“Non-Indigenous mob have to learn to respect us people on the land in terms of our culture and other practices”

Kuuku I’yu Medicinal Plants Project

Uncha (Dodonaea polyandra) in flower, Photo: N Smith

Kuuku I’yu Northern Kaanju Traditional Custodians living on homelands at Chuulangun possess a broad and detailed knowledge of the ecology of the environment. Particularly, we have detailed knowledge of medicinal plants, including the oils and resins derived from the leaves, bark, fruit, seeds and roots of woody plants. These resources play an important role in our spiritual and physical health and well-being at the local level.

Our vast knowledge of medicinal plants, plant products and food plants has been accumulated by particular Kuuku I’yu Northern Kaanju individuals via ‘diachronic’ observations of the environment and passed down through bloodline from generation to generation to the current generation of Northern Kaanju custodians and managers living on Ngaachi.

This project has two main aims:

1. To investigate the novel pharmacological actions and chemical compounds of plant species used as traditional medicines from an area of high biodiversity, the Kuuku I’yu Northern Kaanju Ngaachi centred on the Wenlock and Pascoe Rivers.
2. To facilitate the preservation and transfer of cultural knowledge about these plants among core Northern Kaanju families living on Ngaachi.

Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation initiated this project in 2003 and since then we have developed a strong collaborative relationship with scientists at the University of South Australia (UniSA). With these scientists we developed a project titled: “Pharmacological investigation of medicinal plant products from Kaanju Homelands, Wenlock and Pascoe Rivers, Cape York Peninsula” which was submitted to the Australian Research Council (ARC) and approved in late 2005. Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation was a Partner Investigator with the UniSA on the ARC Linkage Project which was funded from 2006 to 2008.

Plant medicine traditional extraction method. Photo: N. Smith

This project was the first in-depth Western scientific evaluation of the pharmacology of plant medicines from this region of Cape York and has provided information to assist in the sustainable development of products based on Northern Kaanju medicinal plants. The project serves as a model for equitable partnerships between Indigenous and Western scientific researchers in the investigation of traditional medicinal plant knowledge.

Importantly, Indigenous participation in the project has involved the input of valuable intellectual property in the form of traditional knowledge about medicinal plants, plant products and their properties. This pre-existing traditional intellectual property (IP) has been fully acknowledged in the allocation of any new intellectual property generated through the project activity. A Collaborative Research Agreement between the UniSA and the Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation was developed and executed with the aim to protect the IP rights, including the ‘Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property Rights’, of Indigenous participants in the project.

In 2012 this collaboration extended to include ITEK (the technology commercialisation company of the UniSA) and the Flinders University. The collaboration received a number of accolades including an Honourable Mention at the Business and Higher Education Round Table (B-HERT) Awards 2013. In 2015 collaboration was further extended to include scientists from the University of Copenhagan. 

A number of plant species selected for laboratory testing demonstrated activites that reflect the traditional understanding of the plants. One of the plant species investigated was uncha (Dodonaea polyandra, Sapindaceae) used for medicinal purposes by particular Kuuku I’yu Traditional Custodians. Knowledge about the plant is passed down from generation to generation through the patrilineal bloodline. Traditionally, uncha is used to decrease pain and discomfort in the mouth from toothache and infection. See: Developing Aboriginal Medicines to Fight Inflammation.

The research team extracted and examined samples of the uncha plant, discovering unique anti-inflammatory properties. They used traditional knowledge for harvesting techniques, locations, and seasons. A patent for these compounds was granted to UniSA and the Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation, with a key Kuuku I’yu Northern Kaanju ancestor named as an inventor. The team is also investigating other food and medicinal plants.

Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation and UniSA’s collaborative research projects have been the subject of a number of publications, notably, the book chapter: “Ancient but new: developing locally driven enterprises based on traditional medicines in Kuuku I’yu Northern Kaanju Homelands, Cape York, Queensland, Australia“.

In 2021, project leaders Traditional Custodian and Chuulangun Chairperson David Claudie and Dr Susan Semple from the Quality Use of Medicines and Pharmacy Research Centre, UniSA, were invited to present at the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) on the project’s IP and patent protections for Indigenous knowledge. The presentation can be accessed here: Experiences with the Patent System – A Collaborative Approach.

For further details about Chuulangun Aboriginal Corporation’s traditional medicine and food plants projects contact the corporation at chuula@kaanjungaachi.com.au.