Introducing We Are Warriors (WAW)—an exciting movement and platform new on the scene created to inspire, equip, and empower First Nations youth, connecting them with a growing list of relatable role models transcending spaces across music, fashion, sports, and everything else in between.
Conceptualised by First Nations Yuin rapper and producer, and triple j’s Blak Out radio host Nooky, the platform pays homage to the power and importance of role models and aims to build a roadmap for change, driven by creating and showcasing diverse content series, workshops and programs to name a few.
“After experiencing racism as a kid, my Mum spoke to me three of the most powerful words I have ever heard—‘We Are Warriors’. It instilled a fire inside of me, a sense of pride and this unimaginable desire to be successful and show the world that WE ARE WARRIORS. It gave me the push to defy all of the odds stacked against us”, says Nooky.
Underpinning the foundations of WAW is the reality that it’s often hard to be what you can’t see, with Nooky adding “[First Nations people] deserve to be recognised, we deserve to be heard and we deserve to be celebrated. As people. As role models. As warriors.” You can expect to see an upcoming series of video interviews celebrating First Nations role models and warriors including BARKAA, Luke Currie-Richardson, Kobie Dee, Charlie Fraser and Felicia Foxx.
“I feel that a lot of people have good intentions and try to go into community and [deliver] workshops…but you know, they come hang out for a day or two, make a song or something, and then take their equipment and leave. That’s never sat right with me as I always wonder, what’s left in the community? I always knew if we were going to do workshops, I wanted to leave tools behind. I also knew that I wanted to create something that felt like an X-Men HQ for mob! And so, We Are Warriors was born.”
The launch of WAW on January 26 is no coincidence—reclaiming space to amplify and celebrate Blak excellence on a day that we know highlights the continued impacts of colonisation for many First Nations people including Nooky, who shares “January 26 represents mourning for us as it was the start of the invasion, meaning there’s death and trauma attached to this date. Launching something as powerful as WAW on this day gives this date life, strength, and power.”
The timely launch of the platform is an ode to the resistance, resilience, and creativity of First Nations people that Nooky hopes will spark empathy across mainstream Australia.
“When the younger generation feel like warriors”, Nooky says, “that is what success looks like. And when we’ve [achieved that] in Australia, I want to take this worldwide. There is a lot of power in our culture and when you learn how to let that bleed in and guide what you do in life, there’s a lot of strength in that and it makes you feel indestructible in a sense. A Warrior”.
Coinciding with the launch of WAW on January 26, Nooky also drops his highly anticipated first single of the year titled ‘Run Dingo’.
Follow Nooky here and learn more about We Are Warriors here.