Walk to the country, talk to the country: Short walking stories of learning with Indigenous voices

“It’s good to talk to Country,” says Anne Poelina, affirming that from a very early age, in the Kimberley region of northern Australia, Indigenous people are ‘taught Country’. They learn that the land is alive, that it has agency, and that it holds memories of our shared experiences, both human and other-than-human. “It’s good for your mental state to talk to Country,” Poelina continues, “to meditate on how your mind and heart, spirit and soul are aligned with the Earth on which you walk, knowing that when you walk on this Earth, the Earth can actually feel your presence, and with that vibration there is a transmission that is bouncing off this Earth, wanting us to understand that Earth can feel our presence. That’s how we speak to Country–it’s a different mindset. English speaks a different way.”