To become a traditional Elder, you need to be an Indigenous person, have an ancestral connection to the local region, live there for many decades, hold and pass on sacred cultural knowledge, be a mentor to young people in your community, and be respected by the local Indigenous community for your wisdom.

If we’re talking about, say, Greenbushes lithium mine (oldest and biggest lithium mine in Australia), that’s located on country shared by the Wardani, Kaniyang, and Bibbulmun peoples of the Noongar nation. To be a Wardani, Kaniyang, or Bibbulmun Elder, you’d have to be from that small local area for many generations, and be respected by the local families. You’d have to know all those people by name and be their uncle or auntie. You’d have to be the person they look to when they have a spiritual problem or they need someone to look after their baby.

How’s that gonna attract ruthless [insert ableist slur]