Dalby man Lionel Cubby launches cultural program to reconnect Indigenous men to their roots

Gamilaraay man Lionel Cubby has launched a new initiative giving young Indigenous men a chance to connect with country, culture and mentors in a culturally safe way. Find out more.

Artwork by Dalby man Lionel Cubby.

A Dalby local has launched an initiative to connect Indigenous people to culture and country.

Supported by Goolburri Aboriginal Health Advancement, Gamilaraay man Lionel Cubby’s Men’s Peer Support Program will take young Indigenous men on trips to reconnect them to their cultural roots.

“It’s a bit of an offshoot from the Men’s Peer Support Program, it’s run once a quarter for men to come together and we will go out on land and introduce them to a bit of material culture, show them the country and collect didgeridoos and boomerangs,” Mr Cubby said.

“It's all about identity, we lost some of the connection to the land because the systems we had to teach our young boys how to be men were taken from us so now this is an initiative to bring that back slowly but surely.

“It’s about knowing who you are and where you come from, us men we are supposed to work with clay and rocks and have that connection to country but we don’t have that in everyday society.

“It’s a type of knowledge that shouldn’t just be chucked around, it's valuable to our people.”

Mr Cubby said the trips would have a far reaching benefit for young Indigenous men in the Western Downs.

“I identify people in the community who need the help, it’s for fellas who are ready to move and ready to change and people I feel are ready,” he said.

“As a young fella a lot of my group of friends were locked up and there's lots of benefits to these trips to help keep people out of trouble, it's important to have a mentor who can take them out.

“I see this is our way forward for our people to get strong men and strong fathers back in our households, lots of people go without fathers and that's the area I want to strengthen within this community.”

Mr Cubby encouraged people who were interested in getting involved to reach out.

“I’ve got people lined up for the trips but even if I’m full please reach out because there are people and places I can send them to who do a similar thing to me,” he said.

“It's difficult to get something like this run through any government organisation, I tried to go through those routes but there was so much red tape so I decided to do it on my own, I would also like to get some non-Indigenous influence involved as well.”