| Warami Middigar
(Welcome friends)
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In the past fortnight, I’ve crossed both international and state borders — delivering workshops, sharing story, and creating space for truth-telling and growth. From packed rooms to virtual sessions, one thing continues to move me: the number of people choosing to lean into this work with open hearts and honest intention.
The appetite for allyship is growing — not the performative kind, but the kind built on presence, humility, and relationship.
Closer to home, we’ve just welcomed a fresh batch of Blak Ignited resources, printed by the incredible team at Indigi Print
— a proudly Indigenous-owned business that brings both quality and cultural care to every job. These will be sold by incredible Blak Business owner, Deb Hoger or Riley Callie Resources. These new tools carry not just content, but connection — made by mob, for mob, and those walking with us.
Finally, NAIDOC Week is upon us — a powerful time to reflect, re-centre, and rise.
This year’s theme, “Keep the Fire Burning: The Next Generation — Strength, Vision & Legacy,” is more than words. It’s a reminder of who we’re doing this for. Of the young ones watching. Of the futures we’re shaping. Of the legacies we inherit and the ones we leave behind.
Wherever you are, I encourage you to show up — attend events on Country, support local voices, and take time to listen deeply. Because every step you take in truth makes space for the next generation to walk in power.
Yanma Budyari Gumada,
— Tammy Baart, Owner - Blak Ignited
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Upcoming Professional Learning
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July 16 - NEW Winter Series Cultural Intelligence
Module 1: Pathways to Belonging
Whether you're an educator or a leader in any industry, this workshop is designed to provide you with the tools to build inclusive, culturally aware environments where everyone feels valued and safe.
From unpacking cultural reference points to developing conscious leadership, this journey will leave you equipped to foster belonging for your team or students. Explore Ways of Knowing, Being and Doing from an Indigenous lens.
This online, 2-hr workshop will…
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Challenge you to assess your own cultural intelligence.
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Identify the 'how' and 'why' behind building your cultural intelligence.
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Apply this knowledge to your workplace or classroom, to create a culturally inclusive environment where all individuals can belong.
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Images from our recent Workshop 5 - Allyship: Transformation Connections
held on June 25th.
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Marri Didyurigurr (Big Thank you)
TAFE Queensland Faculty of Nursing and Community Services
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Blak Ignited and Riley Callie Resources
were honoured to work with the Nursing and Community Services faculty at TAFE QLD to deliver a powerful workshop on Cultivating Inclusive Environments.
In a sector where care is core, participants explored what true inclusion really demands — moving beyond policy into practice. Together, we unpacked the differences between diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, while diving deep into cultural safety as a condition that must be created and upheld.
We named and challenged systemic, structural, and interpersonal barriers — including the everyday realities of microaggressions and subtle exclusion. This wasn’t just about awareness, but action: shifting mindsets, questioning assumptions, and creating environments where all feel seen, safe, and respected.
To continue the journey, each participant received a copy of The Dreaming Path
by Paul Callaghan — a reflection tool for walking forward with cultural integrity and purpose.
Inclusion is not a moment — it’s a way of being.
If your team is ready to take the next step, Blak Ignited can bring this workshop to your organisation. Reach out to explore how we can tailor the experience to your context and walk alongside you in cultivating truly inclusive environments.
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| Attending Your First NAIDOC Event
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Thinking about heading to your first NAIDOC event? That’s a powerful first step. NAIDOC Week is a celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, achievements, and ongoing resistance. It’s also a time to honour Elders, listen deeply, and walk respectfully on Country.
Here are a few things to keep in mind:
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Be present, not performative.
It’s not about snapping photos for socials — it’s about showing up with humility and a willingness to learn.
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Listen more than you speak.
These are spaces of story, strength, and cultural pride. Take it in before you jump in.
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Check the details.
Some events are open to all. Others may be community-led or invite-only. Always follow local guidance and signage.
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Show respect.
That means acknowledging Country, being mindful of cultural protocols, and honouring the spirit of the gathering.
Most of all — enjoy. Learn. Reflect. Let this be the spark that leads to something deeper. Don’t rush though the event.
Check out all the registered events here
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Unlocking Indigenous Ways:
30 Cards - one side the dominant story we’re taught and the flip side with Indigenous Ways.
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Indigenous Ways of Being hold wisdom for how we live, lead, and relate and this card pack begins to unlocks these approaches.
Indigenous Ways of Being hold deep wisdom for how we live, lead, and relate — and Our Systems, Our Stories begins to unlock these truths.
This 30-card reflective deck names the dominant system patterns many of us have inherited — like urgency, control, and individualism — and gently offers Indigenous-informed counter-stories grounded in reciprocity, cultural integrity, and collective care.
