Michelle Deshong

Last updated

Michelle Deshong
Nationality Indigenous Australian
EducationJames Cook University
Known forIndigenous Gender Diversity

Michelle Deshong is an Indigenous Australian, an advocate for Gender Equality and Indigenous Women and the CEO of the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute. [1] She has spent the majority of her career in shaping Indigenous Affairs, national agendas including the Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander Commission and National Congress. [2]

Contents

Education

Deshong is a Kuku Yalanji [3] woman from Townsville, North Queensland, Australia. [4] She grew up in Queensland in the 1970s and 1980s, and this experience drew her into the Indigenous rights field. [5] She moved from Townsville to Canberra after high school, which taught her about the inner workings of government. She completed a BA with First Class Honours in Political Science and Indigenous Studies, with a PhD from James Cook University. [6] Her thesis was on the "Participation of Aboriginal women in public and political life". [7]

Deshong studied in Canada and the US in 2016, and was awarded a Fulbright fellowship on strategies on leadership, gender equity and Nation building. [8] [9]

Deshong was awarded a Churchill Fellowship, in 2017, to 'research and apply best practice on Indigenous governance and leadership models'. Her study involved immersive visits to diverse First Nations communities and institutions. The primary objective was to investigate and analyze various leadership and governance models. This research project uncovered a spectrum of self-government, sovereignty, and development approaches within these communities. The study also provided insights into the potential adaptation and implementation of research findings and best practices within the Australian context. The research also included concepts of nation building, cultural governance, sovereignty, and identity, all of which were explored in detail within the report.

Following the study, Deshong integrated key findings from the Fellowship into their role at the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute. In 2019, she implemented her findings from the fellowship into the role at the Australian Indigenous Governance Institute. [10]

Career

Deshong has worked in the Queensland Government, in roles as a public servant at Centrelink, for 20 years. She is also a mother of three children, and she completed her BA while raising children as a single parent. [11] She has also worked on the Justice Prevention Steering Committee, as well as Small Business Advisory Committee. She worked in contributing to the National Congress, the Coalition of Peaks, and the Uluru Statement from the Heart. Deshong was also involved in the 'Homeward Bound' project, a global transformational leadership initiative, with the goal of creating a diverse global community, with a female community of scientists who travel to Antarctica, focussing on scientific endeavour and taking action for sustainability. [12] Deshong worked on Homeward Bound 5. [13]

She founded Deshong Consulting in 2008. She was also a judge at the Supplier Diversity awards, 2023. [2] She was on the board of Supply Nation, and holds directorship roles on Reef Restoration Adaptation Board,

"I believe knowledge is power, and there's no point if I'm the only one gaining that knowledge... I've always tried to impart and share the knowledge that I'm gaining, particularly with Indigenous women, by engaging in conversations that empower women to be change makers." [14]

Gender Equity

Deshong is passionate about advocating for community and women's issues, and works to ensure the voices of indigenous women are represented at all levels. She has also worked for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. [8]

Deshong is an advocate for community and women's issues, and a lead facilitator of the Oxfam 'Straight Talk Program', which is an organisation of over 900 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Deshong also was a representative for the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women. [15] Deshong gave a TEDX talk on 'Black women: tipping the balance' [16]

Deshong has encouraged governments, businesses as well as community organisations to provide ways for opportunities for First Nations women to get involved in leadership roles. [17] She commented that a way to better support First Nations women can involve stepping aside to make way for impact. [17]

Deshong was a co-host and speaker at the Wiyi Yani U Thangani summit, together with June Oscar, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner June Oscar. The summit was the result of a five year project, started in 2018, of listening to women's voices, travelling to 50 locations in remote, regional and urban areas, listening to more than 2000 Indigenous women. [18]

