Foreword by Dr Uncle Stan Grant Senior

Abstract

From birth, I grew up on Wiradyuri Country, and I am endlessly grateful to my grandfather, Budyaan Wilfred Johnson, for teaching me many things, including the language of our Ancestors. He was a strong cultural leader and a strategic genius who had a long-term vision for the recovery of his people. Despite being jailed for speaking to me in Wiradyuri, he went on to teach me (and my brother Cecil) away from the settler colonial authorities who would incarcerate him and remove us from our family. Today, our language is being used to quietly heal and rebuild the lives of our people so they can once again care for Country and raise strong, healthy, vibrant families.