My vision is simple and uncompromising: I want our language in every crevice of Goori society
Gumbaynggirr is not just a mode of communication — it is a political system, a legal system, a kinship system, and a worldview. My mission is to build the conditions where our people can meaningfully and realistically live in language again.
I have worked across government and non‑government language institutions including the NSW Aboriginal Languages Trust, Bularri Muurlay Nyanggan Aboriginal Corporation, Giingana Gumbaynggirr Freedom School, and the NSW AECG. These experiences have shown me the strenghts and the structural limits of existing revitalisation models and the urgent need for immersion focussed revival.
In my public work, I propose a radical shift in how we conceptualise decolonisation. Too often, liberation is framed through Marx, Lenin, or other Eurocentric ideologies. But if we are serious about “decolonisation” — beyond its use as a buzzword — then our languages must be our principal theoretical tool. They are extensions of our laws, our responsibilities to kin, our relationship to Country, and our political authority.
I call this Systems Building: the creation, extension, and manifestation of our real political power through language‑anchored institutions, practices, and futures. Systems Building requires hard work, determination and a totale committment from all Gooris.
This requires what I call a Goori Renaissance: a deliberate return to thinking, creating, and operating inside an immersive Gumbaynggirr context. Only through this immersion can we spark new intellectual, cultural, and political developments that we cannot yet conceive, because the present colonial paradigm limits our imagination.
I pay homage to the Māori Renaissance of 1974 and draw on works such as Fight for Liberty and Freedom by Prof. John Maynard. These movements show what becomes possible when a people make a collective decision to save their languages. My call is directed especially to our young people: if we do not take radical steps now — if we do not build systems, institutions, and futures grounded in language — then we risk losing the very foundations of who we are.
My Approach
The question I ask myself is, what will it mean to be Aboriginal in 100 years time?
I want to ensure we have distinct legal, governance and political systems. Our self-determination requires deep and committed organisation that goes back to the old ways, whilst understanding the nature of modernity that we live in.
For me the answer to this question, begins with language revival focussed on immersion.
SYStems building
Decolonisation cannot rely on Marx, Lenin, or Eurocentric theory. Our liberation frameworks already live inside our languages. Systems Building means creating structures — political, cultural, educational — that return authority to our people. It is the work of rebuilding sovereignty through language‑anchored power.
IMMERSION
Immersion is how we transform. When we operate fully inside Gumbaynggirr thought, new futures become possible. Inspired by the Māori Renaissance of 1974 and works like Fight for Liberty and Freedom (Prof. John Maynard), I call on our young people: radical action is needed now. Immersion is how we save our languages and rebuild our systems.