A QUICK WORD WITH NAKKIAH LUI

She’s a trailblazing activist and writer whose witty scripts on modern Indigenous lives provide insight into the ongoing impact of colonisation on First Nations people. Here the Gamilaraay and Torres Strait Islander woman talks food, family and reclaiming a colonised table.

- CHARLOTTE WISHART

I kind of got into writing as an escape from a looming career in law. I started writing short stories and even slam poetry as a way of dealing with the anxiety of becoming a lawyer. And then a play I’d written was selected for the 2009 World Interplay Festival in Cairns. I started thinking about dreamtime stories and how so much of that storytelling was about finding the hidden meanings in things. I figured that concept naturally lends itself to performance writing, so I leaned into the serendipity of the moment and decided to become a playwright.

Food is political by nature, especially for First Nations people. My podcast, First Eat, came about because I thought, “What would modern food look like in Australia if First Nations people had always owned the land? Would my plate look any different?” And I realised I didn’t know the native ingredients of the land or how my ancestors ate. These thoughts were born because a few months ago I had my first baby and I wanted to feed and nourish her but also be capable of providing her with a connection to her culture. So the podcast has been a really interesting exercise in examining the impact of colonisation on First Nation plates.