The second intensive for 2023 Fullaship cohort took place in Mandurah and Perth, Western Australia, on the lands of the Binjareb and Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation, with Fellows travelling from Poruma Island, Townsville, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Darwin.
The first official day of the program began with a beautiful Welcome by Uncle Colin Garlett and Aunty Jenny Garlett at the shared accommodation near the Mandurah estuary. Uncle Colin shared his journey and offered words of wisdom, helping everyone reflect on the Country the Intensive was gathering on and everyone’s individual purpose for being a part of this program, the work Fellows do and what they want for themselves and their communities in the future. Culture is Staff loved witnessing the beautiful connections and relationships made between Elders and young people on these intensives across different Country.
After lunch, ABSTARR staff Oliver Tye (Wardandi Noongar) and Matthew Craig (Bundjalung) facilitated a session on coping strategies, connecting to Country, and staying grounded. The Fellows shared advice and teachings they have learnt from family and Elders, ways they make sure to connect to Country, especially when stressed, in the city or knowing when they need to recharge.
After that session the Fellows travelled to Fremantle to visit Cole Baxter’s studio, where everyone had a fun group photo shoot! Cole Baxter is a Noongar man, born and raised on Whadjuk Noongar Boodjar. In 2023 he played a pivotal photographic role in the multimedia storytelling project Ngaluk Waangkiny, which told the stories of ten Elders from Boorloo (Perth) via a book, podcast and short documentary. We learnt about this project by looking at the book in the studio and it inspired a few of the Fellows to look into similar project ideas for their communities in terms of capturing and documenting stories, ownership of their own stories and how they tell them, and giving back to their communities in this way.
The morning session the next day was led by one of our Programs Officers Madeline Wells (Trawlwoolway/Plangermaireener & Mutti Mutti, Wadi Wadi, Wemba Wemba & Wotjobaluk), with a focus on deep listening and grounding for the Fellows, the group watched a short video on Dadirri, listening to the voice of Dr (Aunty) Miriam-Rose Ungunmerr Baumann AM (Ngan’giwumirri). This led into quiet reflection on what the Fellows values are and then group yarns about each person’s personal development, their ideas for projects or goals to suit what they would like to achieve during this program and beyond.
The Fellows thrived on exchanging thoughts and discussing their next steps. A big part of the program is supporting the Fellows with their growth, goals and ideas in line with the 4 pillars of the program; Pathways, Advocacy, Leadership & Development and Mentoring. Their ideas were diverse, but all with similar purpose and values; looking into copyright and publishing books with control over how they tell their stories and poetry, music and theatre, capturing stories of their community through photography and videos, hosting workshops to empower other women in their community or looking at how to start their own business.
The Fellows sat with Uncle Danny Ford (Noongar with connections to the Wadjuk, Yuet, Ballardong and Wilman clans) who led an inspiring session on advocacy and then to add a fun twist to the end of the day the Fellows started a cooking competition back at the accommodation. As one team prepared dinner, the other team enjoyed art and craft activities.
The next day Fellows travelled to Lake Clifton and were Welcomed by Aunty Kerry Jetta-Stack and Aunty Miranda Davis with a cleansing smoking ceremony using peppermint gum leaves. Fellows learnt about the local history, protocol for visiting that Country and then were guided through how to do what is needed for this gathering. Everyone then shared morning tea which included damper and native teas before getting into some traditional tool making – a first for many!
Once back at the accommodation the second cooking team gathered their ingredients and started to cook up some deadly meals for the judges (Culture is Life staff), while others had free time or did some artwork or weaving that was set up in the living room during the Intensive.
On the final day of the Intensive, those who could brave the cold water started out with a morning swim to farewell Mandurah! All packed and ready, Fellows headed back into Boorloo (Perth) to the UWA (University of Western Australia) campus to visit the Bilya Marlee School of Indigenous Studies. We met up with Donny Imberlong (2022 Fellow), a proud Jaru man and previous UWA student, who drove down to spend the day with us. Here we got to sit down and yarn with Professor (Aunty) Patricia (Pat) Dudgeon AM FAHMS, respected Aboriginal psychologist and Co-Chair of Culture is Life. The meeting room was filled with a library of Aboriginal books from all around Australia, while Fellows and staff waited for Aunty Pat to join them, everyone eagerly flicked through the books to find their families! We then got to spend some time yarning with Aunty Pat, she spoke to the Fellows about her passion for Aboriginal social and emotional wellbeing, sharing her advice on how to achieve your own goals while looking after yourself. Aunty Pat’s work with the Social and Emotional Wellbeing Framework looks at Aboriginal wellbeing with a holistic approach and underpins much of the work Culture is Life does, so it was a special moment for Culture is Life staff and Fellows to connect with a respected Elder who has done so much work in this space. Thank you Aunty Pat for your time and care!
After the Fellows time with Aunty Pat the group went to visit Kaarta Koomba (Kings Park), an important cultural site visited by several Noongar tribes at various times of the year. Here we were Welcomed to Country and taken on a guided cultural tour by Uncle Shane Jacob (Whadjuk), who taught us about the long history of ceremony, celebration and good hunting at Kaarta Koomba. Thr group visited the women’s birthing site and stood under the Gija Jumulu (Giant Boab) which is estimated to be over 750 years old! After saying our goodbyes to Uncle Shane, we closed the intensive with a yarning circle where Fellows and Culture is Life staff and guests shared highlights and feelings on the intensive before heading off to the airport to go home with everyone’s cups and hearts full. Debriefing is such an important part of the Intensives, for the Fellows it’s a chance to process their learnings, how they are feeling, connections made, hopes for the future and give feedback to Culture is Life. Especially visiting significant sites, discussing heavy topics that impact our communities and just being on different Country, it’s such a great way to end their time together before travelling home.
