From the Bardi Jawi People at One Arm Point on Western Australia's Dampier Peninsula, Dwesmond Wiggan-Dann is a natural sharer, as were his ancestors.
The Bardi Jawi People live by 'aarnja', an ethos of what is mine is yours, ensuring nobody misses out, that everyone has a fair share, which extends to how one can reciprocate. It is applied to everything from food to boats to one's time.
"Selfishness is not in our DNA and vocabulary," says Dwesmond, who is more commonly known as Dwes.
"Sharing everything means sharing everything you can, for example, if we don't have enough turtle to share with you, I'll go with you to help you catch a turtle for your family."
Growing up in a nurturing and caring community on Country was the only way of life Dwes knew before he moved to Perth for high school.
"It was a shock when I first went to Perth for schooling that I experienced selfishness and people taking advantage of each other for personal gain," the 37-year-old says.
With strength and inspiration from his cultural heritage, Dwes made it his mission to advocate for the rights and well-being of Aboriginal people, particularly those in the Kimberley.
Since then, Dwes has garnered 14 years of experience in the social justice sector and is a respected figure in his community and beyond.
His leadership journey includes serving on boards for several organisations including the Kimberley Land Council, Kimberley Empowered Young Leaders, as deputy chair at Aarnja Limited, where he continues to champion initiatives that empower Aboriginal voices and promote social equity, and he was a founding member of the advisory board of iyarn.
The iyarn app is where people connect with those with whom they feel safe and tap into their own 'liyarn', a Bardi word for your own internal compass, deep soul feeling and heart connection.
In the app, users apply a rating from one to ten to various areas in their life such as health, family, friends, finance and environment. With weekly check-ins, those in their network can start deeper, more meaningful conversations to support one another by simply asking 'how is your liyarn?'
"For example, if you rated your health a three and your family a four, I can check in with you and say 'Hey Di, how is your liyarn, I see your health is a three, what's going on, can I help you get an appointment at a clinic, can I drive you to the doctor's?', that sort of thing," Dwes explains.
"iyarn is a place to be vulnerable and honest, and for many it's easier to do that in an app than it is in real life."
iyarn is connected to specialist services such as Beyond Blue, among others.
"Naturally we're not all equipped with the tools to help everyone in every situation, but we can all support and nurture each other, and that's what iyarn is designed for."
Working on the continuous development and improvement of iyarn is just one of the many ways Dwes shows he is a passionate advocate for change, dedicated to fostering a brighter future for Aboriginal people.