Working together for a better future
Wanthaya. Hello and welcome. The Buurabalayji Thalanyji Aboriginal Corporation (BTAC) is the Registered Native Title Body Corporate (RNTBC) for the Thalanyji People. Our primary purpose is to represent, protect and support the interests of the Thalanyji People.
BTAC was formed in 2008, after the Thalanyji People received native title determination over 11,120 square kilometres of land in and around Onslow Western Australia. Our focus is on managing native title and enabling support for Thalanyji members in the areas of social, economic and cultural development.
Together with the Thalanyji Advisory Council, we are working towards the Thalanyji People’s vision:
We dream of a future where our identity remains strong, we are increasingly self-reliant and in charge of our own destiny, and we can all lead secure and comfortable lives.
Thalanyji Country
Thalanyji Country spreads out across the Ashburton River coastal plain south to Tubridji Point, then across to Yannarie River and upstream to Emu Creek, across the range hills of southwest Pilbara to Henry River and Cane River in the north. Thalanyji People have lived on Country from the Creation – from time immemorial. In Thalanyji culture, everything is interconnected –people, animals, plants, ancestors, creation beings, waterways, the sea, the sky, the earth, the wind and the rain.
“Everything, even our names, is connected to our culture. We all have Thalanyji names, given to us by our Elders, that are connected with weather patterns and water.”
– Glenys Hayes, traditional owner
Native title
The Thalanyji are land and sea people who, for thousands of years, have flourished in their homelands. They supported themselves through fishing, hunting and through maintaining their culture and language.
It wasn’t until September 2008 that they received legal recognition as traditional owners of their Country, and were granted native title rights by the Federal Court. Native title was awarded over 11,120 square kilometres of land in the West Pilbara, bringing a sense of recognition and renewed cultural strength. With several claims still undetermined, the native title process is still integral to both the Thalanyji People and BTAC. We continue to work together to reconnect the Thalanyji People to all their traditional lands.
© 2021 Buurabalayji Thalanyji Aboriginal Corporation
We acknowledge the Thalanyji People and the Whadjuk Noongar People as the traditional custodians of the lands on which we operate. We recognise their continued connection to land, waters and culture, and that sovereignty was never ceded. We pay our respects to our and their Elders past, present and future, and extend that respect to all First Nations people across the nation.