On 21-27 May, the Pilbara & Kimberley Aboriginal Media (PAKAM) team, Clint Dixon, Quinton Milner, Ronald Mosquito and Magali McDuffie, were privileged to cover the Walkali Return to Country Trip. Seven hours from Balgo in the Central Tanami Desert, they travelled with Senior Elders Joe Brown, Butcher Wise and their extended families, women from the Kapululangu Centre in Balgo, and the Paruku Rangers from Mulan Community. This trip had been in planning for nearly two years, and was organised by the Kimberley Land Council.
It was a very emotional return to country for some of the community members who had not been there in more than 20 years, or whose grand-parents were from there but never had the chance to return. The highlights of the trip included a very moving smoking ceremony, visits to two significant rock holes, story-telling of country, making clapsticks and bush medicine, a women’s dance, hunting bush turkeys, and even the opportunity for two PAKAM crew, Clint Dixon and Quinton Milner, to go up in a helicopter to get some fantastic footage of country from the air!
PAKAM extends their thanks to all the people who made the trip possible and for the warm welcome received from all the community members. It was a pleasure and an absolute privilege to cover this trip and PAKAM look forward to showing you the finished film!