Dr John Binda Reid

I am a Kokatha,Wirangu,Arrernte man from my fathers bloodline and Mirning,Nukunu ,Kokatha through my mothers bloodline-I am also Irish,Welsh,Scottish through my Gaelic bloodline which I am also very proud of. Family and knowing my family genealogy  is important to me as it is the foundation of who I am and what I aspire to be as an elder of my Nyunga community and as a wise scholar in the non-Aboriginal  academic space.My purpose in life is to share Aboriginal knowlewdge ,or at least my interpreatation of aspects of my Nyunga knowledge that I understand maybe useful to Others (including other Aboriginal people) who seek to know more about Aboriginal science,and other systems of knowledge that we as Nyunga's derive from our cultural knowledge base .As Nyunga's we always understand  that the bush is our university that we go to to learn about who we are and why we exist- it is the epistemological,ontological and axiological foundation of our Being as Aboriginal people. In this context the ecology of those environments and the ecosystems sustained within are a determinant of culture-for example our knowledge about the values of the waterhole as a place of higher learning come from our intimate relationship with our animal ancestors who teach us how to respectfully share the most important natural resource of our existence -water in a ngapartji -ngapartji way.

It is my role as a wise elder of my mob to share Aboriginal concepts with my non Aboriginal colleagues whom I collaborate  with through research and teaching here at UniSA and beyond.It is a role I take seriously and I have been doing this job for 40 years since I graduated from the old Underdale College of Advanced Education as a primary school teacher in 1984-since that time in all of my various roles I have chosen to share my Nyunga knowledge as I see it as my duty to do so.

Qualifications

• Doctorate of Philsophy Charles Darwin University

• Masters of Arts in Indigenous Social Policy University of Technology Sydney

• Bachelor of Education Inservice (Education and Training of Adults) University of South Australia