To mark this year’s NAIDOC Week theme, “Keep the Fire Burning! Blak, Loud and Proud,” we’re highlighting First Nations people who are shining a light on their experiences with disability.
At turns funny, heartwarming, and galvanizing, these stories are important contributions to the narratives of disability and advocacy in Australia.
NAIDOC Week is a nationwide celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Held every year in the first week of July, it’s an opportunity for all Australians to learn and participate in celebrations of the oldest, continuous living cultures on earth.
Me, Antman & Fleabag by Gayle Kennedy
Me, Antman & Fleabag is a cracking road trip in novel form, with country music turned all the way up.
Though it’s mostly fictional, the chapter “Me, Antman & Fleabag hook up” details Gayle Kennedy’s own experience of being hospitalised as a child with polio, and being away from her family, culture, and Country for long stretches of time.
Amidst the warmth, humour and love that fill the pages of this book, the chapter is an evocative chronicle of the experiences of a First Nations person with disability.
It sums up, as the book’s introduction writes, “elements of experience that are true for many Aboriginal people, such as becoming disconnected from family and Country, and also reconnecting with family and Country, the sense of loss and isolation because of colonisation, and the importance of friendship and humour to assist healing.”
Gayle doesn’t give you much time to be down though, because she picks you right back up again with comedic tales of eccentric aunties and big-hearted friends.
Gayle is a proud member of the Wongaiibon Clan of south-west NSW, and she currently lives in Sydney. She has written and spoken internationally on her experience with disability.
This year, “Me, Antman & Fleabag” was republished by the University of Queensland Press in The First Nations Classics: Series 2.
Yarning Disability Podcast
Yarning Disability is a podcast by The First Peoples Disability Network (FPDN), hosted by FPDN Advocate Bernard Namok. Each episode highlights the lived experiences of First Nations peoples with a disability, their families and carers, and other disability industry professionals.
Listen to the stories of Gomoroi and Tattoo Artist Mat Fink, whose ‘Spicy Brain’ is the way he describes his recent diagnosis of adult ADHD and Autism. Or hear from Aunty June Riemer, a proud Gumbaynggirr and Dunghutti woman from the north coast of New South Wales, who’s been working in the national disability sector for over 40 years.
This podcast launched in 2023 and is the first of its kind dedicated to the stories and voices of First Peoples living with a disability in Australia.
FPDN is a national organisation working to ensure that the voices of First Peoples with a disability are heard. Officially established in 2014, it’s an organisation built on the efforts of advocates who have been working since the 1980s to bring attention to the specific needs of First Peoples with disability and their families.
About the artwork
This winner of the 2024 National NAIDOC Week poster competition is “Urapun Muy” by Deb Belyea, a Samuawgadhalgal artist and educator from the Torres Strait.
Artist’s statement:
“Urapun Muy, from the Kalaw Kawaw Ya dialect of the Top Western Islands of the Torres Strait, means ‘One Fire’. The title of this work pays homage to Torres Strait Islanders and Aboriginal people everywhere, as we all have that one fire: our passion for our culture.
In this work, I have depicted the hands of our ancestors that have carefully dropped a burning ember on to a fire. This ember burns hot with intensity, stoking the flames, as it combines with the new fire. The linear detail shows the energy and power as cultural knowledge is transferred from our ancestors to us today. Culture is the fire that gives us knowledge, wisdom and purpose. It is our responsibility to maintain, practice, and pass on our fire to our future generations.
Afterall, Culture keeps us Blak, Loud and Proud.”
Attribution: The 2024 National NAIDOC Poster incorporating the Aboriginal Flag and the Torres Strait Islander Flag (licensed by the Torres Strait Island Council).
