Smoking ceremony to begin the event, image from Common Ground taken by Colleen Raven
Firesticks, a national Indigenous network empowering communities to care for Country, have held a National Women’s Fire Workshop on Kaurna Country in South Australia. Over 100 First Nations women came together for the opportunity to connect and discuss cultural burning practices.
Rachel Steffensen – a descendant of the Tagalaka people and the Firesticks Partnerships Manager – acknowledges that managing Country with fire can sometimes be male-dominated. While this is noted as the way things have evolved, the family obligations women often carry such as prioritising children and homelife, can mean they are not actively participating in this cultural responsibility. As a result, not only can mothers miss out, but so do their children, making it important to include women in passing on knowledge to the next generation.
This recent initiative fostered a space for First Nations women to come together for storytelling, shared experience, and knowledge exchange, ensuring women in the fire network remain connected, supported, and empowered on Country.
Common Ground
The original article was written for Common Ground. Common Ground is an entirely First Nations led and staffed organisation that uses storytelling as a tool to foster connection, truth-telling, and deeper understanding for anyone curious to learn more about culture and history. It brings together First Nations cultures, knowledge and voices through rich content, digital resources, and community-led projects. One of Common Ground’s active projects is Weaving Truths, which engages First Nations storytellers in truth-telling. Truth-telling is a critical step in creating an understanding of our collective histories and unravelling the stories that will pave the way for a shared future. Read their article Flora Nullius to learn how Joseph Banks’ naming of botanical species was one of the first acts of colonisation.
This article was written by Campbell Goff, the Healthy Ecosystems Project Officer with the Nature Conservation Council of NSW
