Singer Antony Hegarty (L) poses with Aboriginal artists in front of the painting 'Kalyu', meaning water, at Sydney's Museum of Contemporary Art on June 22, 2015. The Aboriginal group is protesting a proposed uranium mine on their land in Australia's remote far northwest on the edge of the Great Sandy Desert. Hegarty, best known for his work with Antony and the Johnsons, said he supported the protest and that environmental issues were a global problem.AFP PHOTO / Saeed KHAN (Photo credit should read SAEED KHAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Anohni Is Walking Across The Western Australia Desert In Protest Of Uranium Mines

Lauren Ziegler

Having just performed in Sydney for Vivid Live, Anohni has now embarked on a ten-day trek across the West Australian desert in protest of the uranium mines. She will be taking on the 177 kilometre journey along wish more than one hundred Martu people.

The protest comes against Cameco and Mitsubishi, who are planning to build the mining site inside Karlamilyi national park, an important landmark for Pilbara’s Martu people. In 2013, she visited Parnngurr in Western Australia to stand with the Martu people against the world’s supposedly second largest uranium mine which was to be built within their community’s immediate periphery.

ANOHNI TO JOIN WALK 180 KM ACROSS WESTERN AUSTRALIAN DESERT WITH THE MARTU PEOPLE TO SUPPORT FIGHT AGAINST URANIUM MINE “In 2 days time, I am joining my Martu friends Nola and Curtis Taylor, over 100 other people from Parnngurr and neighboring communities, and other supporters from around the country on an 8 day, 180 Km protest walk from their remote community to the site of Mitsubishi and Cameco’s proposed open cart uranium mine in the Western Australian Desert. The proposed Kintyre mine is on their traditional lands and a threat to their well-being, as well as being gouged out of Karlamilyi National Park. Curtis and I did a piece about it on National Indigenous Television network today.” – Anohni image of Martu artist Ngalangka Nola Curtis http://www.ccwa.org.au/kintyre #martupeople #martumob #uraniummine #indigenousrights #protest #corporatecorruption #karlamilyi #mitsubishi #camecocorporation #parnngurr

A photo posted by ANOHNI (@anohni) on

In June 2015, she spoke with The Guardian about spending ten days with the Martu people. At one point, she mentioned a poignant conversation between her and one of the locals: “One night I was discussing spirituality with one of the Martu artists. I asked her where she thought people went when they died and she said gently, ‘back to country’. It was so meaningful to me. Raised Catholic, I was taught that when I died nature would expunge my spirit and I would be returned to some paradise in the sky or in another dimension, never to return to this place. But what my Martu teacher suggested to me was that we remain a part of nature in some form, forever. Is that perhaps why Indigenous people traditionally stepped so lightly and carefully on the land, with such consideration and respect, knowing that it was their home now and forever?”

Since spending time with the Martu people in 2013, Anohni has been a frequent advocate and fundraiser on their behalf, including donations from concert proceeds and raising awareness through interviews.

Image: Anohni with Aboriginal artists at the MCA. Saeed Khan / Getty Images

Originally published in Indie News