I am Audrey Nokrek Angela and my roots begin with the Garo tribe of Bangladesh. I am very proud of my community. Being Garo is an important part of who I am. Our traditions, language, music, dance and connection to our ancestral land are all part of my identity.
However, growing up as an Indigenous person today sometimes feels like living between two worlds. Many Indigenous families leave their ancestral homes and forests to come to cities because better education and work opportunities are not always available back home.
I have also grown up in an English-medium school since childhood, so I mostly speak English and Bangla. Sometimes, even I struggle to speak my own mother tongue, and that makes me sad because I feel that we are slowly becoming separated from our roots.
Keeping our culture alive
For me, Wangala, the traditional festival of the Garo people, is one of the ways I reconnect with my roots. I am involved with the Wangala cultural team in Dhaka for many years, especially through dance. Seeing our people come together in our traditional clothes, music and dances makes me feel connected to home.
Through dance, I try my best to uplift and share our culture. I want to continue doing this and encourage Indigenous young people to learn their mother tongue, celebrate their traditions and never feel ashamed of where they come from.
Today, I am also involved with the Garo Student Federation (GSF) where we hold seminars, workshops and programmes for Indigenous students from different communities. As we come together, these spaces allow us to learn not only about our own roots but also the histories, cultures, and struggles of other Indigenous peoples.
Every seminar and workshop reminds me that we have so much to learn from one another. I believe that keeping our roots alive does not mean refusing to change or refusing to become part of the modern world. We can study in English, speak Bangla, live in cities and still remain proudly Garo. Modern education and our cultural identity do not have to be enemies.
Carrying my roots forward, a vision for the future
But I also dream of a future where Indigenous children do not have to leave their forests and homes simply to receive a good education. Many of our people move to cities because better educational opportunities are not always available in their communities.
When we leave, we gain opportunities, but sometimes we also become separated from the land, the community and the everyday learning that comes from being there.
For us, A’bima – our ancestral land, our home – is itself a place of learning. It teaches us through the forests, through our elders, through our traditions and through the way our community lives. I hope that one day our children will be able to receive quality education while still growing up connected to A’bima.
I want to see schools and educational opportunities within Indigenous communities improve so that education can bring our young people forward without pulling them away from their roots.
I want a future where Garo children can learn their mother tongue alongside English and Bangla. I want young people to speak their language without embarrassment, celebrate their traditions, and understand the stories of the people who came before them.
Most importantly, I want Indigenous young people to speak up. I want them to know that their voice matters, their culture matters, and their roots matter. I may not know everything about my culture yet, and I am still learning. But I want to keep learning, keep dancing, keep participating, and keep sharing what I know.
Because A’bima is not simply the place we come from. It is a part of who we are. My hope is that the generations after me will be able to grow, study, and dream of a better future without having to choose between education and their identity. We should be able to move forward without leaving our roots behind.
