Waka Ŋurrkanhayngu” Regenerating the existence of life” - Pathways for Reviving & Strengthening Indigenous Ways of Being-Knowing-Doing to Heal the Source of ‘Natural’ & Social Disasters.

The source of the existential crisis we are experiencing is spiritual and the increasingly compounding consequences of millennia long domestication and colonization in and by the Western culture. Us forgetting and living disconnected from our spiritual nature and nature, and not living according to cosmic and nature laws created disharmony. Consequently, healing and transforming the existential crisis requires us remembering and living according to our spiritual nature, and cosmic and nature laws. Yet, we lack pathways for doing so. Yolŋu peoples, especially Elders living in remote and very remote communities and outstations in the Northern Territory, offer a powerful pathway as they still are connected with their spiritual nature and know how to live in harmony with cosmic laws. However, Western colonisation has and still is supressing Yolŋu living according to their Indigenous ways of being-knowing-doing. Thus, one highly potent way to heal the source of our existential crisis is genuinely working two-way with Yolŋu Clans to revive and strengthen their inner being and living according to their Yolŋu ROM (Ancient Law), and to learn from Yolŋu. We – Yolŋu from diverse Clans living in the very remote community Galiwin’ku in Arnhem Land (NT) and Western allies – have been working together two-way since 2021. We identified holistically what weakens Yolŋu and what strengthens Yolŋu from in-depth conversations/yarns with each other, and Senior Elders and Elders of all 16 Yolŋu clans. From these conversations pathways for removing what weakens Yolŋu and for facilitating what strengthening Yolŋu emerged. We are offering the pathways that we co-created in this AIATSIS funded project. We hope that sharing these pathways will inspire other Indigenous and Western peoples and organisations to walk with us two-way and long-term to bring these pathways into being to regenerate the existence of life to heal all of us.