Acknowledge Indigenous Sovereignty
I acknowledge the traditional owners, living and past, human and ancestoral, on whose land I walk, whose water I drink, and whose air I breathe.
Always was, always will be, Aboriginal Land.
About this site
inquiryBITES is a site designed to inquire & ponder some of the big questions. This is now my permanent home but what the space will look like in the future I can't really say. It will change as I continue to develop and shape it.
Right now the site is aimed at -
- undergraduate (& perhaps post-graduate) university students studying the humanities, education, arts, indigenous & australian studies,
- education professionals, and of course
- anyone else interested in the stuff of humans.
I’d like to create a space that -
- is grounded in inquiry (asks questions)
- has open eyes (listens)
- enjoys life (laughs)
- makes some things clearer (explains)
- provides resources and ideas (shares)
- is grounded in respecting Indigenous Sovereignty (respects).
What’s with the name inquiryBITES?
Inquiry is what I’m in to. I could be seen as one of those semi-useless people who haunt the periphery of society going “but why?” changing jobs as much as I change my chillana (I have friends who i see every year or so at NAIDOC & they say, “so what are you doing NOW?”). But no, I’m not useless - I’m pretty good at sorting out stuff, putting it into a manageble format and then transmitting it (assuming you’ve proof-read it Leesa!! 
).
BITES because life happens a bite at a time,
- You only eat all your supper one mouthful at a time.
- It can take one comment from a teacher to make a child finally feel like they’re worth something (and the opposite is true)
- Knowledge is embedded one book, one word, one idea at a time
- You complete your degree, one subject at a time.
- You complete a subject, one assignment at a time.
- You have the career of your dreams, one job at a time.
- You fight oppression, one march, one rally, one letter, one refusal to back down, at a time.
- You create a beautiful and powerful drawing, one stroke at a time.
Life is full of single steps - the courage is sometimes in taking those steps even when you don’t want to and often when you’re not entirely sure where you’re going to end up.
Who am I?
My name is Leesa Watego. Born & raised in Brisbane and a member of the Brisbane Indigenous community. Professionally, I’m a refugee from the academy. I have an Associate Diploma of Theatre, a Bachelor of Commerce, 3/4 cooked Master of Education, and 1/2 cooked Grad Dip Education (Early). I’ve taught Indigenous Art, Education, Politics, Indigenous Studies, and Study Skills in Higher Education. I’ve written curriculum for primary schools, TAFE & higher education. Oh and I'm raising four kids who (unwillingly) will feature throughout these blogs. As I reach the half-way point however, I’ve realise that I don’t belong in an institution
. I’m pretty crap at finishing stuff. So here I am, out here on the periphery creating my own space - that can shed light for other people out there on some of the big questions. Creating my own space lets me pop in & out as I need to.
Citing this space
inquiryBITES is not peer-reviewed or subject to any of the rigour of the academy. So for the most part views expressed here are simply my opinion, though I will often tend to use references.
I would argue that it would not be okay to use my ideas in an academic context as this space is not “credible” or “valid” under academic standards.
Having said that though I do think some of my perspectives on say Appropriating Aboriginal Art (see post) are fairly original - so have a yarn with your lecturer first to check how it could be citable.
Other than that, please reference inquiryBITES if you use my text in your own blog or other work.
Blacklines Publications
My other activity is Blacklines Publications. This is a small business that creates and distributes educational resources. You can find out more about Blacklines at www.blacklines.com.au
Contact me:
I do some social networking things. But as a non-geek, its slow and there are so many things out there in the “sharing” networking world - it confuses the hell out of me.
I’m happy to yarn about stuff. If you would like to contact me you can find me here:
Twitter: lwatego
Deli.cio.us: lwatego
Email: lwatego (at) gmail.com
Thanks for visiting inquiryBITES. Look forward to yarning with you.
Cheers, Leesa
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