Title: Activist

Gender: Female

Age: 33

Sun Sign: Aries

Chinese Sign: Fire Dragon

Location: Perth, WA

I believe I am an old soul and I that I am here now to do amazing things.

My ancestry is culturally diverse. I have four grandparents from four different countries, cultures and languages - which are German, Spanish, Ukranian and Nyikina (Indigenous Australian, from the Kimberley of WA). I grew up in remote towns in the north of Western Australia.
 
The forces of the universe bought these 4 cultures together to create me, I believe, for a reason.

I want to change the world.

I've known this for some time.

I have studied in law, specialising in human rights and am starting to use this knowledge to help humanity. I develop and facilitate cultural awareness training and am currently a solicitor and the Senior Policy Officer at the Aboriginal Legal Service of WA (ALSWA). I am an Indigenous political activist.

My latest project and passion is for NAIDOC week in Perth. We are trying to make this week a beautiful unifying and educational tool for Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians in Perth. For more information, or to get involved, go to http://www.naidocperth.org/.

I am also involved in lobbying to free this world of nicotine. If you'd like to read my story, go to http://www.ashaust.org.au/lv4/Lv4services_stories_NicoNightmare.htm. I think it is disgusting that we, as a race, allow this terrible infliction to continue in a manner we call “legal”.

I am also involved in lobbying about the dire position of remote Indigenous community housing and infrastructure in Australia. I have had a couple of papers published in the Indigenous Law Bulletin and have presented at the last three Residential Tenancies Conferences about housing for Indigenous people in WA. The way Australia treats its Indigenous people is a blemish on the country which gives it no right to criticise others.

My latest and most amazing case I have been involved in at ALSWA involved the reckless death, in the back of a prison van of a the Ngaanyatjarra Lands Elder and leader, Mr Ward. This man was treated worse than a dog and placed in the back of an unventilated metal cage on a 42 degree celcius day for a 400km journey and not checked on, in circumstances where the air conditioning failed. We can only imagine the excrutiating death this man died as a result of reckless neglect by the two drivers, Stokoe and Powell, the company, G4S (that took and continues to take profit from such misery) and the Western Australian Government, who owned the vehicles, knew they needed replacing and offended human rights, yet decided, in a time of mineral boom in WA (ironically from Aboriginal land), before the Global Financial Crisis, that there was no money to replace the fleet. To read the damning findings from the Inquest, of Coroner Hope (I believe his name is no accident), see: Western Australia State Coroner. Inquest into the death of Mr Ward, 2009   http://www.abc.net.au/4corners/special_eds/20090615/ward/ward_finding.pdf

This is systemic racism and it filters all throughout the Australian and Western Australian 'white man's law' which sees the incarceration of more Aboriginal men, women and children than any other race.

I have overcome obstacles in my time including domestic violence, depression and child custody issues. Today, I bless that background everyday because it has made who I am and set me on this path.

I guess a big part of 'my path' today involves spirituality and conscious living. I can't seem to get enough of it. The more I learn, the more I realise I don't know and the more I want to learn.

In February 2007 I spent 5 weeks in a Catholic Abbey and underwent an amazing healing process which I think has bought me closer to God. For more information about that see
http://www.abc.net.au/tv/theabbey/.

I now have greater belief in myself and KNOW that I can do these things my heart and mind tells me I am here to do.

Although raised Catholic, I do not worship any god or follow any religion. I believe that we are all connected and am fascinated by quantum physics. I believe in the power of my thoughts and try to be consciously aware of what I am thinking and putting out to the universe at all times.

As an Indigenous Australian and a person who works within that field professionally, I expend a lot of my time and energy on that cause. However, I know in my heart that my purpose in life is much greater than that.

I want to help all of humanity, not just Indigenous Australians. I believe my varied cultural ancestry is at the root of that!

Another big thing for me is that I believe that every human being no matter what age they are, or what they have done - is able to be healed and is important.

In fact, I have more concern and time for those people who are old and have done 'bad' things because they need healing more than anyone else and simply by the fact that they are alive, they have good to offer.

I would like to help adults who everyone else has given up on. I want to let them know that they are important and that they can achieve, have or be anything they want.

Member Since: Wednesday, October 11 2006

Last Visit: 93 days ago.

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