Bloodlines and reconciliation
27 May 2021
A new memorial consisting of burial poles at ANU marks another important step in making sure Indigenous Australians have a say about how their genetics are used by science.
Two years ago, Ms Azure Hermes took on a unique role at The Australian National University (ANU), finding a home for thousands of Indigenous blood samples that are not in the right place.
Many of the samples have been sitting at ANU for 50 years. Ms Hermes is making sure they get back to where they came from.
"My family is in this collection. These samples are like my own flesh and blood," Ms Hermes, Deputy Director of the ANU National Centre for Indigenous Genomics (NCIG), says.