Decisions are made on Country Kanyanyapilla
Burka-Senior Man of the Mullawirra Meyunna, Karl Winda Telfer.
The history of Kanyanyapilla isn’t widely written in books, but it can be read on the ancient hills where invasive grasses have been persistently cut back, and native species that nurture the country are slowly cultivated once again. History is traced out in circles, some of stones, others cut into the grass — each an invitation to listen, gather and turn inward.
Kanyanyapilla is where I sit, talk and listen to Country, decisions are made with Country. Here, we can walk softly and make the right decisions to care for Country, community, and our coming generations.
Karl Winda Telfer, Burka-Senior Man of the Mullawirra Meyunna (the Dry Forest People) holds the license to occupy Kanyanyapilla— Place of Many Eagles— for fifty years. Self-determination is finally afforded to the cultural leader, to practice cultural mentorship and bicultural exchange. The responsibility that sits on his shoulders is immense.
Decisions are made by Karl on caring for Country and kin at Kanyanyapilla, and those who visit and listen begin to understand the power of self-determination.
Says Karl Winda Telfer: “Self-determination is at the heart of Kanyanyapilla. People coming here learn about culture and stories, sure. But an important part of the bicultural education here is opening visitors’ hearts and minds to feel Country and begin to understand its meaning through my eyes,”
“How can I get the wider community to understand the Spirit of Place and our rights to recover ourselves? I can’t do this without Country and the ability to protect and care for sacred places. I need the right to come home to my spirit, my place, my song which still lives in the cultural landscape. My heritage and history have been inscribed in the land since the First Sunrise,”
“Kanyanyapilla is where I sit, talk and listen to Country, decisions are made with Country. Here, we can walk softly and make the right decisions to care for Country, community, and our coming generations.”
For South Australia’s History Festival in May, Karl and his partner Claire Lock, who met during conservation work, are quietly opening the gates of Kanyanyapilla for two events.
Says Claire Lock: “A lot of the bicultural education we do at Kanyanyapilla focuses on regeneration, helping people of all ages to learn about the local environment and take positive action together guided by Traditional Owner leadership.”
For four sessions, Karl and Claire will welcome members of the public to walk and sit at Kanyanyapilla, for yarns around coming home to Country and cultural practises through the lens of our state’s history.
Karl’s hope for these sessions is to spark deep listening, reflection, and progress, not platitudes.
Says Karl Winda Telfer: “Kanyanyapilla holds ancient and recent stories, and I am responsible for looking after both Traditional and European histories here. Now is the time for cultural, ecological and spiritual renewal. These are the conversations I’m hoping to see front and centre, come May.”