An Adjahdura/Narungga and Kaurna woman, First Nations advocate, mother and cancer survivor, Jade Brook wants the community to remember an old way of thinking: kindness.
Throughout her own decades-long journey to find her culture and stand up for the rights of First Nations people, Jade says that she has never experienced the level of vitriol and contempt towards her and her culture as she has in recent years.
As politics continues to become more polarised – and agreeable disagreement becomes rarer – Jade hopes love and understanding will prevail.
But the path to finding her culture and the purpose that came with it was far from linear.
Jade’s mother was a part of the Stolen Generation, and as a result she did not know she was Indigenous until she was in Year Four.
Learning about her cultural heritage was not a one-way ticket to self-actualisation and fulfilment.
Instead, the new reality brought with it serious challenges in the form of bigotry, racism and malice.
“When I shared that with people, I was bullied and haunted for a really long time,” she says.
“I never told anyone I was Aboriginal ever again, really.
“What that did is really disconnect me from a sense of identity and belonging, and it led me down a pretty dark path for a long time.”
A few years later, Jade set out on a journey that would define the rest of her life: finding out who she really was, and where she came from.
One really big thing my aunties taught me is that reconciliation is actually a verb
Involved in youth work, Jade began to connect with her community.
“I knew that I had a Narungga connection, and I rang this group at Point Pearce and my uncle answered and he said, ‘I know who you are. I know who your nanna was. I’m your uncle. Come and meet me’,” she says.
“I was about 19.
“I spoke to my nan on the phone all the time and started connecting with my aunties.
“I’m nearly 50.
“It’s been a really long journey.”
Jade now runs her own small business, Third Camp, working with local businesses and educational organisations to support them to become more culturally safe.
The Aboriginal-led business has grown in the last 12 months, which has allowed Jade to give back to the community.
“We’re working with the Point Pearce Aboriginal School and we’ve done a fundraiser,” she says.
“We’ve got 450 students from across the State writing letters for Elders and community, and then we’re making up these beautiful packs to give out to Aboriginal community members that might not be able to go to a NAIDOC Week event.”
NAIDOC Week celebrated ‘50 years of deadly’ in 2026, and, a fierce champion of reconciliation herself, Jade says elevating Aboriginal voices must be done through practical, everyday actions, rather than symbolic gestures.
“One really big thing in reconciliation that my aunties have taught me is that reconciliation is actually a verb,” she says.
“It’s great to have listened and learned, but then what is the action going to be now that we have this new knowledge?
“What do I have in my hands that I’m already doing daily that could elevate Aboriginal voice or embed an Aboriginal perspective?”
Various government programs, political initiatives, not-for-profit organisations and investments have been initiated over many decades to improve the plight of Aboriginal people.
Some have worked better than others, some have barely worked at all.
For Jade, whether it’s at Federal-level or more locally, positive change must be achieved by walking “alongside” First Nations peoples – not in front of them.
“Having an Aboriginal voice on how we engage with community, rather than people saying, ‘this is what we’re going to do for the Aboriginal community’,” she says.
“It’s understanding the truth of our nation’s history and what wounds that has caused, but then listening to our stories and elevating Aboriginal voice.”
In the wake of the 2023 Federal referendum, during which Australia voted not to establish an advisory Voice to Parliament, Jade says she has seen an increase in the level of racism occurring throughout the community.
“It was only recently, in my own community where I’ve lived for a really long time, where people have just been outright rude, horrible and racist straight to my face,” she says.
“We are all human and we just need to be kind and considerate to each other.
“Whatever your worldview is, wherever you sit politically, it just comes back to that.”
