Anaiwan language revival organization Nēwara Aboriginal Corporation is launching an ambitious fundraising campaign to buy back a block of bushland on Anaiwan Country.
Campaign spokesperson and Anaiwan educator Dave Widders says the group’s vision is “to have a place where our people can come together to sing our songs, dance our dances, and share our stories”. “We’re not out there to take land off people like they did to us,” says Mr Widders, “but we should have a right to what’s rightfully ours, to do things that are positive, future driven, future focused, things that are going to benefit not only our kids and our generation, but the wider Australian society too.”
Anaiwan Country covers nearly half of the New England Tableland, over 10,000 square km, but Anaiwan people today own less than 0.1% of their traditional lands.
Nēwara plans for the block of land to be used for cultural camps for Aboriginal kwānga (children) in out-of-home care, on-Country Anaiwan language learning, growing and harvesting native foods and medicines, and gatherings for local Aboriginal men’s and women’s groups.
“Aboriginal land in Aboriginal hands is essential for the survival and revival of our culture and identity,” says Mr Widders. “It’s also about us reclaiming our active role as custodians of Country and playing our part in the fight against climate change. We’re eager to team up with others in the local community who are committed to caring for Country to undertake projects like the reintroduction of traditional burning, native vegetation regeneration, and restoring waterway health.”
The group is looking to purchase a bush block of 100 acres or more with access to water, and this sort of property will likely cost anywhere between $350,000 and $450,000. Nēwara has already raised $20,000 independently to put towards the project and is hoping that this campaign will help secure a place for Anaiwan people to learn and celebrate their culture and language for generations to come.
“We know that’s a lot of money to raise, but we’re optimistic that both the New England community and broader Australian community will see the importance of what we’re trying to do,” says Mr Widders.
N?wara were inspired by the recent success of several other Aboriginal groups who ran crowdfunding campaigns to buy back land, including one in Central Victoria (Dja Dja Wurrung Country) last year which managed to raise $150,000 in just eight days, and another in 2020 which drew in over $25,000 in less than 24 hours for a block of Ngarabul Country east of Glen Innes.
“We’re well aware of the irony of having to buy back our own land,” says Mr Widders, “but this campaign will make sure that there’s a patch of Anaiwan Country that we as Anaiwan people can have easy access to for cultural purposes without all the red tape and bureaucracy.”
The crowdfunding page can be viewed here: chuffed.org/project/anaiwanlandbuyback
Nēwara Aboriginal Corporation is a non-profit Aboriginal organization committed to the reclamation and revival of Anaiwan language, culture, and history through research and education.
