.
“The National Custodians of Country Gathering will showcase the entire Indigenous knowledge system and its relevance to modern society,” he said.
“We want to show how rich our culture and practices are across science, conservation, agriculture, language and connecting with country, and how these various knowledge systems can be holistically applied to ensure better outcomes for our communities, future generations and the world they are set to inherit. “Indigenous knowledge-based solutions are nature-based solutions. Through this event, we want to show how we are all stronger together – Indigenous and non-Indigenous.”
