Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara
Encyclopedia
Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) is a large Aboriginal
local government area located in the remote north west of South Australia
. It consists of the Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra
peoples (or Anangu
), and has a population of around 2500 people.
by the Parliament of South Australia
, and includes the Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra
groups. These groups have a long association with the area.
'Ara Irititja' is a project of the APY, commenced in 1994 to identify, copy and electronically record historical materials about the Anangu (Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara people). Its purpose is to prevent the loss of the history, and to allow the teaching of it to others in the community
.
The peoples of the region have not had any major economic development, apart from tourism
, but there have been proposals to mine
in the area. The Mintabie
opal
fields are located in the area but separate.
The Musgrave
Block in the Pitjantjatjara Lands, in South Australia
's far north-west, has been viewed as having billions of dollars in potential mineral
deposits and petroleum
. But the Yankunytjatjara Pitjantjatjara people have been wary of opening up the area to mining, concerned about the impact on sacred sites and the environment
. Mining companies are conducting discussion to try to allay these worries.
For decades two major issues throughout the APY Lands have been the low standard of health care (comparative with the rest of Australia) and drug abuse, namely alcohol, petrol sniffing, then cannabis
and now other illicit drugs. Part of the difficulty in reducing alcohol and illicit drug use has been the straddling of the indigenous areas of three jurisdictions: South Australia
, Western Australia
and the Northern Territory
. The jurisdictional crossover has made police enforcement of drug trafficking laws difficult. Recent collaboration has started to deliver results.
identified that the APY Lands had 2,230 residents, 50.6% of whom were female and 84.5% of whom were Indigenous Australians
(compared to a national percentage of 2.3%).
The APY Lands communities had a significantly higher proportion of younger people than the overall Australian population, and accordingly significantly lower proportion of older people than the overall population.
98% of the residents were Australian-born (compared to 86.1% nationwide).
58.6% of residents listed Pitjantjatjara as the language spoken at home, whilst 14.3% listed Yankunytjatjara as their spoken language. 18.7% gave English as the language spoken at home, compared with 78.5% of the overall Australian population.
46.1% identified with being affiliated with the Uniting Church in Australia
(compared to 5.7% with that affiliation nationwide), explainable by the UCA's significant presence in each community.
Median incomes in the APY Lands were significantly lower than the Australian population, with a median individual weekly income of $219/week compared with $466/week nationwide.
The APY Lands have a significantly larger proportion of single-parent families (30.1% cf 15.8% nationwide).
Home ownership is a distant reality for most people on the APY Lands, with only 7% of residents either fully owning or in the process of purchasing their own home - compared with 32.6% of Australians fully owning and 32.2% purchasing (a nett of 64.8%). The majority of APY Lands residents are likely to have a landlord.
The largest towns in the area are (with 2006 census population figures):
. The full list is:
The Anangu Lands Paper Tracker website operated by Uniting Care Wesley Adelaide provides an interactive map of the communities (see Links section below).
to Alice Springs:
), and mail is delivered weekly by air from Alice Springs. Many of the localities described above are slated for broadband
delivery in the near future.
proposes under its local government reforms to create the MacDonnell Shire
which will span the south of the Territory from western to eastern border, thereby comprising the adjoining LGA across the top of the APY Lands.
The Outback Areas Community Development Trust
in South Australia
is not an LGA, but is the authority responsible for the development of areas adjoining the APY Lands (not including Maralinga Tjarutja
to the south and the District Council of Coober Pedy
to the non-immediate, but relatively nearby, south-east).
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
local government area located in the remote north west of South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
. It consists of the Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra
Ngaanyatjarra
Ngaanyatjarra is an Indigenous Australian cultural group in the Western Desert, Central Australia.-Meaning and origin of the name:Ngaanya literally means 'this' and -tjarra means 'with/having' ; the compound term means 'those that use "ngaanya" to say "this"'...
peoples (or Anangu
Anangu
Anangu, more accurately "Aṉaŋu" or "Arnangu" is a word found in a number of eastern varieties of the Western Desert Language , an Australian Aboriginal language of the Pama–Nyungan family, spoken in the desert regions of western and central Australia. Before the arrival of non-Aboriginal people in...
), and has a population of around 2500 people.
