Kado Muir is an

Australian Aboriginal Aboriginal Australians are the various Indigenous peoples of the Australian mainland and many of its islands, such as Tasmania, Fraser Island, Hinchinbrook Island, the Tiwi Islands, and Groote Eylandt, but excluding the Torres Strait Islands ...

artist,

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

, and

Indigenous rights Indigenous rights are those rights that exist in recognition of the specific condition of the Indigenous peoples. This includes not only the most basic human rights of physical survival and integrity, but also the rights over their land (includ ...

activist in

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

Early life and family

Muir's father was dogger Peter Muir, who gave the important

sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

and archaeological site Serpent's Glen, in the

Little Sandy Desert The Little Sandy Desert (LSD) is a desert region in the state of Western Australia, lying to the east of the Pilbara and north of the Gascoyne regions. It is part of the Western Desert cultural region, and was declared an interim Australian ...

, its name. Muir spent 16 months in the area around the Carnarvon Ranges (also known as Katjarra) in 1962 , and gave the first written account of the

rock art In archaeology, rock art is human-made markings placed on natural surfaces, typically vertical stone surfaces. A high proportion of surviving historic and prehistoric rock art is found in caves or partly enclosed rock shelters; this type also ...

at Serpent's Glen, now known as Karnatukul. He also named Billycan Spring. He married Daisy, an Aboriginal woman, and had sons Talbot and Kado.

Traditional owner

Muir is a Ngalia

traditional owner Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

, holder of cultural knowledge and of the Mantjiltjara language, and of the country to the northwest of Leonora. He is an applicant on the Mantjintjarra Ngalia peoples native title claim in the Goldfields region.

Advocacy

He is a fierce advocate for the rights of

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...

land rights Land law is the form of law that deals with the rights to use, alienate, or exclude others from land. In many jurisdictions, these kinds of property are referred to as real estate or real property, as distinct from personal property. Land use ...

, protecting heritage, and recognising the value of traditional knowledge and cultural expression, and has researched and published on Australian Aboriginal heritage and native title. In July 2021 told the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (EMRIP), in a meeting presided over by current chair Megan Davis, that the

Australian Government The Australian Government, also known as the Commonwealth Government, is the national government of Australia, a federal parliamentary constitutional monarchy. Like other Westminster-style systems of government, the Australian Government i ...

had not been doing enough to protect Aboriginal heritage, and that the draft Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Bill (which would supersede WA's ''

Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972 The ''Aboriginal Heritage Act 1972'' (AHA) is a law in the state of Western Australia governing the protection of Aboriginal cultural sites, which is as of 2022 being superseded by the '' Aboriginal Cultural Heritage Act 2021'' (ACH Act). The ...

'' still allowed the Minister of Aboriginal Affairs to override the wishes of traditional owners. He has written several articles about the destruction of

Juukan Gorge Juukan Gorge is a gorge in the Hamersley Range in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, about from Mt Tom Price. It was named by the daughter of Puutu Kunti Kurrama man Juukan, also known as Tommy Ashburton, who was born at Jukarinya (Mt B ...

for

The Conversation ''The Conversation'' is a 1974 American mystery thriller film written, produced, and directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Cindy Williams, Frederic Forrest, Harrison Ford, Teri Garr, and Rober ...

Art

Muir is an accomplished

visual artist The visual arts are art forms such as painting, drawing, printmaking, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture. Many artistic disciplines such as performing arts, conceptual art, and textile arts al ...

, specialising in

printmaking Printmaking is the process of creating artworks by printing, normally on paper, but also on fabric, wood, metal, and other surfaces. "Traditional printmaking" normally covers only the process of creating prints using a hand processed techniq ...

, and also works on

canvas Canvas is an extremely durable plain-woven fabric used for making sails, tents, marquees, backpacks, shelters, as a support for oil painting and for other items for which sturdiness is required, as well as in such fashion objects as handbags ...

. In 2018, together with his wife Deeva, Muir painted a mural called ''Reti'' on the wall of

Kalgoorlie Kalgoorlie is a city in the Goldfields–Esperance region of Western Australia, located east-northeast of Perth at the end of the Great Eastern Highway. It is sometimes referred to as Kalgoorlie–Boulder, as the surrounding urban area includ ...

