Chelsea Watego facts for kids

Chelsea Joanne Ruth Watego (born in 1978 or 1979) is an Aboriginal Australian professor and writer. She is a proud Mununjali Yugambeh and South Sea Islander woman. Currently, she is a Professor of Indigenous Health at Queensland University of Technology. Her first book, Another Day in the Colony, was published in 2021.

About Chelsea Watego's Life

Chelsea Watego was born in 1978 or 1979 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Her parents are Vern and Elaine Watego. Her father, Vern, was from the Mununjali Yugambeh group. This is an Aboriginal group whose traditional lands are near Beaudesert in South East Queensland. He was also a South Sea Islander. Her mother, Elaine, has English and Irish family roots.

Through her father, Chelsea is a descendant of Bilin Bilin. He was a well-known Yugambeh leader and diplomat who passed away in 1901. Chelsea has five children: Kihi, Matt, Eliakim, Vernon, and George.

Chelsea Watego's Academic Journey

Chelsea Watego studied at the University of Queensland (UQ). She earned a Bachelor of Applied Health Science with honours in 2001. In 2007, she completed her Doctor of Philosophy (PhD). Her PhD research looked at how Aboriginal identity is talked about in public health.

She has worked as a researcher and teacher at both UQ and Queensland University of Technology (QUT). She started her academic career at UQ. In 2021, she became a Professor of Indigenous Health at QUT. She also helps lead the Institute for Collaborative Race Research.

Awards for Her Work

Chelsea Watego has received several awards for her important research. In 2009, she won the NAIDOC Award for Scholar of the Year. In 2012, she received the Lowitja Institute Emerging Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Researcher Award.

Focus of Her Research

Her academic work focuses on understanding the experiences of Indigenous people within the health system. She looks at the role of Aboriginal health workers. She also promotes community-based approaches to improve Indigenous health. She has also helped develop the field of Indigenist health humanities. This area combines Indigenous knowledge with health studies. She received a large grant in 2021 to support this work.

Chelsea Watego's Media and Writing Work

Chelsea Watego has written for many different publications. These include IndigenousX, NITV, ABC News, Meanjin, SBS, The Guardian, and The Conversation. Her essay Mythologies of Aboriginal Culture was nominated for the 2016 Horne Prize.

Hosting a Radio Show

From 2017 to 2020, she co-hosted a radio show called Wild Black Women. She hosted it with Angelina Hurley on 98.9 FM in Brisbane. The show became well-known for an interview with comedian Trevor Noah in 2019. They discussed a joke he made about Aboriginal women.

Public Speaking Engagements

Chelsea Watego often speaks at events and on panels. She is praised for her strong messages against unfair treatment. For example, she spoke at La Trobe University in 2019 about structural racism.

Her Book: Another Day in the Colony

In 2021, her first book, Another Day in the Colony, was published by University of Queensland Press. This book is a collection of essays. It explores the daily racism faced by First Nations peoples in Australia. The book has received many positive reviews.

• Declan Fry from The Guardian called it "a fierce manifesto for First Nations to flourish."
• Kara Nicholson described it as "sharply written, fiercely intelligent and engaging essays" and "absolutely essential reading."
• Monique Grbec said it "gave agency, dignity and power in response to the shared experience of racism."

The book has also won and been nominated for several awards:

• In 2022, it won the People’s Choice Queensland Book of the Year Award.
• It was shortlisted for the Queensland Premier's Award for a Work of State Significance and Nonfiction.
• It was also shortlisted for the 2022 Victorian Premier's Literary Awards for Indigenous Writing and Nonfiction.
• It was longlisted for the Stella Prize in 2022.
• It was shortlisted for the Douglas Stewart Prize for Non-Fiction and the Indigenous Writers' Prize at the 2023 New South Wales Premier's Literary Awards.