A historic meeting was held on the 17th June 2020, following the shocking destruction of the sacred 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge Caves in the Pilbara, Western Australia, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander leaders from across the nation – representing Aboriginal Land Councils, Native Title Representative Bodies and Service Providers and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Community Controlled Organisations – expressed their outrage at the destruction, vowing to pursue national reforms to prevent this from ever happening again. A mandate was created to strengthen and modernise Cultural Heritage laws and to create industry reforms that ensure Indigenous Cultural Heritage is valued and protected for the future.
65,000 Years.
Over 3,000 Generations.
More Than 300 Languages.
Photographer: Benjamin Warlngundu Ellis
The Alliance strives to enhance the capacity of First Nations Peoples to fully manage and control their Cultural Heritage, fostering self-determination to benefit culturally, spiritually and economically.
The Alliance seeks to strengthen the laws, policies and procedures around the recognition, respect, protection and celebration of First Nations Cultural Heritage in Australia.
This is a genuine partnership with government to develop agreed mechanisms, including legislative reform, to modernise protections.
The strength of the Alliance comes from the breadth and diversity of our membership, and the unified position we seek on heritage protection matters.
The Alliance works in solidarity with First Nations organisations internationally.
The First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance is hosted and managed by the National Native Title Council and guided by the following principles:
Alliance Governance
- Kado Muir (Co-chair)
- Natalie Rotumah (Co-chair)
- Cape York Land Council
- Nth QLD Land Council
- QLD south Native Title Services
- Kimberley Land Council
- Yamatji Marla Aboriginal Corporation
- Central Land Council
- Northern Land Council
- TAS Aboriginal Land Council
- TRACA
- South Australian Native Title Services
- NTSCORP
- Ngambri Rep
- Federation of Victorian Traditional Owner Corporations
- Gur A Baradharaw Kod Sea and Land Council
- National Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation
- National Native Title Council
Co-chairs
Co-chair at First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance and Chairman of National Native Title Council, Kado Muir is a Ngalia Traditional Owner, a Wati – a Goldfields Aboriginal cultural and community leader, and an anthropologist/archaeologist with many years’ experience working in Aboriginal heritage, language preservation and maintenance, traditional ecological/education and native title research.
Kado is also Chair of the Wakamurru Aboriginal Corporation RNTBC, the PBC for Manta Rirrtinya Native Title Determination and the former founding CEO of the Goldfields Land and Sea Council. He also operates a number of businesses including an Aboriginal art business, a Sandalwood company, and a heritage consultancy business. He is a long-time activist for bi-lingual and two-way education, environmental and cultural heritage protection, and promoting alternative community-based enterprises, especially through his PhD university partnerships for research on Wealth in First Nations.
Natalie Rotumah is the CEO of NTSCORP. She was previously the company’s Deputy CEO and Chief Operations Officer. A Bundjalung woman originally from South Tweed Heads, she has worked for NTSCORP in a variety of capacities since 2002.
She previously served as a NSW Aboriginal Land Council Regional Chair and a representative on the NSW Natural Resources Advisory Committee.
Currently Natalie also sits as the Deputy Chair of the NSW Government’s Aboriginal Fishing Advisory Council.
"In assessing where we are today, the Alliance has a clear vision or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Cultural Heritage.
We view our Cultural Heritage as having no barriers. We view it as holistic. We view it as being First Nations led with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples at the forefront of decision making.
We view our Cultural Heritage as an opportunity to support First Nations economic prosperity. We view it as empowering Traditional Owners as protectors of their Cultural Heritage on behalf of their communities and all other peoples. We see a future where Cultural awareness is better understood and respected by all Australians."
– Kado Muir – Co-Chair, FNHPA