Utopia Northern Territory Health

Writ large in orange letters across Amelia Kunoth Monks black T-shirt is a declaration: I am not the problem.

Utopias problem, as she sees it, is neglect. And by the Northern Territory Chief Ministers own admission, this is one of the most underserviced Aboriginal communities in the country.

But in the same breath that Amelia describes her desert homeland as a third world country in a first world country, she talks about its disarming beauty and, as if on queue, a herd of brumbies gather in the shade of the eucalypts by the edge of the waterhole.

Walking along the road littered with the bodies of animals and cars, 19-year-old Esiah stoops down to check his reflection in the side-view mirror of an upturned Commodore. Today hes rocking a pair of aviators.

Esiah works as a teachers aide to provide for his family of 20. If he has money left over he spends it shopping online and when the clothes arrive, he takes selfies then posts them to Instagram.

I hunt for kangaroos and goanna, echidna and unga, which is emu. In one hand is a spear [he whittles all of his own tools] and in his other hand is a smartphone. He uses a rifle for roos.

I was taken from Utopia when I was 10. Im Stolen Generation.

We were filling up billycans with water when the Land Rover come up. I tried to run, but he chased me and caught me.

I was sent to a farm in Victoria. It was hard: me going to live with white people. A lot of things still hurt from that time when I was taken away.

Painting and gathering traditional bush tucker
help Barbara heal.

Chansey Paech is one of only six Indigenous politicians who make up 25 members of the NT Government. Utopia falls under his electorate.

Too often, decisions are made in Darwin or in Canberra and theyre not reflective of what people want out on the land. [Traditional owners] need to be involved in actually doing the work.

Its hard for non-indigenous Australians to understand when we talk about connection to country. Some people can relate to it when you get homesick but you have to magnify it 100 times, that's the feeling of country.