Copyright © Tanya Piejus, 2002

I've heard it said that most white Australians have never met an Aboriginal person and I suspect that the same could be said of most backpackers. It's true that there are few opportunities to meet and spend time with the original Australians on their own terms, but it can be done at Iga Warta in the Flinders Ranges of South Australia. I spent four days there with five of the Coulthard brothers, their wives, kids and others, and it was the most enriching experience I've had in Australia so far.

Iga Warta is a purpose-built community of the Adnymathanha people who live and work there, and the visitors who have come to learn about their culture, history, traditions and way of life. From the moment we arrived we were treated like members of their extended family. We were provided with tents, swags, bathroom facilities and three scrumptious meals a day, often including bush tucker. Our first trip out was to a 35 000-year-old rock art site. Cliff, one of the elders and an intelligent, softly-spoken man, explained all the symbols and techniques used to create the complex and beautiful paintings. Later, round the campfire, we heard Dreaming stories and songs both in the Adnymathanha language and in English which we were encouraged to join in with by Cliff and his younger brother, Clarrie.

The next day we heard from Gayle who is white but grew up amongst Aboriginal people and was branded a 'Nigger-lover' by other whites. Despite this prejudice, she has maintained a special bond with her friends and now helps develop Aboriginal education programmes for local schools. Cliff then told us about the harrowing history of his family through dispossession by pastoralists, missionary influence and resettlement in a restricted community. Finally we heard from the women of the community about their own Dreaming stories, the moiety system that insures against inbreeding, their extended family life and their intimate relationship with the land. Everyone there spoke matter-of-factly and with great compassion, but not with bitterness or anger for the past. The aim of Iga Warta is to share experience, culture and knowledge with anyone willing to take the time to listen, in the hope of raising awareness and promoting reconciliation.

Not only did I learn a great deal about Aboriginal life from the cultural sessions but also spent time turning a mulga log into a boomerang, doing dot paintings, playing footy, watching spectacular sunsets, throwing balls for the dogs, giving the kids piggy-backs and enjoying a birthday party. I left Iga Warta with my head still spinning from all that I'd learnt and done, but feeling that it had been a rare privilege to spend time with such an open, caring and giving group of people. Above all, I went away with a much greater understanding of what it is to be Aboriginal in modern Australia.

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