Research Report, Yamani Country, A Spatial History of the Atherton Tableland, North Queensland

Description

For the author, Dr Sandra Pannell, Leader of Program 7, Yamani Country has its origins in the mid 1990s, when she first met Auntie Emma's 'mob' while researching Ngadjon-Jii connections to country as part of a Native Title claim. These initial encounters formed the basis for a more detailed exploration of the environmental histories of the Malanda district, an area on the Atherton Tableland located in the heart of the Wet Tropics bioregion. These environmental histories paint a vivid picture of the varied nature of Ngadjon-Jii engagement with the Settler population. This is not a simple tale of Indigenous resistance and European conquest, or necessarily one of widespread environmental degradation. Rather, these histories speak about the ways in which landscapes and identity are co-produced through the intersecting rituals and customary practices of Traditional Owners and non-Indigenous Australians alike. This volume attempts to recognise some of the social and environmental consequences of these varied and often hidden histories.