User:Mainey18/sandbox

Background
Born (1951) and raised in Taree New South Wales, Faith Ridgeway also known as 'Aunty Fay' has accumulated many important accolades over her time of being a cultural elder and teacher to the community of the Biripi people. Aunty Fay has been a pillar of knowledge and ongoing integrity when it comes to correct teachings and fair outputs of information to anyone in the community that is seeking education. Being the Daughter of both Valerie Ridgeway (Russel) and Huey Ridgeway, she was accustomed to early childhood teachings both from an indigenous background but also white society. Growing up on 'Purfleet' mission, Aunty Fay recalls the mission managers and white folk constantly ridiculing them for any cultural teachings or practises. Because of this injustice, many were left without cultural knowledge and only the ones who hadn't felt the pressure from the colonisers, would secretly teach in private by the river or deep in the bush where the white man cant find them.

Teachings
Aunty Fay Ridgeway has collected many proud moments from teaching the youth of Taree. She has been involved in teachings of land management, and cultural walks and talks. She has also past down ancient lore and knowledge's that come from a more spiritual and storytelling lens and has been the voice of truth and fairness in the community. As an ex member of the Biripi land council and board member, Aunty Fay has had her fair share of lessons in educating and combating exterior forces to allow her community to prosper and thrive. Aunty Fay connection to others and drive to maintain connection to land, has been demonstrated over the past decade. For example;

in 2019 she was the elder in residence for teaching the students of Taree, old ways of art and seeing from an indigenous perspective and applying it to the Biripi mural for Taree Indigenous Development and Employment (T.I.D.E). The mural took over a year to complete and was created by students across the Manning river region. T.I.D.E and Aunty Fay have been in collaboration for a decade now and they have provide students with a chance to take their studies further and pursue multiple avenues to build the resumes and skill sets. Unlike Aunty Fay, these students will have the support from both indigenous and also non-indigenous workers. She has also played a part in the training of young rangers in the Manning, by providing knowledge on sacred sites and paths to be mindful of and to lessen the damage that has already been done by colonisation. Aunty Fay has also been hands on with her community by attending the annual NAIDOC week celebrations and contributing to the high school events by giving an acknowledgement to country or just sharing stories of her life and the importance of connection.

Conversation with Aunty Fay
Another pivotal role Aunty Fay has played, is the connection between Authority and Cultural safety for indigenous youth and adults. As a matriarchal figure in the community Aunty Fay is well respected by many, including the police force. Aunty Fay has taken many professionals on cultural tours and had meetings for cultural awareness, but she says that the police walk was one of her favourites. Being a mother, grandmother and elder, Aunty Fay has expressed the importance of an equal consequential systematic punishment for indigenous people in Taree. She has seen first hand the violence and injustice law enforcement have displayed on her community and she was pleased to be able to have a conversation about it. Aunty Fay says in the interview " i am the teacher and you are the student " she claims that she had to establish her authority over the officers, so that there isn't any room for prejudice. Aunty Fay recalls the time when she was not allowed to proceed into higher education because the principal believed that she was no better than a person with learning disabilities and that her brain couldn't comprehend the teachings of white knowledge. She said that she wanted them to know where shes coming from as a cultural teacher and that these types of behaviours get passed down through generations, white and indigenous. Aunty Fay added "you might be offended by what i say, but you are being told by an elder, i know my culture and what i'm talking about". She wanted the officers to understand that they are in her domain now, and that when the police have finished their cultural walk, she wanted to highlight a certain issue between mob and authorities in an indigenous environment. Aunty Fay went on to raise the common stereotype of indigenous people that non-indigenous Australia loves to portray. She went on to say "you came to our land and dug it up and became greedy, then you forced us to live like you, which made us greedy because we had to live your way. Where is the fairness in that"? Aunty Fay then went on to reiterate that she knows of the rise in youth crime and that our kids are struggling, but she wants whats best for everyone and that starts with looking at your own prejudice and skeletons in your closet, then we can move forward as a collective like the indigenous have been doing for thousands of years. She says that "by the end of it, they were so excited to come back and learn again. One officer even came up to me and shook my hand and apologised". Aunty Fay's reputation and matriarchal authority through an indigenous lens, demonstrates the true ability of indigenous women in society and the societal change they could bring to the table if given the chance.

Conclusion
As a small town girl with a big heart, Aunty Fay Ridgeway has captured many moments that she should be proud of. She is the cultural leader of the Biripi people and also the matriarch to an ever evolving community. To conclude this entry i would like to pay my respects to the elders both past and present and also extend my respects to the blossoming youth and young adults on the front lines of our journey.