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Preserving Kandiwal's Culture

The Kandiwal community is a stronghold of ancient Aboriginal culture. They are descendants of a continuous 70,000 year old lineage of Wunambal people in the area - but the community is facing challenges that threaten their ability to pass down traditional knowledge to future generations.

Preserving Kandiwal's Culture

Deep in the bush, on the remote Mitchell Plateau of Western Australia's Kimberley region, the Wunambul people of Kandiwal maintain one of the world's oldest continuous cultures, dating back 70,000 years. Today, this small community stands at a critical juncture. Despite their deep connection to Ngauwudu (their traditional lands), inadequate housing, limited educational resources, and lack of government support threaten their ability to pass down ancient knowledge to future generations. While elders hold irreplaceable cultural wisdom - from traditional language to dreamtime stories - the community lacks the basic infrastructure needed to bring families back to country and maintain their way of life. This documentary project explores their efforts to preserve not just a culture, but an unbroken lineage of knowledge that has survived for millennia on these traditional lands.


This photo essay was published online and in print by Monster Children and We Are Explorers, and the short film was broadcast on Australian television by SBS and NITV. 


Read more about this story here

 Copyright 2025 Matthew Birch Media, All Rights Reserved

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