This article focuses on the implementation of the Cuban "Yes, I Can" adult literacy campaign in Indigenous Australian communities in north west New South Wales (NSW). It examines the interplay between empowerment, disempowerment and commodification in education in Australia in order to assess what new elements the Cuban "Yes, I Can" adult literacy campaign has brought to the education of Indigenous Australians. In doing so, this article has considered why and how the Cuban approach to education is fundamentally different to the Australian approach and whether or not the Cuban approach is more appropriate for responding to Indigenous disempowerment in Australia.