A COUNCIL of Yolngu leaders has entrusted Indigenous activist Noel Pearson with a special message: take our support for a First Nations voice to Canberra.

The Dilak Council, made up of senior cultural leaders of 13 clan groups from northeast Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory, handed Mr Pearson a message stick at the Garma Festival on Sunday. 

“Take our voice straight to Canberra, so our voice will be heard,” Balupalu Yunupingu said. 

Garma is an annual four-day Aboriginal cultural festival, staged on Gumatj Country by the Yothu Yindi Foundation. 

Mr Pearson, a community leader from Cape York, accepted the message stick on behalf of Yes23, which is campaigning for a successful referendum to enshrine…