The program will preserve important cultural history and enable it to be shared around the community in the local Bardi language.

"It's important to do this because when our old people pass on we will have the story, a record we can keep," says Sampi, 27. "It's important to document our knowledge and history for the Bardi Jawi tribe of Western Australia."

The project continues a rich tradition of grassroots indigenous program making, which dates back to the 1980s when unlicensed "pirate" TV stations started operating in the desert communities of Yuendumu and Ernabella, making and showing recordings of local people, events and practices.

It's a tradition indigenous broadcasters fear may not survive much longer. Threatening it is the national switchover from analog to digital broadcasting, which began this year and is scheduled to reach remote parts of Australia in late 2013.