This episode is sponsored by Bumble, a dating app that is dedicated to creating an inclusive environment for its community of over 95 million users. Bumble has partnered with experts at a range of LGBTQIA+ advocacy organisations to provide a space where people from across the gender platform feel safe and seen. With guidance from the community Bumble has created an extensive list of gender options for both new and existing users to choose from. When setting up their profile users can select a binary choice or tap "more options" to expand the list - and your choice can be updated at any time. Users can also choose if they'd like to show their gender identity to potential matches, which appears alongside profile badges. On Bumble, how you identify is up to you. Download Bumble today and make the first move. One app, three modes, one mission. . . . Growing up different is tough no matter who you are or where

In interviews and general conversation, people often ask me who my role models are or who I look up to and while I struggle sometimes with answering that, because I’m lucky enough to find inspiration in so many moments with different individuals every day - there is one particular person whose story and strength is at the back of my mind as a constant source of inspiration and hope. It might be surprising to some, but one of my biggest role models is actually one of my younger cousins. Having grown up in the care of his grandparents, facing trauma caused by a Mum and Dad who were constantly in and out of jail and around drugs - and a range of other obstacles and tough times, the ways in which he has emerged as not only incredibly successful, but also equally kind, generous and committed to giving back, never ceases to amaze me. Proud Gamilaroi man, Braidon Burns' name is one you probably associate mostly with the Souths Sydney Rabbitohs, and while he is a great rugby l

In lieu of a sponsor this week, we have donated both the space and money associated to Cultural Choice Association to support their work in preventing Aboriginal youth suicide. This is an issue we’ve spoken about before on the podcast and is one I’ll personally always make space to talk about, as it’s one of the issues I am most passionate about. Unsurprisingly, this conversation also comes with a content warning as there are discussions of suicide and depression. … In 2017, the latest published statistics revealed suicide as the leading cause of death for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people between 5 and 17 years old. And over the past five years, despite the fact that we only make up 2.8% of the youth population, one in every four Australian children who died by suicide was Indigenous. Prior to invasion, suicide was not a concept known nor seen in our communities, and a senate enquiry into

On today’s episode I yarn with the dynamic duo behind one of the most recognisable Aboriginal owned and run clothing brands in the country - Clothing the Gap. Laura Thompson and Sianna Catullo are boss tiddas with incredible business minds and an attitude that sees them always striving to be better and do more. Leading a small but dynamic and passionate team, they’ve grown their business from products designed to work as health incentives attached to the Spark Health Promotion Business down in Victoria, to a now stand alone brand producing deadly apparel for all people, across the continent. Not only does the Clothing the Gap apparel look insanely cool, but it also works as a conversation starter around such campaigns as  #Freetheflag, Shades of Deadly and their newest initiatives #RunRona and the NAIDOC March virtual running events. I learnt so much in this chat and have been so influenced by the work this mob does, they’ve even turned me into a runner - something I’d n

With all the disjointment of the ‘Australian’ identity, it’s hard to pin down anything that universally binds us or even something that a good majority of people who live across this continent today can really agree on or join in on together. One thing that gets pretty close though, is our relationship to sport. There are definitely individuals who don’t play or support it, but I would take a fair stab at saying it’s a part of the life of most people who live in Australia. It’s also the realm in which our mob have basically always represented - knowing that, could you answer the question, what were the circumstances surrounding the first ever sporting team to represent Australia on an international level? In 1868, it was a cricket team from the Melbourne Cricket Club comprised of 13 Aboriginal men of the Jardwadjali, Gunditjmara and Wotjobaluk tribes, who were coached and captained by an ex all-England cricketer, Charles Lawrence throughout a six month tour of England that year. Our pe

DISCLAIMER: Today's guest is medical professional but not an expert in infection control or an infectious diseases expert, so if anyone wants any further information regarding the COVID19 pandemic they should go to the local state govt webpage on COVID-19 advice or call their local COVID-19 hotline. . . .  From Gomeroi, Ngurrabul and Kooma, to Quintuplet and Medical Doctor - my guest on today’s special bonus episode of Always was, always will be our stories, Dr. Erika Chapman-Burgess, has some incredible and unique labels attached to her name. When my sister Keely and I started Tiddas 4 Tiddas in 2018, we had the hopes of putting incredible female role models in the view of the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women - and when we imagined what those role models were like, women like Erika were exactly what fit. In today’s chat you’ll hear her speak about her journey into medicine, advice for the next generation looking at the

TW: There are discussions of suicidal thoughts and mental health throughout this discussion that may be triggering for some. It is no secret that mental health and particularly depression and suicide disproportionately impacts our mob more than any other Australian group. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people are nearly three times more likely to be psychologically distressed than non-Indigenous Australians and most devastatingly, suicide remains one of the leading causes of death for our young ones. The question on how to solve this is difficult to answer, but having upfront, difficult conversations around it and being able to listen to and learn from role models with lived experience, is one place to start. Today my guest is powerful Wiradjuri man, Joe Williams. He’s an author, the founder of The Enemy Within, a Dad and a survivor. He so generously and openly shares his story of a lifelong battle with himself and his own mind and has taken

