Rarriwuy Hick

Hick was born around 1991^[1] in Sydney, Australia. She grew up in both the suburb of Lilyfield, and in Dhalinybuy, an Aboriginal community in Arnhem Land, Northern Territory.^[2][3] She was raised speaking Yolŋu Matha and other Aboriginal Australian languages before learning English, and speaks seven dialects.^[4][1] Her mother, Janet Munyarryun, a Yolngu woman, was a founding member of Bangarra Dance Theatre.^[3]

Throughout her education, Hick was inspired by her mother to pursue dance and the arts. She attended a Catholic girls high school and showed sufficient interest in dance to establish a troupe.^[4] In 2009, she commenced studies at the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA) Dance College,.^[5] She was asked to audition for the Aboriginal-produced play Wrong Skin, and was successful, performing on the tour while studying.^[6]

Hick was living in Arnhem Land at the time of the 2007 Northern Territory National Emergency Response. She later remarked that the intervention was not having an effect on child abuse like intended and instead that her family's lives and finances were being "completely controlled by the government".^[20]

In May 2013, Hick and other actors from theatre production The Shadow King in Melbourne were refused taxi rides by several drivers who reportedly drove off after observing that the group members were of Indigenous appearance.^[21][1]

In 2018, Hick started a social media campaign using the hashtag #ourkidsbelongwithfamilies, which became a "rallying cry" of Indigenous Australians fighting to maintain their families together against removals and resettlement of children by authorities.^[22][23]