28 November 2017

Researchers investigating the many benefits that Indigenous people gain from Indigenous Land Management Programs (ILMPs) have been visiting and talking with Aboriginal people in northern Australia to gain insights about some of the many social and economic benefits of ILMPs.

Working with Ewamian Aboriginal Corporation in Qld, Professor Natalie Stoeckl (JCU) and her team have completed 79 interviews in and around Cairns, Mareeba, Atherton, Brisbane and Cherbourg. Working with Bununba Dawangarri Aboriginal Corporation, Walalakoo Aboriginal Corporation, the Yi-Martuwarra Claimants/Claim Group, and the Gooniyandi Aboriginal Corporation in the Fitzroy River region, researchers visited 19 communities and two towns to conduct 106 individual interviews and two group interviews.

The information gained from these visits is still being analysed but a first look shows that factors relating directly to ILMPs such as ‘Knowing that country is being looked after’, ‘Having legal right/access to the country’ and ‘Having (paid local) Jobs’ are important to the well-being of people in all of the study areas.

Researchers conducting interviews in north Queensland, photo Ewamian Aboriginal Corporation.