NM: Hi, this started in 1997, no, sorry, ’79. I was about three years old going on to four, probably a little bit older. But anyway, my parents decided to go down to travel to Perth so we can get a better education. But at that time, before we went down there, Dad wanted to go and see our family all the way up from Northern Territory in-land to Kununurra all the way down to Derby, and then made our way down to Perth. I grew up there not knowing who I was, where I’m from. I knew where I was from, but I didn’t know exactly who I was. And in those days what happened was that multicultural people down there from all over the world, schooling away, schooling in one school. 

And all I could see [was] that I couldn’t fit into anywhere, ’cause I didn’t know who I was or who I belonged to. So I kept on going schooling down there, keep wondering who I was. But in that time span of growing up and growing into an older child, about 9, 10, 11, we kept on coming up and down from Broome to travel to come and see family and be with family, as well as doing our cultural practices: hunting, fishing, going for jalingardi, visiting countries, fishing spots that all our ancestors used to go and fish and catch mayi for the family. But we wanted to go out so we can catch mayi, learn our cultural practices as well as catch mayi to bring down to Perth because we can’t have those things done there. 

So, in the meantime of growing up, I’ve been through a lot of wondering who I belonged to, what was my culture, what was my purpose in my life of growing up? And at the same time, what happened was that I got into trouble a couple of times. At the time I was a teenager and that’s when my dad decided, and my parents decided for me to come back to Broome. I was old enough at that time to come back, after I did some secretarial certificates as well as a diploma in a secretarial course, which I only did a year and a half. So I gotta go back and finish that off. But when I came back here, I knew about my cultural practices, but I didn’t know about what I am today. I give thanks to my other half, which actually made me see a better person, as well as strengthening my obligations and my journey of my cultural practices that I do today. Sitting down with elders, knowing different countries, knowing different areas and storytelling that they give those areas.  

So, the moral of my story is no matter how far or how long it takes to learn your culture in your practices and your culture, in your cultural practice and obligations, that you can always come back to your country, learn it, listen to your elders, give them that respect, understand what they’re saying. ‘Cause what happens is deep down inside you found your roots. You found what you belong to. Down in Perth there you don’t know who you belong to or what you belong to because of the multicultural world that we have down there. Everyone thought I was Italian. I looked Italian, that was funny. Everyone thought I was New Zealander. But really my nationality is Aboriginal-Japanese-Filo-Euro. So I’ve got a whole, multiple universes in me, but my connection is truly Broome Aboriginal as well as the other multicultural that I’ve got inside me. But you need to respect yourself and respect where you come from. No matter what culture that you have in you. You’ll always go back to that in the end. Thank you.