My name is Gadrian Jaywijalmar Hoosan. I’m a Garrawa man from Sandridge outstation near Borroloola and I speak my Garrawa language.  I was born in 1976 in Old Darwin Hospital  I am the lead singer of the Sandridge band, which we started in 1995. Our songs are about our land and we use our traditional language and stories with modern music, a mix of reggae, ska and jazz – whatever can entertain the people. I carry the culture for my grandfather and I am a community leader for our future. 

I work hard to protect our land, which is under attack from mining companies.  We have dreaming sites, sacred sites, songlines which are like our maps, and so many stories. Our people still rely on this land for our food as well: we go hunting, fishing, and we collect all kinds of bush tucker. I believe that the land is the most important thing for Indigenous people. We need the land for the young generation coming up behind us. We feel pressure coming on our land and so we need to put our foot down.  

The government and mining companies need to know that we are going to fight to protect it, for future generations both black and white. My elders in the community, and my ancestors. When the white people came to this country, we had our own autonomy. We had our own laws and our leaders. Our ancestors went through so much, a history of being treated cruelly, or shot. But our ancestors have kept this culture alive, and now our elders they pass it on to our kids. If we lose that, we are nothing. There are two laws in this country – Aboriginal and the government law. I hope they learn to respect our law. I get a lot of hope from the fact that a lot of white brothers and sisters are fighting with us – this is what I call the real Australia.