Members of the Nagana Yarrbayn Wangan and Jagalingou Cultural Custodians have filed two Federal Court applications against Adani's Bravus Mining, alleging racial discrimination and vilification.

The claims follow more than a decade of disputes over cultural authority and were lodged after the Australian Human Rights Commission ended conciliation in June.

Senior Nagana Yarrbayn Cultural Custodian Adrian Burragubba said Adani's actions represented a continuation of colonial control.

"People who want to take our ancestral lands and resources are still trying to control us," he said.

"Only this time it's a private mining company that thinks it can define who is Aboriginal and what being Aboriginal means.

"It's like Bravus has replaced the government as the Chief Protector of Aboriginal people - it's like being under the Aboriginal Protection Act again."

The first application relates to an August 2023 incident where Bravus allegedly employees blocked Traditional Owners from accessing the Doongmabulla Springs to conduct cultural ceremonies for newborn children.

The site was not owned by Adani.

"Bravus operatives blocked us saying 'you people are not allowed in here'. As Aboriginal people, we knew what 'you people' meant when they said it - we have lived with this kind of racism all our lives," Mr Burragubba said.

"Being forcefully restricted at the gate reminded me of what my father and grandfather had to endure under the Act. I felt the same trauma my father must have experienced when being forcefully removed from his homelands."

The second application seeks redress for what is described as a vilification campaign that has undermined decades of cultural development and caused family divisions.

"Adani has politicised and traduced us in the community, undermining thirty years of our work building our cultural integrity and sharing our culture," Mr Burragubba said.

"It has falsely painted me and my family as anti-coal protestors and as patsies for the green groups.

"We have provided evidence attached to the complaint that Adani incited and promoted racial hatred towards us, on top of the immeasurable intergenerational harm we have suffered... Adani makes us afraid to be Aboriginal in our own country."

Despite the disputes, the Cultural Custodians have continued to maintain the Waddananggu cultural ceremony site for four years.

"We will not be silenced or pushed aside," Mr Burragubba said.

"This is about our fundamental right to be recognised and respected as Aboriginal people in our homelands, while asserting our cultural authority over Country and managing our own clan estates."

The Federal Court case seeks damages, public apologies, injunctions, and mandatory anti-racism training for Bravus executives.

Alongside the Federal action, the Cultural Custodians are pursuing cases in the Queensland Supreme Court and Court of Appeal.

In June, Justice Burns ruled their application under the Queensland Human Rights Act and Environmental Protection Act could proceed to a full hearing.

The case argues the government's failure to act to protect sacred sites is unlawful.

The Government has acknowledged the Springs' ecological and spiritual importance but is appealing the ruling.

"The Queensland Government is now desperately appealing this decision, trying to prevent the cultural custodians from enforcing our cultural rights in the courts," Mr Burragubba said.

"We've established that our cultural rights are legally recognisable and that government inaction may be unlawful on that basis.

"They took our power and authority to protect Country away when they granted the mine's environmental authority.... now we're fighting for the right to ensure that the Minister actually does act when sacred sites face irreversible harm."

National Indigenous Times has contacted Adani for comment.