This year, the Garma Festival marks its 25th anniversary. It represents a major legal victory for the Yolŋu nation of Arnhem Land. The festival’s inception in 1999 came out of the anguish of a broken electoral promise. Through collaborative decision-making and building a new shared vision, the community came together to chart a new course. This year’s theme, law of the land standing firm, has a deep resonant connection to the past and future dreams of the Yolŋu clan. They work non-stop to protect their land rights, economic empowerment, and First Nations control over decision-making.
Preparations are well underway as thousands of attendees—including Indigenous Australians and attendees from around the world—are converging on this remote corner of Arnhem Land. They’ll all be joined by big time leaders, like Prime Minister Anthony Albanese. Albanese first announced the Makarrata process upon taking office, signalling his government’s intentions to bring about reconciliation with and empower Indigenous communities. His administration has committed $20 million to open a new center of tertiary education. The Garma Institute will be governed and driven by Yolŋu people.
A Legacy Born from Disappointment
The Garma Festival grew into fruition roughly eight years after Yothu Yindi blasted onto the world stage with their anthemic hit “Treaty.” This poignant anthem perfectly articulates the frustrations, aspirations, victories and hopes of Aboriginal people. The Yolŋu people—and Indigenous peoples everywhere—have fought long and hard for recognition and rights. Despite those achievements, they continue to experience sobering challenges including health crisis, poor social outcomes and complications with literacy and English language acquisition.
As Indigenous leader Denise Bowden says, “Action speaks louder than words.” Words are not enough to change the fate of these ongoing injustices.
“It’s really important to listen, but it’s also important to do.” – Denise Bowden
She feels that too often, society loses sight of the need to make tangible, actionable steps away from harm and towards betterment. Bowden’s message in this part of her presentation was that we tend to make Indigenous issues too complicated. Most importantly, he made it clear that action is imperative.
The Yolŋu people’s struggle for recognition is underscored by the words of Djawa Yunupingu, who reflected on the significance of promises made by political leaders:
“Only to walk away from us, like his words were writing in the sand.” – Djawa Yunupingu
Yunupingu said that promises are serious and hold profound meaning in their culture. The frustration with the unkept promises fueled his surrounding community to build a better path forward.
Advocating for Change and Empowerment
At a recent roundtable, Yolŋu elder Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs made poignant remarks about the urgency for REAL education that tackles literacy concerns in her community.
“There is a problem with literacy and lack of English, and we have always wanted to change that.” – Merrkiyawuy Ganambarr-Stubbs
The Garma Institute strongly believes in education as a means to empower Yolŋu people. Most importantly, it’s meant to ensure that a college or university education is attainable for all. This new initiative is a positive step towards addressing decades long inequities experienced by Indigenous Australians.
This is what they believe makes their community successful, taking matters into their own hands instead of waiting on policymakers to lead change.
“I think the success story for this region is we don’t wait for policymakers to implement these decisions; we move ahead as best we possibly can.” – Denise Bowden
The Garma Festival serves as a platform for these voices, facilitating discussions around urgent issues while celebrating Yolŋu culture and heritage.
The Role of Leadership and Community Engagement
The festival serves not just to celebrate the struggles of yesterday, but to continue leadership amongst the Yolŋu people. What Bowden really wants people to understand, though, is his community’s willingness to have hard conversations about the issues that are ruining their lives.
“In terms of how our community leads, we lead and we’re prepared to be at the table to talk through any of those challenging incidents.” – Denise Bowden
Prime Minister Albanese recognised the progress we’ve all made together on the journey toward reconciliation during his last visit to Garma. He remarked on the collaborative nature of these endeavors:
“Together, we gave our all, and we fell short.” – Anthony Albanese
This honor points to the long road still ahead in realizing transformative solutions that reflect Indigenous dreams. As leaders from various sectors converge at Garma, they are reminded of their responsibility to listen and act upon the needs voiced by Indigenous communities.
Yunupingu captures this sentiment beautifully, expressing pride in their ancestral land:
“This is our place, a place of our ancestors, our father’s country, and we should celebrate this place.” – Djawa Yunupingu
The Garma Festival is a beautiful, rich cultural experience. It acts as an inspiring reproach – one that tells us we owe much more toward realizing our commitments to a more fair and equal society.
