firstmetLydiainByronBay,atFolk,a caféwedgedbetweenwetlandsanda
caravanparkonverysacredIndigenousland.Atthetime,shewastheco-CEO
andexecutiveproducerofIlbijerriTheatreCompany,oneofAustralia’sleading
companiesshowcasingtheworkofFirstNationsartists,whereshehasfosteredin
a neweraofmaturityfortheorganisationduringa periodofgrowingawareness—
maybeevenawakening—ofthebroaderAustralianculturetotherichnessof
ourFirstNationspeople’straditionsandvoices.Lydiahaslivedmanylivesin
thisonelife.Sheisa Worimiwoman,bornonBundjalungcountry,nowliving
betweentheKulinnationsandGubbiGubbicountry.Fromexperiencingtrauma
inearlylifetoanart-filled,soulfuladultlifeasa mother,producer,executive,
singer/songwriterandcustodianofancientwisdom,Lydiaistheembodiment
ofcompassionateresilience.Amongstthemanythingsthatmovedmewhen
wefirstmetwasheruniquecapacitytobridgethetraumathattheIndigenous
communityexperienceswitha hopeful,indeedjoyfulvisionofthefuture.
Forme,growingupinthe’80sand’90sinMelbourne,Australia,theancient
cultureofthislandwasinvisibleintheurbanlandscape.Wewerenevertaught
ANYTHINGaboutFirstNationspeopleatschool.Myonlyconnectionwas
athomewhenmymumreadmeTheRainbowSerpent, a Dreamtimestory
aboutGoorialla,theRainbowSerpentandtheRainbowLorikeetbrothers.
Itwasoneofmyfavouritebooks,andsomewhere,deepinmypsyche,the
IndigenouscultureofthecountryI wasbornon/to,feltstrongandvibrant
andbeautiful.ThedecimationthatI thoughtwasinthepastwasverymuch
aliveandpresent.Itwasn’tuntilmytwentiesthatI knewabouttheSonglines,
andmythirtiesthatI knewtherewasanIndigenousmapofAustralia.
WhenI sawitI cried.Shockedbythelostopportunitiesforknowledgeand
connection,I’vebeenplayingcatch-upsincewithmyowninheritedcultural
biasesandtheemerging,powerfulculturalshifttohonouringtheIndigenous
peopleofthisland,andinsodoing,slowlyrestoringourcollectivedignity.
Proximitychangeseverything.ThatdayatFolk,I meta fellowtraveller,
acherished friend and a great teacher. Lydia’s vision is one where the elevation
of the Indigenous voice informs the broader culture in a mutually-enriching
exchange which she tells me some First Peoples refer to as “two-way-
strong.” In a world swirling with identity politics, this concept is profoundly
healing—the idea that maybe we belong to each other. Lydia reminds us that
in Indigenous tradition we must care for country, and that we are country.
So if we are one with the earth, then we are inextricably bound to a loving
interdependence, a dance of wholeness and belonging that we have forgotten
but which Indigenous cultures around the world can teach us, remind us and
bring us back to. It feels to me that if we are to re-make the world to live within
the bounds of the ecology and towards human flourishing, we must cherish
ancient wisdom traditions and place them at the heart of our collective story.