For more than two decades, Ruth Langford, Nayri Niara’s founder, has drawn on the knowledge passed on by her Yorta Yorta mother, the Lutruwita/Tasmanian Aboriginal community where she was born, and national and international Indigenous connections to heal lives, rebuild Indigenous cultural knowledge and build new futures within and beyond the Tasmanian Aboriginal community.

Ruth founded the biennial Nayri Niara Good Spirit Festival in 2017, the Indigenous social enterprise Nayri Niara, and established The Longhouse, a meeting place in Nipaluna where Indigenous cultural knowledge and WellBeing practices were explored and shared with community.

Nayri Niara’s Dream

Nayri Niara is determined to break down cultural barriers, address intergenerational trauma and ‘Close the Gap’ for Indigenous people by providing reconnection to First Nations cultural practices for healing, disrupt systemic poverty through Nayri Niara’s “Our Way Home” workforce development program, and heal the epidemic of isolation and mental health crisis through providing connection and belonging, recognising that community is vital to this.