Cissy Gore-Birch, is a mother of 5, the Executive Manager of Aboriginal Engagement for Bush Heritage Australia and such a positive, loving and passionate leader in her community who is forever fighting for the respect and protection of land, the importance of connection to culture and particularly, involving the voices of the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, in the conversations around solutions to issues that impact us today. This conversation provides some vital education around the role grassroots Aboriginal groups like rangers, play in land conservation and protection; listening to Aboriginal expertise as we head towards another potentially devastating fire season; what its really like for communities up in the Kimberley’s and what has resonated with me the most - even listening back to it again as I edited it for you this week - is the way listening to Cissy ended up feeling like something of a much needed pep talk. Later in t

In this very special episode of Always Was, Always Will be our stories, I sit down with Gomeroi and Muruwari filmmaker and journalist, Allan Clarke to discuss his new project, 'The Bowraville Murders.' This documentary investigates one of Australia’s worst unsolved murder cases that has been marred by systemic racism – the 1990-91 serial killings of three Aboriginal children, Evelyn, Colleen and Clinton. They were all taken from the same street in the rural town of Bowraville NSW, all killed within five months of each other and all of their remains found off the same dirt track. For 30 years, the victims' families have fought a courageous battle for justice that is now being passed to the next generation. In recent weeks, with the surge of the black lives matter movement and discussions of injustice faced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people in our country today, many have come looking for ways to truly make a difference - as you will hear Allan say,

If I asked you to imagine a $50 Australian note in your hands, what would you see? Firstly, you'd probably describe its yellow colour, then perhaps, the face of a white-haired, smirking man. Do you know this man's name? Do you notice the sketches of his inventions in the background of his image? He is David Unaipon, a proud Ngarrindjeri  man from South Australia and one of our greatest ever inventors and scientists. He has often been referred to as our answer to Leonardo Da Vinci, and made significant contributions to science throughout his life, including even conceptualising the helicopter two decades before it became a reality. Science and scientists have existed in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture for thousands of generations. Our innovation is what helped us survive to become the oldest, continuous culture on Earth today. My guest on today’s podcast is dedicated to showing the next generation of our kids that a future in th

When I say ‘debutante ball’ what comes to mind for you? A bunch of teenage girls, giggling, buzzing with nerves and excitement, dressed in flowing gowns, off to a flash venue, for the night of their lives, ready to debut into society - whatever that means. When you picture those girls and that event, do you picture them as being Aboriginal? And, if I told you that Aboriginal people have a history with the debutante ball that reaches back to the 1967 referendum, would you be surprised? Debutante: Race, Resistance and Girl Power is the brand new podcast from none other than the dynamic duo that is Nakkiah Lui and Miranda Tapsell. From the 16th of June, through this audible original podcast, you’ll be able to follow their journey from a teatime etiquette lesson in London, where the concept for the debutante ball began, along a trail to discover how First Nations women across the globe have made this tradition their own. Nakkiah and Miranda ask: can beauty, poise an

Picture this, in the past 18 months you’ve had some of the biggest milestones of your life so far - you had your first child, a beautiful little boy, married your partner and graduated from university. It’s been some of the best times of your life. You’ve done all the reading on motherhood and the way things are ‘supposed’ to go, but you’re not obsessing over the milestones your baby is supposed to hit and when, your son is moving at his own pace and that’s fine with you. One thing that does cause concern though is the way he’s always gagging or choking on his food - you fear there might be something wrong with his tongue so you take him to the doctor.  In that appointment though your life is turned upside down - the doctor thinks your son might be showing early signs of autism.  This was what happened for proud Worimi woman Tanika Davis and her husband Adrian in 2017. Having their son Slade diagnosed with autism was terrifying at the time and raised m

This is the first ever episode of Always Was Always Will Be Our Stories, in today’s chat Marlee Silva sits down with Butchella and Gawara man Isaiah Dawe. Like thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander kids in Australia today, Isaiah grew up in foster care. During that time, he was forced to face unimaginable abuse from carers, to navigate a world without someone to call ‘mum’ or ‘dad’ and in the midst of it all, try and figure out his cultural identity and what I meant to be Aboriginal. Hearing what Isaiah was forced to face, and what far too many kids are continuing to face in a system that fails them time and time again, will infuriate you. But this story of survival and Isaiah’s ability to rise, overcome - and most astonishingly, build his own non-profit organisation called ‘ID Know Yourself’ where he’s now supporting kids who are just like him, in the care system - to be the family he never had - will leave you feeling inspired, hopeful and hungry

Yaama, I’m Marlee Silva, a Gamilaroi and Dunghutti writer and the Co-Founder of Tiddas 4 Tiddas. In these frightening and uncertain times, it feels as though there’s little left in life that has gone unchanged. Coming from the oldest, continuous surviving culture on Earth - that of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people - there is something my people do, that never has and never will falter. That is, our tradition of storytelling. For over 80 thousand years, we have exchanged stories as a means of connecting, learning and surviving and continuing this today, to me, seems more important than ever. That’s why I’m bringing you my new podcast, ‘Always was, always will be our stories.’ Where I sit down with inspiring Indigenous leaders from all walks of life, to hear their stories, learn from their experiences - and maybe even, just distract ourselves for a minute from the hazy and dark clouds that seem ever present in this world today, so we might connect and