An Indigenous cultural teaching business that aims to facilitate greater understanding of cultural practices says more needs to be done to ensure Traditional practices aren't lost over time.
Milan Dhiiyaan - One Family or One Mob - has been providing Aboriginal cultural immersion experiences for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people for nine years, mostly around New South Wales but also interstate as bookings demand.
The business is led by Wiradjuri/Wailwaan woman Fleur Magick Dennis and her husband, Wailwaan/Yuin man Laurance Magick Dennis, who involve a number of Aboriginal community members in their work, which assists in strengthening connection to Country and facilitates personal and collective healing.
The pair believe that Traditional Aboriginal cultural "ways of being, doing and knowing" hold uptapped possibilities for all people in terms of opportunities to create better understandings of ourselves, each other and the Earth.
They have experience delivering workshops with schools, government, corporates and community groups, though one of the primary customers is the Aboriginal community. The performances involve a ceremony and various Aboriginal songs and dances that tell stories about her ancestors from all multicultural backgrounds.
The argue that more needs to be done. The impact of genocide and colonisation has put Indigenous resources out of reach for many. Milan Dhiiyaan is developing a new workshop that facilitates these learnings, Ms Dennis said.
"While there are language and culture grants out there, compared to the devastation that's been caused over the years by the loss of our culture, it's not enough. We still have a long way to go as people, and that's what we want to focus our energy on," she said.
"Lots of our mob have grown up in ghetto environment and Housing Commission areas where they haven't hat the means or finances to go out to access country that isn't locked off to us by private ownership.
"While new generations are being taught which mob they belong to, which is a good start, not being able to go to country and experience real connection hinders their learning. This means that there's a lot of people who haven't ever been able to walk country and don't have that deep feeling of connection to country."
"Revitalising cultural practices including languages, songs and dance ceremonies that educate non-Aboriginal people that builds the understanding on the culture is a key focus," she added.
Ms Dennis noted that there has been "a massive increase" in "Aboriginal people who want to have back all the things that belong to us, including our language and our cultural practices like our songs and stories".
"There are a lot of Aboriginal people out there who have been wrongfully disconnected from all of that," she said.
"Greater allowance in Government funding would enable Milan to facilitate more cultural learning experiences. "While we're happy to hear from corporates that want to work with us, we're really wanting to put our energy into transitioning into restoration and maintenance work around the cultural practices of our people."
