8.11 Shawnee Gorringe, QLD Shawnee Gorringe is a Mithaka woman and member of the Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation (QLD). At the time of her interview, Shawnee was also in a paid role at the Mithaka Aboriginal Corporation. The Mithaka native title determination was handed down in 2015.77 Mithaka Country is made up of mostly pastoralists, gas exploration and mining, meaning there is a significant amount of negotiating with third parties as part of their management of Country. The Mithaka native title claim group was comprised of an equal mix of both men and women, and involved Shawnee’s grandad, his siblings, and his wider family. Shawnee recalled that it was probably her aunt who was the driving force behind the claim, and that there has always been a strong presence of Boss Ladies in the family and community who fought that long battle. Shawnee described how the original pastoralist, Duncan-Kemp, and his family, were particularly sympathetic to the local Aboriginal people. The pastoralist’s wife was passionate about ‘looking after their people’ who lived and worked on the station, including Shawnee’s great grandad Bill Gorringe, a renowned stockman. The pastoralist’s daughter, Alice Duncan-Kemp, spent considerable time with the Mithaka people and recorded a lot about what she observed and researched. Shawnee noted that Alice’s information had assisted them with their native title claim. She also noted, however, that a subsequent book by Alan Pike about Mithaka women’s business, which was based on Alice’s research, inevitably did not include some of the more significant information which Alice would not have been privy to. Shawnee emphasised that the positive relationship between the pastoralist’s family and the Mithaka people continues with his descendants, even today. Shawnee spoke of her community’s experience collating evidence for the Mithaka native title claim and its impact on the preservation of her community’s cultural knowledge. In Shawnee’s experience, the anthropological reports preferred written documentation over what ‘living Elders had to say’, creating challenges for her community who lacked evidence from the outset. Moreover, information was drawn from sources authored by non‑Indigenous men and was therefore limited in its capacity to capture women’s culture and knowledge. Shawnee also highlighted how during the pre-determination phase, and now the post‑determination phase, the Mithaka people have had a mostly positive experience with companies and property owners with vested interests in the determination area. Nonetheless, misinformation concerning the implications of native title rights has at times created mistrust and uncertainty which they have largely overcome through relationship-building over time. Shawnee explained that after six years of post‑determination negotiations, a lot of work between the PBC and the community to come to an understanding, and a lot of research, the PBC has formed many positive external relationships and is in a good place. 88 Women in Native Title: Native Title Report 2024