“Waka Ŋurrkanhayŋu - Regenerating the existence of life”: Utilising Lived Yolŋu Experiences & Knowledges to Co-create Living Back on Country to Restore Harmony and Health of Humans and Country

This dire wicked situation indicates an urgent need to work with very remote Indigenous communities in the NT to i) identify holistically the key causes of climate change, disasters and health inequities; and ii) key aspects that strengthen or weaken Indigenous peoples and rebuild their adaptive Indigenous capabilities and capacities to restore health, adapt to climate change and reduce the risk of natural events turning into damaging disasters. This was precisely the research project that TOs, Ŋgorrudawalngu (clan leaders) and Djuŋgayas (CEO, guardians) of diverse Yolŋu clans living in the very remote Indigenous community Galiwin’ku requested in 2020 after two category 4 cyclones in 2016 had devastating impacts on their people and country (Ali et al., 2021a,b; Maypilama et al., 2025). Since 2021, we have been co-leading, co-developing, co-implementing and co-refining a long-term Indigenist Participatory Action Research initiative to holistically identify the aspects that strengthen us Yolŋu, identify and address the root causes of what weakens us Yolŋu, and pathways for strengthening us Yolŋu to restore our health and the health of our respective clan countries. Our initiative emerged from, builds upon and expands increasingly strong long-term, respectful, equal and trusting relationships between us Yolŋu researchers and Petra spanning almost a decade (Manymak Project, 2016; Maypilama et al., 2025).