This morning I watched this powerful mini-documentary on Al-Jazeera called “Aurukun: Mining For A Future“. Filmmakers Nick Ahlmark and Nicole Precel (@Storytime_Films) examine the lives, challenges and opportunities of some of the Wik tribe living in the  Indigenous community Aurukun in far northern Queensland.

The documentary follows Gina Castelain, CEO of Wik Projects, an aboriginal businesswoman from Aurukun who is trying to make a meaningful difference in her community by providing skills and economic opportunities for them.

I’m not sure when it was filmed, but it looks like the Aurukun mine they are talking about didn’t happen, which is a great shame, as it appeared to be a chance for the Aurukun community to re-build their economic base.

Another interesting follow-up to their brief comments about the poor state of schooling in Aurukun is this puff piece in the Cairns.com.au (beware – it’s a Murdoch site) from June 28 claiming that Aurukun was one of the far north QLD schools to get “top marks”. I say it’s a puff piece because it doesn’t have any balancing opinions in the story.

Anyway, it’s a great documentary, worth 25 minutes of your time.