Kathryn Gilbey – University of Queensland

“I went to the first meeting, Crystal Austin (SPIRIT senior advisor) said a prayer, and my heart moved,” said Dr. Kathryn Gilbey at University of Queensland, who leads our Australia sites, remembering her first touchpoint with the program that would unfold to become SPIRIT. Kathryn is an Alyawarre woman with close kinship and family ties across Central Australia. She grew up on a cattle station where there were infinite possibilities of play. On these lands, a stolen mop could be given new life as a make-believe horse. Adults shared with children understandings of the natural world - lands, wildlife, waterways - as part of a body of knowledge outside of Western culture.

Later, as a Fulbright Cultural Competence scholar, Kathryn’s research focused on women who existed on the margins of society despite being central to their communities. She was familiar with the ‘tricks and tools’ of colonialism and how they affected the environments and health conditions of Indigenous peoples. Kathryn is able to channel these personal and professional experiences through SPIRIT towards an active movement to undo the dehumanization of Indigenous communities worldwide. “Through practicing your culture, speaking your language, dancing your dances, using bush medicines and through engaging with your lands, we, as a collective, are healing.”