Each card contrasts a harmful system belief such as ‘Productivity means worth” or “Hierarchy keeps us safe” with a sustainable alternative (Indigenous Ways) — not as theory, but as living practice. These prompts help shift our mindsets, challenge defaults, and reshape how we show up in relationship and in systems.
Whether used for personal growth, courageous conversations, or team-based transformation, this deck is a companion for those ready to walk differently — with integrity, purpose, and relational strength. Because when we change the story, we change the system.
This is a tool and companion for becoming. Use it to support reflection, courageous yarning, and aligned action — in classrooms, boardrooms, and within yourself.
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Have you got your poster yet?
Beyond the Buzz Word of Cultural Safety
A visual reminder that safety isn’t defined by policies — it’s felt in the body, the space, and the story.
This A3 poster offers a clear, bold reminder of what Cultural Safety is — and what it isn’t. Designed for schools, organisations, health settings, and community spaces, it invites reflection and responsibility at a glance.
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Lessons for our young ones from our oldest living relatives – animals.
Reconnect children to self, story, and spirit — through the wisdom of Country.
The Animal Wisdom Cards are a beautifully illustrated, purpose-built wellbeing tool that supports children aged 8–12 to explore identity, emotion, and growth through the teachings of Australian animals.
Rooted in Indigenous Ways of Knowing, each card features an animal as teacher — offering gentle lessons about courage, connection, rest, resilience, and responsibility. These are the kinds of truths that don’t just build character — they strengthen spirit.
Whether used in classrooms, homes, counselling spaces or cultural programs, these cards create safe openings for reflection and yarning. Children are invited to slow down, listen deeply, and discover how to move through the world with more care — for self, for others, and for Country.
Why Educators & Parents will love them:
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Supports the development of emotional intelligence and self-awareness
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Easily integrated into SEL, wellbeing, and cultural curriculum
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Creates meaningful dialogue in a non-clinical, culturally safe way
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Perfect for morning routines for focus of the day, circle time, reflection journals, and restorative practices
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We’ve all inherited stories — about how to behave, who belongs, what matters, and who gets to lead. Some of those stories uplift. Others hold us back.
Old Ways, New Ways is a reflective card set designed to help children and young people gently explore the difference between stories that confine us, and stories that connect us. Each card offers a contrast: a dominant message we may have been taught (the old way) and a grounded alternative rooted in Indigenous Ways of Being (the new way).
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| Need something for teenagers?
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Great read for our youth looking to make a change, but unsure where to start. Kylie Captain teams up with Tyrell Johnson to provide a blueprint.
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FREE Mini Study Guide
This guide was created to support the journey of parents, teachers, and educators walking alongside young people as they explore ‘Create the Life of Your Dreams in Your Teens’ by Kylie Captain and Tyrell Johnson. It’s not just a companion to the book — it’s an invitation to pause, reflect, and grow alongside the next generation.
Click image on left or head to our
Resources Page
to download the guide.
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Allyship in Action -
Deep Listening Without Fixing.
This fortnight, commit to one conversation where your only job is to listen. Not to solve. Not to justify. Not to centre your own feelings. Just listen — with presence, humility, and care.
Whether it’s with an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander colleague, a community member, or through a story shared at a NAIDOC event, practise staying with what’s said — even if it stirs discomfort. Because true allyship starts with honouring story — not rewriting it.
After the conversation, resist the urge to respond straight away. Instead, ask yourself:
What did I learn? What challenged me? What does this require of me now?
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Some self-reflection prompts this week…
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When someone shares a hard truth with me, what’s my first instinct — to fix, defend, explain, or sit with it?
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Have I ever interrupted a story — with my discomfort, advice, or need to relate?
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What makes it hard for me to stay silent and truly listen? Where did I learn that?
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Can I recall a time someone deeply listened to me? What made that moment feel safe or sacred?
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How might I practise listening in a way that honours the speaker — not just the story?
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Where in my life or work can I create more space for voices that don’t usually get centred?
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Thanks for sitting by the fire with me in this edition of Embering.
From allyship in action to new resources like Our Systems, Our Stories, I hope you’ve found a spark worth tending — whether in your own reflection, your leadership, or the spaces you care about shaping.
If this work speaks to you, let’s keep the yarn going. Blak Ignited offers workshops, resources, and critical friendship for those ready to move from intention to action — with cultural care, courage, and integrity.
Got a question, a story to share, photos of our resources in action, or a space you’d like to explore together? I’d love to hear from you.
Until next time,
Yanma Budyari Gumada
— walk with good spirit.
Tamm y
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