History

Traditional Owners are descendants of people who met with Alfred Canning's survey team in 1906 and construction teams in 1908/10. They continued to engage with stockmen during the droving days of the Stock Route. They hold very detailed knowledge of Country along the length of the Canning Stock Route (CSR).

Traditional Owners have been living continuously in this area for 50,000 years. They were hunter gatherers who had a rich and varied diet from the desert flora and fauna. They used water found in soaks, springs, rock holes and claypans. Their knowledge of water sources, environmental and celestial patterns, ecological and biological detail was encyclopaedic. Social and cultural life was, and still is, complex. In this way, they lived for hundreds of generations.

Canning’s treatment of Traditional Owners involved capturing and chaining individuals to act as guides. Canning’s team also damaged important cultural sites to make the wells along the CSR. This created a lot of distrust. During the 1940s and 50s, the relationship between Traditional Owners and drovers got easier as they became used to seeing each other in the area. To continue to repair this mistrust and mistreatment, Traditional Owners are keen to share their knowledge and stories of the area with visitors, and encourage respect of Country.

Traditional Owners feel a great responsibility for looking after Country, their culture and their family. To do this they regularly visit important places, perform ceremonies and teach their children traditional law and environmental knowledge handed down from generation to generation. These are remembered and shared by oral means through ceremony, songs and stories.