First Nations Australian traditional custodianship
[9][10] The role of a custodian, however, implies a responsibility to care for Country, reflecting a worldview that is not necessarily compatible with the Western concepts of land ownership and the right to property.
[11][12] While specific practices and interpretations of custodianship may differ among the hundreds of distinct Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander groups, they all seemingly share a close affiliation with the land and a responsibility to look after it.
[17][18][19] Aboriginal Australian academics Joann Schmider (Mamu), Samantha Cooms (Nunukul) and Melinda Mann (Darumbal) offer the following simple definition of traditional custodians: "the direct descendants of the Indigenous people of a particular location prior to colonisation".
In 1981, journalist Jack Waterford wrote of Aboriginal law as a system of "religious obligations, duties of kinship and relationship, caring for country and the acquisition and passing on of the community's store of knowledge".
[16][28] By 1992, handing down their judgment on the landmark Mabo case, High Court Justices William Deane and Mary Gaudron acknowledged that "[u]nder the laws or customs of the relevant locality, particular tribes or clans were, either on their own or with others, custodians of the areas of land from which they derived their sustenance and from which they often took their tribal names.
"[29] In a 2021 report, the Australian federal Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water defined traditional custodians as "Indigenous people or nations who have responsibilities in caring for their Country".
Yolŋu woman Djuwalpi Marika outlined this sense of responsibility within her community in a 1993 report: "The Yolngu people belong to a number of separate clan groups, each consisting of individual families.
"[35] Turbuna man Jim Everett and Barkandji woman Zena Cumpston both identify a custodial obligation to care for Country as a shared foundation of First Nations communities across Australia, embedding a sense of deep respect and accountability for the natural world.
"[12] First Nations poets and musicians often express their affinity with Country and associated custodial responsibility through their works: I am a child of the Dreamtime PeoplePart of the land, like the gnarled gumtreeI am the river, softly singingChanting our songs on my way to the sea...I am this landAnd this land is me We know that the earth is our mother who created us all.We cannot own her, she owns us.So we are the custodians of our Earth Mother, whom we must protect and respect at all times.
These include "nguraritja" in Pitjantjatjara,[41][42] "kwertengerle" in Arrernte,[43][44] "kurdungurlu" in Warlpiri,[45][46] and "djungkay" in Kuninjku[47][48] – although these words may refer more specifically to familial roles within traditional kinship networks that bestow a particular custodial responsibility.
"[51] Wurundjeri man Ron Jones shared this sentiment, claiming that the words "traditional owners" are not typically used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Addressing the 2018 Barunga Festival, deputy chair of the Northern Land Council John Christophersen proclaimed: "We're not custodians, we're not caretakers.
This emphasises the importance of the custodial ethic, effectively an obligatory system for people to play a role in following natural wisdom, looking after the land on which they live, and renewing its flora and fauna.
"[58] Noonuccal woman Samantha Cooms concurs that the custodial ethic is "a profound concept rooted in the belief that all things are considered equal, autonomous, and protected through the wisdom of the collective".
