WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised the following article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died.
Last Thursday, award-winning Yugambeh poet, author, artist and activist Uncle Lionel Fogarty died, aged 68.
A proud Mununjali man of the Yugambeh nation born and raised in Cherbourg, Uncle Lionel became one of Australia's most-recognised poets and a long-standing figure in the Land Rights movement and the fight against Black deaths in custody.
He remained deeply connected to the Beaudesert region and to his Jagun (Country), carrying that connection into his writing and activism for more than four decades.
Uncle Lionel's first collection, Kargun, was published in 1980, beginning a literary career that would span 14 collections and earn national and international recognition.
His most recent major accolade came in 2023, when he received the Judith Wright Calanthe Award at the Queensland Literary Awards for Harvest Lingo.
The collection was also shortlisted for the Prime Minister's Literary Awards, the Victorian Premier's Literary Awards and the NSW Premier's Literary Awards.
In 2025, he was presented with a Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement at the First Nations Arts and Culture Awards, recognising both his literary output and his mentoring of emerging First Nations writers.
Uncle Lionel was known for what he described as "guerrilla poetry", breaking the rules of the coloniser's language to ensure Murri truth was heard.
He used English not as a constraint but as a tool to dismantle systems that sought to silence Aboriginal voices.
His writing carried themes of racism, land rights and ongoing injustices faced by Aboriginal people.
From the 1970s onwards, he was active in grassroots movements for Land Rights and against Black deaths in custody.
He worked alongside newly formed Black organisations, including the Aboriginal Legal Service and the Aboriginal Housing Service.
The death of his younger brother Daniel Yock, who was killed by Queensland Police while in custody in 1993, remained a driving force behind his advocacy.
Uncle Lionel travelled internationally and built a reputation as an award-winning poet, yet remained grounded in community and protest spaces across Brisbane and beyond.
Yugambeh Nation reflected on his passing in words that spoke to his impact.
"Yugambeh Nation pauses in deep gijeri (sorrow) to honour the life and legacy of a true legend of our jagun who passed yesterday - Uncle Lionel Fogarty," they said in a statement.
"He broke every rule of the coloniser's language to make sure our Murri truth was heard loud and clear.
"We walk taller today because Uncle Lionel paved the way."
A GoFundMe page established by his son, Moojidi, on behalf of his direct family, is seeking support to give him a "beautiful send off", with many families expected to travel to Cherbourg for the memorial and burial.
Uncle Lionel's words, activism and mentorship leave a legacy that will continue to shape generations of Indigenous writers and advocates.
