Joel Deaves

Joel Deaves is a Gumea Dharawal man and Dharumba Dhurga descendant from the Yuin people. Joel began learning language from his uncle and, with his cousin Jacob, set a path on which he hasn’t looked back. From the learning of his language, Joel’s passion grew for continuing and returning his culture, not just for him but for his family as well. In his spare time Joel is with family, speaking and restoring the Gumea Dharawal language with Jacob Morris and Adrian Webster or walking on Yuin Country with his cousins, continuing their connection to the land just as their old people did. Joel has been commissioned for the Poetry in First Languages project for Red Room Poetry.