Integration
Preparing for the Weaving Workshops and on-Country visit
As we move into this final phase of the learning journey, you are invited to begin preparing - both practically and mindfully - for your upcoming workshops and on-Country visit with Gumbaynggirr women Elaine Carmady and Hannah Smith.
Gumbaynggirr knowledge must be approached with respect and from an awareness of your own position. If you are a non-Gumbaynggirr practitioner, it is not yours to speak for, take, or represent this knowledge. While Hannah and Elaine have extended an invitation to learn, this does not equate to ownership or authority. It’s essential to remain critical of cultural appropriation and to honour that some knowledges are not ours to share or act on behalf of.
Hannah and Elaine have generously shared slides in this module to introduce you to the practice of weaving and to the cultural and historical significance of the Golden Hole, located on Ngambaa Country. This site holds deep importance as the largest known midden complex in the southern hemisphere, a place of story, memory, and cultural continuity.
We encourage you to engage with these slides before the visit, allowing the knowledge and thinking around respecting knowledge that is not yours to settle and shape how you arrive.
This is a time to come with curiosity, grounded in humility, integrity, and respect. Prepare by considering:
What does it mean to listen with your whole self, not just for information, but for connection?
If you are non-Indigenous, what assumptions might you be holding, and are you open to letting them shift?
How might you carry this experience forward in a way that honours Gumbaynggirr Country and people?
Dress appropriately for being on Country (shoes, hat, water), and come with an open heart. The learning offered by Elaine and Hannah is not only practical — it is relational, cultural, and sacred. Let it move through you slowly.
