Plant Use in the Channel Country: Community-led Ethnobotany on Mithaka Country, southwest Queensland
Tracks
Tully 2
| Monday, July 27, 2026 |
| 4:45 PM - 5:00 PM |
Speaker
Miss Samantha Blinco
University of Queensland
Plant Use in the Channel Country: Community-led Ethnobotany on Mithaka Country, southwest Queensland
ISE Congress 2026 Abstract
Mithaka Country is located at Kirrenderri, the heart of the Channel Country of south west Queensland. Our land encompasses 33,800 square kilometres and consists of flood plains, gibber rock, spinifex, sandhills and creek channels. Due to this diverse range of landscapes, there are many different types of flora and fauna, in particular important medicine, ceremonial and food plants. There is a long history of ethnobotany on Mithaka Country via historical memoirs by Alice Duncan Kemp. Growing up with Mithaka people at Mooraberrie Station in the 1910’s, she was able to record her experiences and knowledge about the native plant use. This project aims to further that recorded plant knowledge through Mithaka-led interviews of our knowledge holders and Elders, braiding Indigenous and Western scientific techniques of gathering stories from before, during and after colonisation. This paper aims to reflect on the preliminary stories we have gathered and share our plans for the future. In collaboration with archaeologists, graphic designers and app developers, with time there are aims to produce information packages and a foraging book that is useful for Mithaka people, enabling us to collate and share our stories with future generations.
Biography
Sam Blinco is an undergraduate ecology student and research assistant at the University of Queensland, as well as a member of the board of directors for Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation. She is leading an ethnobotany project on her Country to collect plant knowledge from Mithaka Elders and knowledge holders.