Awards

Related Research Articles

Aden Derek Ridgeway is an Australian former politician. He was a member of the Australian Senate for New South Wales from 1999 to 2005, representing the Australian Democrats. During his term he was the only Aboriginal member of the Australian Parliament. He is currently a spokesperson for Recognise, the movement to recognise Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples in the Australian Constitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oodgeroo Noonuccal</span> Aboriginal Australian poet, artist, teacher and campaigner for Indigenous rights

Oodgeroo Noonuccal ( UUD-gə-roo NOO-nə-kəl; born Kathleen Jean Mary Ruska, later Kath Walker was an Aboriginal Australian political activist, artist and educator, who campaigned for Aboriginal rights. Noonuccal was best known for her poetry, and was the first Aboriginal Australian to publish a book of verse.

NAIDOC Week is an Australian observance lasting from the first Sunday in July until the following Sunday. The acronym NAIDOC stands for National Aborigines' and Islanders' Day Observance Committee. NAIDOC Week has its roots in the 1938 Day of Mourning, becoming a week-long event in 1975.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Larissa Behrendt</span> Indigenous Australian academic and writer

Larissa Yasmin Behrendt is an Australian legal academic, writer, filmmaker and Indigenous rights advocate. As of 2022 she is a professor of law and director of research and academic programs at the Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research at the University of Technology Sydney, and holds the inaugural Chair in Indigenous Research at UTS.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woorabinda, Queensland</span> Town in Queensland, Australia

Woorabinda is a rural town and locality in the Aboriginal Shire of Woorabinda, Queensland, Australia. It is an Aboriginal community. In the 2021 census, the locality of Woorabinda had a population of 1,019 people with 91.6% identifying as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander.

Jeannie Bell is an Australian linguist. She is an Indigenous Research Collaborations Fellow in Indigenous Languages and Linguistics at Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education. She has made substantial contributions to the development of Aboriginal tertiary education, and to the preservation of Indigenous Australian languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henrietta Marrie</span>

Henrietta Marrie is a Gimuy Walubara Yidinji elder, an Australian Research Council Fellow and Honorary Professor with the University of Queensland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jackie Huggins</span> Indigenous Australian historian and writer

Jacqueline Gail "Jackie" Huggins is an Aboriginal Australian author, historian, academic and advocate for the rights of Indigenous Australians. She is a Bidjara/Pitjara, Birri Gubba and Juru woman from Queensland.

Bidjara, also spelt Bidyara or Pitjara, is an Australian Aboriginal language. In 1980, it was spoken by 20 elders in Queensland between the towns of Tambo and Augathella, or the Warrego and Langlo Rivers. There are many dialects of the language, including Gayiri and Gunggari. Some of them are being revitalised and are being taught in local schools in the region. The various dialects are not all confirmed or agreed by linguists.

The NAIDOC Awards are annual Australian awards conferred on Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals during the national celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples known as NAIDOC Week.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Grant (anthropologist)</span> Australian architect and anthropologist (1963–2022)

Elizabeth Grant CF was an Australian architectural anthropologist, criminologist and academic working in the field of Indigenous Architecture. She was a Churchill Fellow and held academic positions at The University of Adelaide, as Associate Professor of Architecture and Urban Design at RMIT University's RMIT School of Architecture and Design, Adjunct Professor at the University of Canberra and the University of Queensland. She researched, wrote, and was an activist focused on architecture and design with Indigenous peoples as architectural practice and a social movement, and the observance of human rights in institutional architecture. Her expertise in Indigenous housing and homelessness, design for Indigenous peoples living with disability, and indigenising public places and spaces made her a regular guest on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's Radio National and ABC Local Radio. She wrote and reviewed architectural projects for architectural magazines such as Architecture Australia, the journal of the Australian Institute of Architects, and the Australian Design Review.

Jessa Rogers is an Aboriginal Australian education leader and Fulbright Scholar currently based in Brisbane.

Nakkiah Lui is an Australian actor, writer and comedian. She is a young leader in the Australian Aboriginal community.

