On being told not to see

In On Being Told Not to See, Dr. Emily Samuels Ballantyne reflects on a moment of institutional dismissal being told that drawing on First Nations knowledge systems was “romantic” and even “damaging.” in relation to the reforms we need to make to policy and our society. In response, she gently but firmly shares how these systems of law, astronomy, fire, design, and kinship are not only intellectually rigorous but vital to reimagining our futures.

Through the lens of the First Knowledges series and her own place-based practice at Magical Farm Tasmania, Emily explores how listening to these ontologies has shaped her seasonal rhythms, ecological design, and regenerative community work.

This is not an attempt to replicate or appropriate, but to honour, to learn, and to unlearn. The article asks: what might shift if we stopped seeing these knowledges as peripheral, and instead treated them as central to how we build, grow, and govern?

Written with reverence and responsibility, this piece invites deeper listening, to land, to story, and to those who have cared for this continent far longer than most of us can imagine.