Sam Watson has blood ties to the Wanjiburrah people of the lands around Beenleigh and Mt. Jamborine, the lawful owners of the Yugenby language. He also has family connections to the Jagara, Yuggerah and Yuggerapull peoples who are the traditional owners of the country on which Brisbane was built. He also has family and blood line connections to the Biri Gubba people, the Kalkadoon nation and the Wik / Mapoon peoples.

His works include the award-winning novel The Kadaitcha Sung (Penguin Books); plays The Mack and Oodgeroo – Bloodline to Country and the film Black Man Down.

Sam co-founded the Australian Indigenous Peoples Political Party in 1993. He also ran for public office himself at local, state and federal elections and advocated for a treaty with the British Crown.

Across these past five decades Sam has served on many local, state and federal committees; worked on death in custody cases and worked with Stolen Generation peoples.

In his artistic work Sam explores traditional indigenous cultural themes and tensions. He asserts his own identity as a traditional owner and custodian of the lands across south east Queensland and he celebrates his close affinity and bond with the spiritual strengths of country.

Professor Mark Moran leads the Development Effectiveness Group at the Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland.  Mark has a unusual background of technical and social science research with a degree in civil engineering and a PhD in geography and planning.  He has worked in a range of Indigenous and international development contexts, including China, Papua New Guinea, Timor Leste, Bolivia and Lesotho, and remote Indigenous communities in Australia. His research interests include aid effectiveness, governance, public finance management and community-driven development. He has recently published a book titled Serious Whitefella Stuff: When Solutions Became the Problem in Indigenous Affairs.  He is also leading the UQ Leadership in Global Development Masters and online MicroMasters, which provides advanced leadership and management skills for the development sector.

Margaret Stephenson is an Associate Professor at Law at the T C Beirne School of Law, University of Queensland. Prior to commencing an academic career Margaret practised as a solicitor in Property Law in Brisbane. Margaret teaches in the areas of Property Law, Native Title Law and Comparative Indigenous Legal Issues. Margaret has developed a number of courses, at undergraduate and postgraduate level, including Comparative and International Indigenous courses by Video-Conferencing. Margaret’s research interests include Real Property Law, Native Title and Comparative Indigenous Rights. She has compiled and edited three books, Mabo: A Judicial Revolution, Mabo: The Native Title Legislation and Australia: Republic or Monarchy, and is co-author of Land Law.

Charlie Ward is a writer and historian, based in Darwin. He worked in the Gurindji communities of Kalkaringi and Daguragu between 2004 and 2006 and then as a researcher with the Stolen Generations’ Link-up program in Alice Springs. Now an oral history interviewer with the National Library of Australia, Charlie’s work has appeared in journals including Griffith Review, Meanjin and Southerly. A Handful of Sand is his first book.

Mark McKenna is one of Australia’s leading historians. A Professor of History at the University of Sydney, his books have won several national awards while his essays, reviews and commentary appear regularly in The Monthly, ABR and The Australian. His most recent book is From the Edge: Australia’s Lost Histories (MUP 2016).