June E Barker

June E Barker, Aboriginal Storyteller, Cultural Educator and Tribal Elder

June Barker, indigenous storyteller, cultural educator and Elder, in Lightning Ridge, a town in Northwestern New South Wales, works in many far-flung areas of outback NSW. She travels around schools and community groups, educating children and others about the history and culture of indigenous Australia. June is a cultural advisor to the people in her area and her interest is in preserving and passing on the stories, containing the life lessons and values, which are embedded in them, before they are lost.

June is a popular storyteller, much in demand for Festivals and for educational institutions around Australia. Many of the stories she tells, relate closely to the area in which she lives.

Her concern is; the storyteller is missing in our mass media today, and the messages we are receiving via the media are not grounded in simple truths. As a result, society is seeking solutions from sources, which cannot provide the answers people need. She believes the answers to many of the questions being asked, lie in the truths passed on in the indigenous stories, she tells.