The land gave birth to our languages; language and culture are inseparable. And yet, languages have been and continue to be stolen, with all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages currently under threat.

When the theme for this year’s NAIDOC Week was announced, I was over the moon. Having a keen interest in language and linguistics, I feel that the “Our Languages Matter” NAIDOC theme is a perfect avenue to celebrate the history, culture and achievements of our mob.

I am from both the Bardi and Gija peoples of the Kimberley. My mother, her mother, and all my mothers before her were Aboriginal women. I am the product of past polices and practices, but also of love and reconciliation. I grew up all over Australia. My family never really settled and looking back, I think it was the pull between black and white, between my mother’s country in the Kimberley and my Gudiya (non-Aboriginal) father’s place in the Blue Mountains that replicated my own inner turmoil in understanding Aboriginality.