One report, 33 recommendations, but Kumanjayi Walker inquest findings draw on two centuries of pain

Northern Territory coroner, Elisabeth Armitage, walks past the family of Kumanjayi Walker to deliver her findings into his death in Yuendumu. Photograph: Blake Sharp-Wiggins/The Guardian

The moment coroner Elisabeth Armitage finished speaking about Kumanjayi Walker’s death in Yuendumu, nobody seemed to know what to do.

There was a silence, an air of uncertainty. Some people gave a few short claps, including a young boy, before realising this was not an occasion for applause.