History
The council was formed in 1981 by the passing of the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights Act, 1981Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights Act, 1981
The Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights Act, 1981 grants certain land and other rights to the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara people in South Australia....
by the Parliament of South Australia
Parliament of South Australia
The Parliament of South Australia is the bicameral legislature of the Australian state of South Australia. It consists of the Legislative Council and the House of Assembly. It follows a Westminster system of parliamentary government....
, and includes the Pitjantjatjara, Yankunytjatjara and Ngaanyatjarra
Ngaanyatjarra
Ngaanyatjarra is an Indigenous Australian cultural group in the Western Desert, Central Australia.-Meaning and origin of the name:Ngaanya literally means 'this' and -tjarra means 'with/having' ; the compound term means 'those that use "ngaanya" to say "this"'...
groups. These groups have a long association with the area.
'Ara Irititja' is a project of the APY, commenced in 1994 to identify, copy and electronically record historical materials about the Anangu (Pitjantjatjara/Yankunytjatjara people). Its purpose is to prevent the loss of the history, and to allow the teaching of it to others in the community
Community
The term community has two distinct meanings:*a group of interacting people, possibly living in close proximity, and often refers to a group that shares some common values, and is attributed with social cohesion within a shared geographical location, generally in social units larger than a household...
.
The peoples of the region have not had any major economic development, apart from tourism
Tourism
Tourism is travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. The World Tourism Organization defines tourists as people "traveling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business and other purposes".Tourism has become a...
, but there have been proposals to mine
Mining
Mining is the extraction of valuable minerals or other geological materials from the earth, from an ore body, vein or seam. The term also includes the removal of soil. Materials recovered by mining include base metals, precious metals, iron, uranium, coal, diamonds, limestone, oil shale, rock...
in the area. The Mintabie
Mintabie, South Australia
Mintabie is an opal mining community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara or "APY" Lands in South Australia. It is unique in comparison to other communities situated in the APY Lands, in that its residents are largely not of Indigenous Australian origin, and significant mining activity ...
opal
Opal
Opal is an amorphous form of silica related to quartz, a mineraloid form, not a mineral. 3% to 21% of the total weight is water, but the content is usually between 6% to 10%. It is deposited at a relatively low temperature and may occur in the fissures of almost any kind of rock, being most...
fields are located in the area but separate.
The Musgrave
Musgrave Ranges
Musgrave Ranges is a mountain range in Central Australia, straddling the boundary of South Australia and the Northern Territory , extending into Western Australia. It is between the Great Victoria Desert to the south and the Gibson Desert to the north...
Block in the Pitjantjatjara Lands, in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
's far north-west, has been viewed as having billions of dollars in potential mineral
Mineral
A mineral is a naturally occurring solid chemical substance formed through biogeochemical processes, having characteristic chemical composition, highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties. By comparison, a rock is an aggregate of minerals and/or mineraloids and does not...
deposits and petroleum
Petroleum
Petroleum or crude oil is a naturally occurring, flammable liquid consisting of a complex mixture of hydrocarbons of various molecular weights and other liquid organic compounds, that are found in geologic formations beneath the Earth's surface. Petroleum is recovered mostly through oil drilling...
. But the Yankunytjatjara Pitjantjatjara people have been wary of opening up the area to mining, concerned about the impact on sacred sites and the environment
Natural environment
The natural environment encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on Earth or some region thereof. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species....
. Mining companies are conducting discussion to try to allay these worries.
For decades two major issues throughout the APY Lands have been the low standard of health care (comparative with the rest of Australia) and drug abuse, namely alcohol, petrol sniffing, then cannabis
Cannabis
Cannabis is a genus of flowering plants that includes three putative species, Cannabis sativa, Cannabis indica, and Cannabis ruderalis. These three taxa are indigenous to Central Asia, and South Asia. Cannabis has long been used for fibre , for seed and seed oils, for medicinal purposes, and as a...
and now other illicit drugs. Part of the difficulty in reducing alcohol and illicit drug use has been the straddling of the indigenous areas of three jurisdictions: South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, Western Australia
Western Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
and the Northern Territory
Northern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
. The jurisdictional crossover has made police enforcement of drug trafficking laws difficult. Recent collaboration has started to deliver results.
Recent developments
- In July 2007 SA Police in co-operation with liquor outlets in Coober Pedy (250 km to the south-east entrance to the Lands) agreed to create a register of alcohol purchases, to enable police to identify persons who purchased large quantities of alcohol in Coober Pedy potentially for transportation into Aboriginal lands.
