A storm is brewing above Darwin Harbour. For Erik Fejo, everything in Garramilla, the region now known as Darwin in Australia. He and his Larrakia ancestors have been in relationship with the tidal mud flats, entangled mangroves, savannah woodlands and epic river systems that sprawl through the land like veins for tens of thousands of years.
‘Our Country is like a spider web,’ says Fejo. ‘That spider can feel every movement on that web. It’s the same with us and our Country. We feel it all.’
When Fejo was younger, he would spend every dry season camping, hunting and fishing across the Darwin Harbour at a place called Hooks Camp. Trekking through the bush track, he collected crabs, shellfish and mud whelks – connecting with his Country not only as his ancestors did, but as they expected him to.