Case study 7: Indigenous Heritage Program Senior

Senior women of the Ngaanyatjarra lands look out across country from an important women's site on the Seven Sisters dreaming track in central Western Australia. The Indigenous Heritage Program enabled the women to record the Seven Sisters sites and dreaming stories for future generations. (Leigh Holdaway)

The Ngaanyatjarra Council Aboriginal Corporation knew that if urgent action wasn’t taken, detailed knowledge of the sites and dreaming stories along the Marlu and Seven Sisters Dreaming Tracks would be lost forever.

The cultural knowledge of this area, south of Warburton in Central Western Australia, was largely held by a few remaining elderly people who had walked the country more than 50 years ago. Through this $110 000 project, senior traditional owners, anthropologists and younger traditional owners participated in field surveys and identified over 40 sites, providing detailed recordings and maps of 25 sites.

The project will ensure the information is not lost and is shared with younger generations. The recordings will also help the future conservation, protection and management of these sites.