- Also in July 2007, Commonwealth Indigenous Affairs Minister Mal BroughMal BroughMalcolm Thomas "Mal" Brough is a former Australian politician and Liberal member of the Australian House of Representatives from March 1996 to November 2007, representing the Division of Longman, Queensland...
offered federal help for a "drug and alcohol crackdown" in South Australian Aboriginal lands - such as the APY Lands.
- in July 2007, UnitingCare Wesley Adelaide http://www.ucwesleyadelaide.org.au/ set up a website papertracker.com.au to monitor State and Federal Government spending promises for the APY Lands, tracking the delivery of those promises
- In early August 2007, the RannMike RannMichael David Rann MHA, CNZM , Australian politician, served as the 44th Premier of South Australia. He led the South Australian branch of the Australian Labor Party to minority government at the 2002 election, before attaining a landslide win at the 2006 election...
South Australian Labor Government announced a A$Australian dollarThe Australian dollar is the currency of the Commonwealth of Australia, including Christmas Island, Cocos Islands, and Norfolk Island, as well as the independent Pacific Island states of Kiribati, Nauru and Tuvalu...
34 million package to "improve well-being of Aboriginal people" in the APY Lands. $25m will be spent on improving housing and most of the remaining $8m on law enforcement in Amata and Pukatja.
- In November 2007, SA Police Commissioner Mal Hyde announced the signing of a new enterprise agreement for SA Police that would include incentive packages to lure police to work in rural and remote areas such as the APY Lands
- In May 2008, retired Supreme Court judge the Hon E. P. "Ted" Mullighan QC delivered his supplementary report to his Children in State Care inquiry, entitled the "Children on Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands Commission of Inquiry - a Report into Sexual Abuse" in which Commissioner Mullighan begins in the Preface as follows:
"This Inquiry has uncovered a sad stream of stories from the Lands. I have heard that sexual abuse of children on the Lands has been widespread throughout the communities for many years..."
- In Dec 2009 the South Australian Parliament belatedly passed the "Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights (Mintabie) Amendment Bill.
Function
The statutory functions of the APY are: to ascertain the wishes and opinions of traditional owners in relation to the management, use and control of the lands and to seek, where practicable, to give effect to those wishes and opinions; to protect the interests of traditional owners in relation to the management, use and control of the lands; and to negotiate with persons desiring to use, occupy or gain access to any part of the lands; to administer land vested in Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara.Population
The 2006 ABSAustralian Bureau of Statistics
The Australian Bureau of Statistics is Australia's national statistical agency. It was created as the Commonwealth Bureau of Census and Statistics on 8 December 1905, when the Census and Statistics Act 1905 was given Royal assent. It had its beginnings in section 51 of the Constitution of Australia...
identified that the APY Lands had 2,230 residents, 50.6% of whom were female and 84.5% of whom were Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....
(compared to a national percentage of 2.3%).
The APY Lands communities had a significantly higher proportion of younger people than the overall Australian population, and accordingly significantly lower proportion of older people than the overall population.
98% of the residents were Australian-born (compared to 86.1% nationwide).
58.6% of residents listed Pitjantjatjara as the language spoken at home, whilst 14.3% listed Yankunytjatjara as their spoken language. 18.7% gave English as the language spoken at home, compared with 78.5% of the overall Australian population.
46.1% identified with being affiliated with the Uniting Church in Australia
Uniting Church in Australia
The Uniting Church in Australia was formed on 22 June 1977 when many congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, the Presbyterian Church of Australia and the Congregational Union of Australia came together under the Basis of Union....
(compared to 5.7% with that affiliation nationwide), explainable by the UCA's significant presence in each community.
Median incomes in the APY Lands were significantly lower than the Australian population, with a median individual weekly income of $219/week compared with $466/week nationwide.
The APY Lands have a significantly larger proportion of single-parent families (30.1% cf 15.8% nationwide).
Home ownership is a distant reality for most people on the APY Lands, with only 7% of residents either fully owning or in the process of purchasing their own home - compared with 32.6% of Australians fully owning and 32.2% purchasing (a nett of 64.8%). The majority of APY Lands residents are likely to have a landlord.
The largest towns in the area are (with 2006 census population figures):
- IndulkanaIndulkana, South AustraliaIndulkana is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands"...
