Veritas Lecture  

First Nations health research in Australia has long been done by non-First Nations researchers about  First Nations peoples rather than by community, homogenising diverse sovereign Nations leading to health policies, programs and practices that are structurally harmful. Waluwin Ngurambang, Waluwin Bagir-ngun, Waluwin Mayiny (Healthy Country, Healthy Women, Healthy People) is a landmark NHMRC Ideas Grant-funded research project that refuses this paradigm. Led entirely by a team of seven Wiradyuri women, grounded in Wiradyuri Nation Building methodology, and conducted on Wiradyuri Country, this project centres intergenerational women's knowledges as the foundation for developing a culturally grounded Wiradyuri health and wellbeing model. This lecture explores what it means to design research from within Country, culture, and Nation sovereignty, where yindyamarra guides relational ethics, wayamiilbuwawanha shapes reflective practice, and community leadership is the architecture of the research. In doing so, the team makes the case for an overdue and irreversible shift in how First Nations health research is conceived, governed, and owned.

Event details:
Wednesday 22 July 2026, 5.30pm - 7.00pm
5:30pm - light refreshments
6pm - lecture and Q&A 

This is a hybrid event.
In person: ACU Canberra campus, Veritas Building, Building 301, Level 1, Room 20, 127 Phillip Avenue, Watson
Virtually: via MS Teams.

When you register, you will receive a registration confirmation. If you registered to attend virtually, the registration confirmation will contain the MS Teams link to join.

The Waluwin Ngurambang, Waluwin Bagir-ngun, Waluwin Mayiny research team

The Waluwin Ngurambang, Waluwin Bagir-ngun, Waluwin Mayiny research team is an all-Wiradyuri collective spanning multiple generations and clans. The team is led by Chief Investigators Associate Professor Jessica Russ-Smith (ACU), a sovereign Wiradyuri Wambuul woman, and Galari Wiradyuri women Professor Sue Green and Jade Ryall. The project's cultural and on-Country leadership is held by Senior Wiradyuri Elder Aunty Maria Williams, whose knowledge and authority are central to the integrity and direction of the research. Three Wiradyuri Community Research Assistants complete the team, contributing to both the day-to-day life of the research and to the longer-term goal of building Wiradyuri research capacity across generations. Together, the team brings lived knowledge of Wiradyuri Country, culture, and community, alongside deep expertise in research design, health and social and emotional wellbeing, and First Nations governance. Wiradyuri women’s collective presence in this research is not incidental - it is the research.  

For event related questions, please contact campus.deancanberra@acu.edu.au