Police Station. Reti (English name Empress Springs) is a significant cultural site in

Great Victoria Desert The Great Victoria Desert is a sparsely populated desert ecoregion and interim Australian bioregion in Western Australia and South Australia. History In 1875, British-born Australian explorer Ernest Giles became the first European to cross th ...

, and is situated on land subject to a native title claim. In 2022 he has led workshops to make rugs made of recycled fabric for a cross-cultural art project called ''Reclaim the Void'', created by Ngalia elders and others under the direction of Muir and Vivienne Robertson. The rugs will be joined together, creating a huge textile artwork depicting the story of the Tjukurrpa of the country where gold mines have been dug, and intended to comment on both the

desecration Desecration is the act of depriving something of its sacred character, or the disrespectful, contemptuous, or destructive treatment of that which is held to be sacred or holy by a group or individual. Detail Many consider acts of desecration to ...

of the land and the

over-consumption Overconsumption describes a situation where a consumer overuses their available goods and services to where they can't, or don't want to, replenish or reuse them. In microeconomics, this may be described as the point where the marginal cost of ...

of society. The work will be displayed in the

Western Australian Museum The Western Australian Museum is a statutory authority within the Culture and the Arts Portfolio, established under the ''Museum Act 1969''. The museum has six main sites. The state museum, now known as WA Museum Boola Bardip, officially re-ope ...

Other roles

He was chairperson of the Tjupan Ngalia Tribal Land Council (an

Aboriginal corporation A Registered Native Title Body Corporate (RNTBC) is a corporation nominated by a group of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people for the purposes of native title in Australia, to represent their native title rights and interests, once that ...

) around or before 2008, and is chair of the

National Native Title Council Native title is the designation given to the common law doctrine of Aboriginal title in Australia, which is the recognition by Australian law that Indigenous Australians (both Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander people) have rights ...

, co-chair of the First National Heritage Protection Alliance and a member of the

steering committee A committee or commission is a body of one or more persons subordinate to a deliberative assembly. A committee is not itself considered to be a form of assembly. Usually, the assembly sends matters into a committee as a way to explore them more ...

of the First Nations Clean Energy Network. he is a director of the Wakamurru Aboriginal Coropration, which represents Manta Rirrtinya Native Title Holders. He is also an advocate of bilingual and "two-way" education in Australia.

Politics

Muir stood as a candidate for the Greens at the

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 6 ...

and 2010 federal elections and the

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

and 2013 state elections. In 2016, he was selected as the

WA Nationals The National Party of Australia (WA) Inc, branded The Nationals WA, is a political party in Western Australia. It is affiliated with the National Party of Australia but maintains a separate structure and identity. Since the 2021 state election ...

' lead senate candidate at the 2016 federal election.(5 May 2016)
"Kado Muir ready to follow Pat Dodson’s Senate lead for Nats"
– ''

The Australian ''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...

''. Retrieved 12 May 2016. His bid was unsuccessful, the Nationals having been overtaken by

Pauline Hanson's One Nation Pauline Hanson's One Nation (PHON or ONP), also known as One Nation or One Nation Party, is a Right-wing populism, right-wing populist List of political parties in Australia, political party in Australia. It is led by Pauline Hanson. One Nat ...

Personal life and family

Muir is married to artist Deeva Muir, who was born in Malaysia and has a

Sri Lankan Tamil Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pr ...

background. Their eldest son Karthi is an actor who trained at the

Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts The Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) at Edith Cowan University (ECU) was established in 1980 to provide performing arts tuition. WAAPA (commonly pronounced "whopp-a") operates as a part of ECU, located at the ECU campus in ...

; his younger brother Kuberan is an artist, as of 2019 in his second year of a degree in photography at

Curtin University Curtin University, formerly known as Curtin University of Technology and Western Australian Institute of Technology (WAIT), is an Australian public research university based in Bentley, Perth, Western Australia. It is named after John Curtin, ...

; and younger sister Ammbigai is also a visual artist.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Muir, Kado Australian Aboriginal artists Living people People from Leonora, Western Australia Australian Greens politicians National Party of Australia politicians Year of birth missing (living people)