Ghillar Michael Anderson facts for kids

First day of the Aboriginal Tent Embassy outside Parliament House in Canberra on 17 January 1972. Left to right: Billy Craigie, Bert Williams, Ghillar Michael Anderson and Tony Coorey.

Ghillar Michael Anderson (born in 1951) is an important Aboriginal Elder and a leader from Goodooga, New South Wales, Australia. An Elder is a respected older person in an Aboriginal community who holds special knowledge and wisdom. Michael Anderson is known for working to improve the rights and lives of Aboriginal people.

In 1972, he was one of four men who started the Aboriginal Tent Embassy in Canberra. This was a peaceful protest to ask for Aboriginal people to have their land rights recognized. Land rights mean that Aboriginal people should have control over their traditional lands. Michael Anderson later became a main leader, or "High Commissioner," of this embassy.

He has also worked with scientists on the Australian Aboriginal Astronomy Project. He helped share and record the traditional star knowledge of Aboriginal people. This includes understanding the "Emu in the sky" – a way of seeing ancestral figures in the dark spaces between stars in the Milky Way. This idea inspired the book Dark Emu.

Michael Anderson was featured in a film about Aboriginal astronomy. This film was shown widely, even in schools, to teach people about this special knowledge. He has also worked with the UN (United Nations) in Geneva. There, he helped discuss how to return important cultural items to their original communities.

In 2013, Michael Anderson and other leaders declared a new republic in Dirranbandi, Queensland. He was chosen as the head of this new nation and informed Queen Elizabeth II about it.

Awards and Honours

Asteroid Named After Him

In June 2021, an asteroid was named 10040 Ghillar in honour of Michael Anderson. An asteroid is a small rocky object that orbits the Sun. This asteroid was found by a Czech astronomer in 1984.

The award recognized Michael Anderson as an Aboriginal Elder and a Senior Law Man. He is a leader of the Euahlayi people, who live in areas of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland. The award also noted that he has shared his deep knowledge about Kamilaroi and Euahlayi astronomy. He has even written several scientific papers on this topic.