A father and son team are behind a new independent, tribal lore enforcement program that has been introduced in the north-west region of New South Wales.
Muruwarri and Budjiiti man Bruce Shillingsworth Senior and his son Bruce Shillingsworth Junior are at the helm of the new system as Lore Enforcement Officers.
They travel between Engonnia and Bourke to provide community intervention with their cultural and social knowledge.
Uncle Shillingsworth Snr said the lore enforcement was the idea of Indigenous elders in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"COVID hit our communities and I think a lot of our mob have suffered especially with the police, the COVID laws and regulation that affected our mob," he said.
"I think a lot of our mob suffered and struggled and there was a lot of grievance so [the elders] came together as a strategy to deal with a lot of those issues and I think they've come out with a great initiative.
"They said, 'Well, now we need to start looking after ourselves, so let's start making our own rules, and controlling our own communities and our mob."
He said lore has been passed down since the beginning of time in his community.
"We have our practices throughout our lifetime, and we've brought it through our storytelling, our dance and music.
"Through that, we passed down lore to future generations including our totem system, the way we marry, the way we react to each other, the way we respect our neighbours and the way we deal with each other in times of conflict."
Attending disputes
As a Lore Enforcement Officer in Engonnia, Bruce Shillingsworth Junior is unarmed and drives to help the community in a lore enforcement-labelled vehicle.
He says he has been keeping an eye on the flora and fauna as well as attending disputes.
"We're in early intervention, meaning that we see the subtle indicators or characteristics in, for example, domestic violence.
"We know what the contributors are, so we go in there and we deal with those before it gets to a point where there's a need for more extreme intervention."
"It saves the taxpayers a lot of money, as well as giving the community the opportunity to address their issues."
Bruce Shillingsworth Snr says it's a chance for community and police services to come together.
"For so long we have been doing things separate but I think it's time that we come together and start exchanging a lot of wisdom, and the knowledge and how we practise dealing with people," he said.
He said the lore enforcement system would also benefit younger people in the community.
"We're educating our kids around respect and bringing back the old lore, because the problem with a lot of our young children now is that they've lost their identity, so we go back to teaching them.
"It's about empowerment. It's about they're looking up to role models because one day they might want to become a policeman one day or an ambulance officer."
The Lore Enforcement team plans to buy a second vehicle to be used as a community ambulance in the near future.