Lynette Nixon is an Australian human rights advocate, author, and community leader. A Gunggari woman from south-west Queensland, she is recognised for her advocacy for education, traditional language, reconciliation, health, housing, and legal services for Aboriginal communities.

Kirstie Parker is a Yuwallarai journalist, policy administrator and Aboriginal Australian activist. From 2013 to 2015 she served as the co-chair of the National Congress of Australia's First Peoples and during her tenure pressed for policies that allowed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians to gain the ability for self-determination.

Rose Richards is an Australian healthcare worker and human rights advocate. Also known as Mookai Rosie she is an Aboriginal community leader, a Kuku Yalanji and Tagalaka elder from Far North Queensland. She advocated for culturally safe health care for Aboriginal people and Torres Strait Islander maternity patients and established Australia's first Indigenous community-controlled corporation that specialises in health care services for women and children.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hannah McGlade</span> Australian lawyer, academic, and human rights advocate

Hannah McGlade CF is an Australian academic, human rights advocate and lawyer. She is a Kurin Minang Noongar woman of the Bibulman nation and is as of May 2022 an associate professor at Curtin University's law school. She was appointed Senior Indigenous Fellow at the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in 2016 and has been a member of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues since 2020.

Vonda Lisa Malone is the Chief executive officer of the Torres Strait Regional Authority since the 1 May 2022 and is on the NIAA Senior Advisory Group. Vonda was the first female Mayor of the Torres Shire Council.

Bronwyn Fredericks is an Indigenous Australian academic and administrator. Her scholarship extends across education, health, community development, policy, and Indigenist research methods, including a focus on work relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people using participatory and community led approaches. Her contributions have been recognised through the NAIDOC Education Award in 2022 and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Award in 2019. She is currently the Deputy Vice Chancellor at the University of Queensland.

References

  1. "Michelle Deshong". ANZSOG. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 Desailly, Georgie (11 October 2023). "Michelle Deshong: Fearless Force | BDmag Oct to Dec 2023" . Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  3. "Michelle Deshong - Churchill Trust". www.churchilltrust.com.au. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  4. "Michelle Deshong". Reef Restoration and Adaptation Program. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  5. 1 2 Le, Joanna (24 April 2017). ""We need to back ourselves": Michelle Deshong on the rise of Aboriginal women leaders". Women's Agenda. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  6. "Michelle Deshong". Australian Rural Leadership Foundation. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Oz to Oz: Michelle Deshong". artsci.k-state.edu. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Meet our team". Supply Nation. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  9. "Michelle Deshong: Australian Aboriginal Methods of Self-Governance | NNI Database". nnigovernance.arizona.edu. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  10. 1 2 "The James Love Churchill Fellowship to research and apply best practice on Indigenous governance and leadership models - Churchill Trust". www.churchilltrust.com.au. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  11. "A passion for Indigenous politics - ABC (none) - Australian Broadcasting Corporation". www.abc.net.au. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  12. "About HB - Homeward Bound". 25 January 2015. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  13. "Michelle Deshong - Homeward Bound". 21 April 2021. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  14. "Indigenous Gov". www.indigenous.gov.au. 2023.
  15. "Michelle Deshong | NAIDOC". www.naidoc.org.au. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  16. Antje (31 July 2019). "TED talk: Black women - Tipping the balance | Michelle Deshong | TEDxJCUCairns". The Commons. Retrieved 3 November 2023.
  17. 1 2 Le, Joanna (24 April 2017). ""We need to back ourselves": Michelle Deshong on the rise of Aboriginal women leaders". Women's Agenda. Retrieved 4 November 2023.
  18. Maxwell, Rudi (15 May 2023). "Women create 'blakprint' for Indigenous gender justice". Mandurah Mail. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  19. 1 2 3 "NAIDOC Scholar of the Year - the story of Michelle Deshong". NITV. Retrieved 3 November 2023.