We are a hub for research and knowledge about the economic development of Australia’s First People.

     

    We educate Australians to critically reflect upon the past and present story of colonisation.

     

    We bring people and communities together for healing through Makarratta.

    Knowledge
    Education
    Makarratta
    "Colonisation is not a relic from from the past; the loss of land, language and culture remains an open wound."
    Simon Jovanovic
    Founder of Byamee Institute
    "Stolen Aboriginal wealth has not been restored."
    Simon Jovanovic
    Founder of Byamee Institute
    "You took our children, our sisters, our brothers, our mothers, our fathers, our grandfathers, our grandmothers, uncles and aunties, but we kept our stories"
    Melissa Lukashenko
    Bundjalung, European Australian woman and author
    "Researchers must study problematisations rather than problems"
    Carol Bacchi
    University of Adelaide
    "Systems meant to help often cause more harm as they reduce Aboriginal people to a problem."
    Simon Jovanovic
    Founder of Byamee Institute
    "Aboriginal Law must sit on top of white man's law, because our Law is the Law of this land."
    Murray George
    Pitantjatjara Elder
    "If you don't do it now, your kids will be in the same position as you are when they grow up"
    Charles Perkins
    Arrernte man, Aboriginal activist and leader
    "We have survived, but with our healing and cultural strength, we will thrive."
    Simon Jovanovic
    Founder of Byamee Institute
    "Our most important objective now is to restore to Aboriginals the power to make their own decisions about their way of life"
    Gough Whitlam
    Former Prime Minister of Australia
    "They crossed the ocean with their traditional way of life shattered, clinging to meaningful communal identity only in memory"
    David Dean
    Roots Deeper than Whiteness
    "Concocted by the early settlers, Terra Nullius was used, systematically, cynically and effectively to deprive the indigenous people of their own land."
    Rachel Perkins
    "Sovereignty has never been ceded or extinguished, and co-exists with the sovereignty of the crown"
    Quote from the Uluru Statement from the Heart 2017

    Mission

    Byamee Institute seeks to restore wealth, sovereignty and quality of life for Australia’s First Peoples, for the benefit of all Australians.

    Vision

    A post-colonial Australia where First Peoples have sovereignty, wealth and quality of life. All Australians have learnt from the past and from one another, see ourselves clearly — our strengths, challenges, differences and commonalities — and pull together for the future. 

    Principles

    Empowered economic development is vital to the quality of life of Australia’s First Peoples. Stolen wealth and sovereignty must be restored.
     
    Decolonising the truth of the past and present realities for First Peoples of Australia is necessary for real and lasting change. We must elevate indigenous science and knowledge to challenge the colonial worldview and the imposed structures, systems and deficit labels that come with it.
     
    Indigenous healing means healing intergenerational trauma through restoring a deep relationship with kin, land, language and culture, not the imposition of a setter-capitalist image of success. All Australians can benefit from healing the wounds of colonisation and living a more indigenous-centred life connected to the land. 

    Get Involved

    Access cutting edge research, knowledge, and indigenous science on the economic development, quality of life and sovereignty of Australia’s First Peoples on our Knowledge Hub. 
     
    Sign up for training and workshops that unpack and unmask the history and present reality of colonisation, building an empowered platform for true cultural competency, racial truth telling, and healing. 
     
    Apply to submit content to our Knowledge Hub or become a Byamee Institute research fellow. 
     
    Attend a Byamee Institute hosted Makarrata (Yolngu language), which means coming together for a ceremonial restoration of peace and healing after a dispute.
     
    Connect with us through our mailing list or social media