An Opportunity to Visit Restricted Land

An unexpected turn of events happened after meeting Sebastian, the child protective services officer in Warakurna. It was a godsend opportunity for me to see Australia in another light– to briefly visit Ngaanyatjarra restricted land– for which I was thankful.

Sebastian and I met as a result of me not being able to stay for the night at the Warakurna Roadhouse. He found out about my situation, and since he had an unused spare bedroom, graciously invited me to stay with him. It turned out to be another fantastic educational opportunity, not only of making a good friend, but of experiencing the situation around an indigenous community that an outsider is not allowed to enter.

Being an officer working in Warakurna (sometimes known as Ngaanyatjarra-Giles), Sebastian has permission to move within aboriginal restricted land, With an invitation from him, I was able to go with him into areas off limits to outsiders. An outsider– meaning me– is not allowed to go to a number of aboriginal communities. They want to protect their way of life, so they are allowed spaces where no outsider is allowed to go without permission. But with Sebastian, I was able to go there and roam the lands which only the Ngaanyatjarra use for their purposes. He took me by the town, known as the Warakurna community, which sits about 3 miles north of the Warakurna Roadhouse, and then we went on top of one of the mountains behind the Warakurna community, where the Ngaanyatjarra people often go when they want to be “in the bush.”

To get to the community, we drove past a sign that says “No Outsiders. Turn Back Now.” The community of less than 200 Ngaanyatjarra live in the Warakurna community, which holds their residences, a school, a small hospital, a gym, and a store. (Out of respect, I did not photograph their community.) The community itself is subsidized by the Australian government, akin to getting welfare funds to support a community (like the housing projects) in the U.S. This fact of getting government funds, I’ve found, can be a source of contention in Australian society, as it is in the U.S.

After we pass by the community, Sebastian took me on top of one of the mountains above the community. Going out “into the bush” to meet, commune, confer (by talking around a fire) is still done by the elder aboriginal people and Sebastian took me to one of the places. In the old days, people would walk up to the mountain, but today most, including the aboriginal people, drive up there. The drive is not for the faint-of-heart.

It is an awesome site overlooking the community and much of the land as far as the eye can see. The photos don’t so justice to the magnificence of the view. One can begin to understand why the indigenous people consider the land sacred.

I am thankful to Sebastian for giving me an opportunity I never imagined I could have had.