Aunty Norma Ingram is a proud Indigenous woman, who was at the centre of the black movement in Australia in the 1970s, and is still fighting for Aboriginal rights now.

Aunty Norma is a Wiradjuri woman born in Cowra NSW and raised on ‘Erambie’ Aboriginal Reserve.  Although the youngest of 11 children, her mother never failed to encourage the importance of education, and the impact it can have on a person’s life. She is the first Australian Indigenous woman to graduate from Harvard.

“She strongly encouraged me as the youngest, well, all of us, but particularly me as the youngest, to get an education. ‘You can’t get anywhere, you have to have an education”

Heavily involved in the Foundation for Aboriginal Affairs, and influenced by the Black Panther movement coming out of the US, Aunty Norma became involved in the Children’s program, which integrated Aboriginal culture into its learning programs.

Aunty Norma joins us today talking about her childhood, the genesis of self-determination, to her current campaign to become the local member of Newtown.

Producers: Bre Jones and Nicole De Palo

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