Balayanhi Wiradyuri Garingundhi

Dr Jessica Russ-Smith’s PhD project, ‘Balayanhi Wiradyuri Garingundhi. We are sovereign my granddaughter. Embodying Wiradyuri women’s sovereignty through Wiradyuri knowing, being and doing’ is a prime example of the Yindyamarra philosophy. Dr Russ-Smith removed the noise of traditional Western ways of developing her PhD, while holding onto her deep-seated Wiradyuri traditions and methods. This approach resulted in her graduating with the highest honour – the Higher Degree by Research University Medal. It was not just the PhD itself but the process of utilising her individual methods in research and discovery that complemented both her heritage and the university’s ethos.