GEGAC’s Healthy Lifestyles Team – Tamasin Rankin, Rani Stokell and Rhiannon Hayes.
When I ask Rani Stokell to tell me something about herself, this is the very first thing she says:
“I’m a proud Ngarabul woman, from northern NSW. That’s my mob.”
She says it with a noticeable energy, almost excitement, like someone for whom the words themselves are still new, a recent gift.
That’s because it was only two years ago that Rani discovered her Aboriginal heritage.
“I think my family had always wondered whether we were Aboriginal, maybe suspected,” she says.
She describes those years before she understood her ancestry as “feeling a bit lost – not knowing exactly who you are.”
“But then a couple of years ago Dad did one of those ancestry tests, and we were able to make contact with some of our relatives up North. We learned we were Ngarabul”
Rani describes it as a joyous feeling – an awakening or sorts – like something out of whack had suddenly been righted.
“It made sense to me,” she says. “I immediately felt more grounded. It has been an amazing experience – I am still learning.”
With that joy also came a new understanding of trauma.
As they unearthed their family history, they learned her father had been one of 12 children.
Her father and one other child had been adopted out by the family. But most of the other children were taken away on and off for years by government agencies, more members of the Stolen Generation that spanned the mid-1800s to the 1970s.
Rani said that when her, her family and Dad returned to Ngarabul Country for the first time since learning about their ancestry, the experience was powerful but also traumatic; the joyful feeling of reconnecting with country inseparable from the trauma and sadness of the past.
The Healing Power of Land
Fast forward to today, and Rani says that connection to land and country has become a core part of who she is – both as an Aboriginal woman and as a health professional.
Rani’s career background and expertise spans a range of holistic fitness, wellness and therapeutic treatment specialties, including yoga, meditation, dance and massage therapy, as well as day spas and beauty treatment.
Her father is a naturopath, registered nurse and has worked for many years as a massage therapist.
And, like her father, Rani understands instinctively the deep connection between healing and the land.
“I’m a big believer in the healing power of land, the healing power of connecting to country,” she says. “It’s often what is lost these days. It’s so important to remember who you are.”
“It always felt like home, here.”
Rani’s experience and understanding of the healing power of land and community make her the perfect addition to our Healthy Lifestyles team, filling in for Tamasin Rankin while Tamasin is on maternity leave.
What brought Rani to GEGAC is yet another example of a strong but hidden lifeforce at work.
“We came to Lakes when I was a kid,” Rani says. “I remember being 8 or 9 and standing at the lookout up at Kalimna, looking over at the ocean and just thinking ‘wow, this is the most amazing place!’ It always felt like home, here. I always felt a connection.”
Feeling so drawn to the area, Rani decided to move her family here.
As they were our exploring country one day earlier this year, Rani and her Dad stopped in at the Keeping Place, where they got yarning with Rob Hudson.
After Rob learned more about Rani, and her professional and personal journey, he said “you ought to be here with us!”
As fortune would have it, there was a vacancy for a casual receptionist in Medical, which Rani immediately accepted, and began to grow her connections with staff and community.
Her move now to the Healthy Lifestyles Team is just the latest step along her winding track.
She will be running yoga classes for community and working alongside Rhiannon Hayes in coordinating the build of a community garden over at the newly renovated Elders’ building.
Wunman Njinde Rani!