Elders from the Port Lincoln Barngarla Richards family say their sacred ancestral burial grounds in the Lincoln National Park are being damaged by park visitors and they've been left without a say through the native title process.
They say a burial ground, which is a sacred men's area, is close to a popular sand dune in the Lincoln National Park where sand boarding was recently approved.
But their claim to the area is under contention, which limits their ability to protect the site.
Despite having story lines that tie them to the area, the Barngarla people have twice been refused native title over Lincoln National Park and the area south including Whalers' Way.
The Barngarla people first applied for native title over the southern Eyre Peninsula in 1996 but the federal court rejected it in 2015.
They applied a second time and lost in 2020 on the basis the new claim was not any different to the original one.
As a result, the Barngarla were ordered to pay costs to the state.
Barngarla Determination Aboriginal Corporation (BDAC) chair Jason Bilney says his community lost the area based on "white man's law" but there were other ways to protect sacred sites.
He says he intends to engage an anthropologist to assess the area with the hope of registering the burial sites under the Heritage Act, which would provide protections over them.
The assessment would also address the issue that there is currently no documentation of Barngarla sites within the park.
"I've grown up in Port Lincoln and I know the significance of the south of Port Lincoln," Mr Bilney said.
Long connection to the area
Elders Lavinia Richards and Elizabeth Richards said their family had stories passed down about their connection to the area.
Elizabeth says there are sacred sites connected to women's business.
"Old mumma took me out and showed me the story lines so out that way is very sacred," she said.
"We have caves out there, too, which are very sacred and I've heard that strangers are going there."
The Elders say they are hurt and angry they do not have native title over the area.
Native title claim in contention
The Barngarla are not the only people laying claim to the area.
It forms part of a native title consent determination for the Nauo people, in a claim that also includes Coffin Bay and land up north-west to Venus Bay.
While the Barngarla maintain it is their land, the Nauo people equally say it is theirs.
The native title bid had been confrontational and affected families in the community. And the Nauo people are not commenting while native title is progressing.
"You hear about all the different government departments and we feel like we've been shut down and shut out and not included in conversation about our country and what it means to us and to have it just disappear because someone comes and they want this country, it's wrong," Elizabeth says.
She says the Barngarla remain concerned that an approved Nauo claim will reduce their ability to protect their sacred sites and their women's Seven Sisters storyline.
Negotiations continuing
A Department for Environment and Water spokesperson said DEW was committed to the protection of Aboriginal sites.
"DEW recognises that traditional ownership negotiations are progressing at Lincoln National Park and the Barngarla and Nauo peoples are recognised as groups having a strong cultural connection and interest in the lower Eyre Peninsula."
They said the state government's Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation (AAR) division maintained a central archive of details of all known, reported and recorded Aboriginal sites, objects and remains.
"If there is a concern that sites, objects and/or remains are being damaged, disturbed or interfered with, DEW will work with traditional owners and AAR to ensure sites are protected," the spokesperson said.
Mr Bilney said while the Barngarla do not accept that the land as Nauo land, after two rejected court cases they can not apply for native title again.
"We lost it in the courts so it's about protecting and preserving our heritage, putting [heritage information] site cards in but also working collaboratively together; even if we could have a co-management," Mr Bilney said.
"It's always a possibility for co-management, which we already have a co-management with Barngarla, Wirungu and Kokatha in the Gawler Ranges, similar to what they do in the Far West Coast where they have Mirning, Wirungu, Kokatha and Yalata all as part of the Far West Coast."
The Nauo people lodged their native title claim in 1997 and it remains under negotiation with the state.