(339) - Pukatja (Ernabella) (332)
- Amata (319)
- Mimili (303)
Localities
The local government area encompasses a number of settlements of a range of sizes, many of them being located in the Musgrave RangesMusgrave Ranges
Musgrave Ranges is a mountain range in Central Australia, straddling the boundary of South Australia and the Northern Territory , extending into Western Australia. It is between the Great Victoria Desert to the south and the Gibson Desert to the north...
. The full list is:
- Umuwa - The administrative centre of the APY
- Amata
- FregonKaltjiti, South AustraliaKaltjiti is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" ....
- IndulkanaIndulkana, South AustraliaIndulkana is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands"...
- Irintata Homelands
- KalkaKalka, South AustraliaKalka is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia administered under the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Land Rights Act. At the 2006 census, Kalka had a population of 114.-Geography:...
- Kaltjiti HomelandsKaltjiti, South AustraliaKaltjiti is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands" ....
- Kanpi
- Mimili
- MintabieMintabie, South AustraliaMintabie is an opal mining community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara or "APY" Lands in South Australia. It is unique in comparison to other communities situated in the APY Lands, in that its residents are largely not of Indigenous Australian origin, and significant mining activity ...
, a largely non-indigenous opal mining community in the south (only accessible with APY permit) - Murputja
- Nyapari
- PipalyatjaraPipalyatjara, South AustraliaPipalyatjara is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia, comprising one of the six main communities on "The Lands"...
- Pukatja
- Tjurma Homelands
- Turkey Bore
- WatarruWatarru, South AustraliaWatarru Community is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia Watarru Community is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands in South Australia Watarru Community is an Aboriginal community in the Anangu...
- Watinuma
- Yunyarinyi
The Anangu Lands Paper Tracker website operated by Uniting Care Wesley Adelaide provides an interactive map of the communities (see Links section below).
Public transport
The UnitingCare Wesley Adelaide project, "Paper Tracker" describes that as from October 2007 a bus service will operate through the lands connecting via MarlaMarla, South Australia
Marla is a small town on the Stuart highway in north-western South Australia. It is located near the Ghan railway line. At the 2006 census, Marla had a population of 72....
to Alice Springs:
In 2004, the South Australian Government allocated funding for a public transport bus service on the APY Lands. From October 2007, a twice-weekly return service will run from Alice Springs to Marla via main communities on the eastern-side of the APY Lands.
Communications
Even in this remote area, houses have telephones, access to multiple television channels including (Imparja and ABCAustralian Broadcasting Corporation
The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC" , is Australia's national public broadcaster...
), and mail is delivered weekly by air from Alice Springs. Many of the localities described above are slated for broadband
Broadband
The term broadband refers to a telecommunications signal or device of greater bandwidth, in some sense, than another standard or usual signal or device . Different criteria for "broad" have been applied in different contexts and at different times...
delivery in the near future.
Adjoining LGAs
In 2008, the Northern TerritoryNorthern Territory
The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions...
proposes under its local government reforms to create the MacDonnell Shire
MacDonnell Shire
The MacDonnell Shire is a Local Government Area of the Northern Territory, Australia. The shire covers an area of 268,784.20 km² and has a estimated population of 7,142 people.-Geography:...
which will span the south of the Territory from western to eastern border, thereby comprising the adjoining LGA across the top of the APY Lands.
The Outback Areas Community Development Trust
Outback Areas Community Development Trust
The Outback Areas Community Development Trust is a trust in South Australia which is operated under the Outback Areas Community Development Trust Act...
in South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
is not an LGA, but is the authority responsible for the development of areas adjoining the APY Lands (not including Maralinga Tjarutja
Maralinga Tjarutja
The Maralinga Tjarutja are the Indigenous Australian people who traditionally inhabit the remote western areas of South Australia. They are a Southern Pitjantjatjara people.The lands of the Maralinga Tjarutja bear their own name...
to the south and the District Council of Coober Pedy
District Council of Coober Pedy
The District Council of Coober Pedy is a local government area located around the opal mining town of the same name in Outback South Australia. The district is based around large opal deposits, and has become a major mining town, as well as a popular tourist town.- History :The town of Coober...
to the non-immediate, but relatively nearby, south-east).
External links
- Anangu Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Council website
- Official website
- LGA website
- Aboriginal Lands Joint Standing Committee of South Australian Parliament http://www.parliament.sa.gov.au/Committees/Standing/LC/AboriginalLandsParliamentaryStandingCommittee/Aboriginal+Lands+Parliamentary+Standing+Committee.htm
- Anangu Paper Tracker website interactive map including APY communities