Central Australia's peak organisation representing local Indigenous people says the federal opposition's new shadow minister for Indigenous Australians, Jacinta Nampijinpa Price, "neither speaks for them nor listens to them".
The Central Land Council (CLC) issued a joint statement following a meeting this week at Atitjere (Harts Range) where it strongly rejected Senator Price's political positions, said its members were "sick of [her] continued attacks on land councils and other peak Aboriginal organisations" and said "she needs to stop pretending we are her people".
The CLC is comprised of 90 traditional owners across Central Australia elected by communities to represent them and their land.
Senator Price, a Warlpiri woman, is a Country Liberal Party senator that sits with the National Party in federal parliament.
"We are tired of her playing politics with the grassroots organisations our old people have built to advocate for our rights and interests," CLC deputy chair Warren Williams said.
"Her people are the non-Aboriginal conservatives and the Canberra elite to which she wants to belong.
"We have many good men and women who are trying hard to make our communities better places, who are desperate to be heard, and Senator Price's divisive approach isn't helping."
Lajamanu community leader Valerie Patterson said members had "never seen her on communities".
"She needs to get down to the grassroots and find out the truth, not just speak with to (sic) the few people who will talk to her," she said.
"We don't want Senator Price to speak for us because she has been misrepresenting us, and telling lots of lies about us. And we've got our own voice."
Earlier this week Opposition Leader Peter Dutton promoted Senator Price to the role of shadow minister for Indigenous Australians following the resignation of Julian Leeser, who quit the role in order to campaign in support of the Voice and against the Coalition's platform.
Her promotion came days after Mr Dutton's headline-grabbing visit to Alice Springs where he spoke alongside Senator Price and claimed local Indigenous children were being returned to their abusers.
Neither Senator Price or the opposition leader have produced evidence backing their claims amid calls from the federal government, NT government and the Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care (SNAICC) to do so.
The CLC said Senator Price had been "generalising about Aboriginal people without any evidence and authority".
"Our kids are the apples of our eyes," Mr Williams said.
"We are not abusers. We love our children. We'd like to know where she got her information from. It is mandatory to report such evidence to the authorities.
"We can do without self-appointed lone crusaders who are unable to bring people of good will together."
The CLC also said Senator Price, who does not support the Voice to Parliament, was misrepresenting support for the Voice within Aboriginal communities.
Senator Price has said the Voice to Parliament itself is "divisive", "unfair" and a "dangerous threat to our democracy".
She has, however, come out in favour of "local and regional voices".
The CLC has now come out in support of the Voice to Parliament.
"I am a Warlpiri woman and I will vote yes because I believe that having the right to be heard by the parliament and the government will open a door for our children," Ms Patterson said.
"Senator Price should support us, not tell lies about us.
"There's a lot of people who think the same thing. We want to go ahead with it. We will probably never have that chance again."
Senator Price declined to comment.
