Dr. Richard Fejo' s journey begins with his mother, who was forcibly removed from her home at a young age, becoming one of the many children in Australia’s Stolen Generation.
It took 40 years for Richard's mother to reconnect with her people and her story was highlighted in Kevin Rudd's apology to the Stolen Generation.
His mother's experience had a big impact on Richie and instilled in him the value of education as a means to reclaim power and identity.
Growing up, Richie and his siblings faced their own culture shock when they first encountered their mother’s family living in poor conditions. But education offered a pathway out of poverty and many went on to achieve success, including five members of the family becoming doctors.
I'm an honorary doctor because I've spent 30 years working across 40 remote communities trying to help out people in the Northern Territory. 15 years I've actually spent training GP registrars and medical students in the health space, because I believe that if we as First Nations people, ideally we would like to create our own doctors to work with our own people.
In 2020, Dr Fejo was asked by the AFL to perform the Welcome to Country for the league’s first ever dreamtime match held in Darwin – his powerful presentation met with thundering applause from the crowd.
In 2023, Dr Fejo became the first Aboriginal person in history to be appointed as a board member of the National Disability Insurance Agency (NDIA) Board, offering unique contributions as a First Nations representative.
As the senior elder on campus at Flinders University, Dr. Fejo plays a pivotal role in guiding the institution’s Indigenous programs and initiatives. He ensures that cultural knowledge and safety are integrated into educational spaces and is actively involved in developing reconciliation action plans and Indigenous workplace strategies. His efforts help students navigate challenges and serve as a bridge between academic and cultural worlds.
I'm really feeling like I'm stepping off a cliff blindfolded here, going into a space that no one's actually been to before, but doing it because I want to show our kids that they can do it, you know. And I think that's what our elders did for us. They became the first teachers. They became the first lawyers. They never had support mechanisms around them.
The Speak My Language (Disability) program is an initiative funded by the Commonwealth Government under the Information, Linkages and Capacity Building (ILC) Framework. It is proudly led by ECCNSW and the primary national Partners are ECCV, ECCQ, MCCSA, MCNT, MCOT, ECCWA, and our national broadcasting Partners SBS.
Podcast Tile Artwork: Paul Constable Calcott
