Mr Eric Fejo’s roots and history are directly tied to Larrakia. He was born at the old Darwin Hospital (above Cullen Bay) and grew up in and around the Greater Darwin Region; his mother was a Wurramunga woman and his father a Larrakia man. Like his grandfather and father, Eric has never lived more than twenty miles from his place of birth and is proud that this tradition has continued with two of his three sons. Growing up in Rapid Creek, Eric has walked all Larrakia Country with his father and father’s brothers; was told many stories; shown where all the best fishing & hunting spots are, and the best time of year to hunt. He spent childhood holidays at Nguiu (Bathurst Island), Elliot, Mulinjer (Newcastle Waters), and many other homelands throughout the NT. Eric grew up with a solid understanding of his identity, being the eldest son, of the eldest son, of the eldest son. Growing up in a capital city of the NT and as a result of the circumstances of colonisation, he has strived to live in both worlds, balancing the world of the Westminster System and his Religious & Cultural responsibilities of bloodline. Eric has worked with Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority for the past t wenty-five years as a Senior Custodian/knowledgeable man for Larrakia Country. He is grateful that through the passing of the 1976 Land Rights Act, Goondol was the first registered Sacred Site; and through the short space of time, less than 100 years, after a millennia of usage, the ADF has prudently allowed unrestricted/perpetual access of the Larrakia Elders to Goondol, and has been sensitive to Larrakia’s lore and customs. He has been instrumental in contributing to this achievement and others, including through his cultural knowledge and kinship, being able to stop a nuclear waste dump being put on his mother’s country and standing by his father’s side in the 1995 Kenbi Land Claim (still the longest running land claim in Australian history). Even today he’s fighting for cultural responsibility and duties taken away from him, clear by the Northern Land Council recently committing to reviewing Traditional Ownership of the Kenbi Land Claim which he played a major role in securing. He is today, the which was formally established on 14 July 2020.
Eric Fejo joins FORUM2023
