Rickeeta Walley is from a family that helped bring the Welcome to Country into a modern age while protecting millennia old protocols. When her dad Richard Walley was asked to do a Welcome to Country for Harry Styles, he had no idea who that was. The Welcome became a viral sensation and sparked an international discussion about the importance of the Welcome to Country, and creating spiritually safe cultural protocols for guests coming to 'Australia'.
Jack Collard went from being raised in the country, to advocating for First Nations rights at the United Nations. He is the product of two-way learning, navigating academic space and cultural space. Travelling to Indonesia to study International Relations taught Jack about a different measure for happiness, and to value culture and connection over material wealth.
Ilona McGuire uses her art as commentary on the political climate of 'Australia', often with a lighthearted humour as a tool for activism. Ilona has grown up embracing her Noongar and Kungarakan cultures, performing with her Noongar family since a young age. Her culture informs her artwork and promotes valuable messages and brings attention to the political climate. Combining technology with culture, Ilona has worked with drone light shows such as “Moombaki” to centre the importance of place in story, and the power of knowing the significance of an area.
You can’t help others with an empty cup, but how does supporting your own needs first, before you support others really go? Shakara Walley went from working in the arts to working with incarcerated youth. Her journey to supporting herself and creating boundaries as a form of love, has informed her work supporting young people in what healthy relationships look like.
Language revitalisation has been a long and hard journey that continues to be impacted by the ongoing effects of colonisation. Policies such as the White Australia Act forbade First Nations Australians from speaking their languages. Dylan Collard strove to reclaim his connection to Noongar language, not only to deepen his own relationship to culture, but in order to keep the language of Noongar Country alive. Dylan started his language journey in 2017, and is now a fluent speaker and teacher.
Who controls research, and who benefits from it? Across Australia, Indigenous communities have often been the subjects of research rather than actively leading and shaping it. But in Galiwin’ku (Elcho Island), a different approach is taking hold - one built on co-design, mutual respect, and shared knowledge. In this episode, Dr. Sarah Hanieh speaks with Mrs Ruth Gulamanda Dhurrkay, Mr George Garambaka Gurruwiwi and Dr Ros Beadle, who are working together to create and deliver research that is community driven, shaped by cultural knowledge, and focused on real-world impact.
For Yolŋu people, the homelands are more than just a place to live, they are a way of life, deeply connected to country, culture, and identity. While living on country offers a sense of belonging that town life cannot replace, it also comes with challenges - from rough roads and deteriorating houses to unreliable essential services. In this episode, Dr Sarah Hanieh speaks with Margaret Dhorrpuy Munyarryun, who calls the homeland community of Dhambala home. She shares the realities of life in the homelands, the resilience it takes to stay, and why teaching young children about identity and connection is more important than ever.
What happens when a remote island community must build its own dialysis unit to keep families together? In Galiwin’ku, a Yolŋu community on Elcho Island in the Northern Territory, rates of chronic kidney disease are rising, forcing many to leave their homelands for life-saving dialysis treatment—often hundreds of kilometres away. In this episode, Dr Sarah Hanieh speaks with Charlie Yebarrarr Dhamarrandji, a community member undergoing dialysis, and Kat Baxter, a dedicated dialysis nurse from Purple House—an Indigenous-led healthcare service providing dialysis in remote communities. Together, they discuss the profound significance of the new local dialysis unit: what it means for culture, identity, and community.
How do you navigate a future shaped by both tradition and change? For young Yolŋu leaders, the path forward isn’t always clear. Tradition is strong, but modern influences - like social media - are changing the way young people connect with culture, community, and Elders. With these shifts, tough questions arise: What traditions do you hold onto? What do you adapt? And how do you make space for both worlds? In this episode, Zelda Dhamarrandji, a young Yolŋu leader shares her experience of growing up in Galiwin’ku, where cultural knowledge and modern influences intersect. She reflects on the responsibility of carrying forward cultural knowledge, the pressures of the modern world, and what it means to move forward while staying connected to the past.
Western medicine treats the body, but for Yolŋu people, health is something much bigger. Wellbeing is tied to land, kinship, and the natural environment, passed down through generations. This traditional way of looking at health and wellbeing has sustained Yolŋu communities for centuries, but today, it exists alongside Western healthcare. In this episode, Dr. Sarah Hanieh speaks with Marcus Lacey to explore Yolŋu perspectives on health, the vital role of country in healing, and why these traditions remain essential in today’s world.
In this final episode of Guardians of Language and Country, we journey to Western Yalanji Country. Set against the rugged beauty of Far North Queensland’s rivers and freshwater creeks, this episode explores how Western Yalanji people are preserving their language—through teaching on Country, sharing intergenerational knowledge, and embracing new technologies. Brad Grogan from Western Yalanji Aboriginal Corporation shares plans for a language app and a virtual reality project that will allow connection to Country in the digital space. Rangers Lindsay Gore and Nisha Williams offer insights into everyday language use and the vast resource of cultural knowledge elders hold. From snakes interrupting interviews to heartfelt reflections on legacy and learning, this episode is a powerful reminder that language is more than words—it’s identity, connection, and a way home.
In this episode of Guardians of Language and Country host Donnie Johannesen and producer Alden Lyall bring us stories from the Gunggandji on Yarrabah Country, where language is alive in classrooms, on beaches, and through the voices of the next generation. We'll hear from Lynese Hari about how the Gunggandji Aboriginal Corporation is preserving language through school programs, Junior Ranger activities, and how emerging technologies like AI and social media are being used for language learning. Educator Candice Sexton also explains how students are learning to introduce themselves, sing songs, and tell traditional stories—like how the turtle got its nose—in Gunggandji language. Young rangers demonstrate how deeply language is connected to country as they share place names, animal words, and the cultural stories that connect the past and the future.
First Nations stories are rich and diverse, and the world is hungry for them. But when stores are told about, and not with First Nations people, misrepresentation and stereotyping often occur. In this episode we yarn with Noongar Elder Dot West OAM, a leading advocate for the inclusion of First Nations voices in the media. Dot is also a scriptwriter, SBS board member and poet.
Traditional foods or “bush tucker” have seen a resurgence in popularity in recent years. In this episode of Noongar Wellbeing, Ballardong and Whadjuk Elder and author Vivienne ‘Binyaarn’ Hansen shares how Noongar people view food as medicine.
Communication can be an undervalued and underused tool in maintaining wellbeing. It can be rare to find a safe environment to speak openly with others, free of judgement. But you don’t always have to speak to other people. The Country around you can be a great listener.
First Nations people have safely used fire for millennia in unity with the country. Fire is often viewed as something to fear, but it's also a life-giving force. So what does it mean to light your inner fire? In episode two of Noongar Wellbeing, Noongar man and Wilman clan Elder Koodah Cornwall talks about the importance of fire to wellbeing.
We live in a fast-paced world where self-care is glorified and commodified. But there isn’t one journey to wellbeing that works for everyone. Noongar people focus more on community care. So what are some different concepts and methods of achieving wellbeing according to Noongar Elders?
Wellbeing as we know it now has been constructed from a Western perspective, so what does the oldest continuing culture in the world have to say about methods of achieving and maintaining wellbeing?
NITV Radio talks with performer, artist and creative Carly Sheppard as she prepares for her role in the funny, radical and fantastical performance of 'THE BLOK!'.
Murujuga traditional owner and Mardathoonera woman Raelene Cooper says her lawyers have put the Environment Minister on notice that his green lighting of the 40 year extension for the North West Shelf project in the Pilbara.