NEWS
RECONCILIATION IN SCHOOLS AND EARLY LEARNING
Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Schools and Early Learning acknowledges and pays respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
NARRAGUNNAWALI UPDATE Language is a fundamental tool that allows us to express ourselves, communicate and connect with each other, and learn about our world and the unique lived experiences within it. In Australia, at least 250 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages were spoken at the time of colonisation. About 120 of these languages are still spoken today, however, it is estimated that 110 are endangered or at serious risk of no longer being spoken. Efforts to maintain, revitalise and revive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages have been accelerating in recent years. Schools and early learning services are acknowledging that they have a part to play in supporting communities in this process, and are engaging in innovative
ISSUE NO. 4 2016
Ancestors have walked this country and we acknowledge their special and unique contribution to our shared histories, cultures and languages. We recognise the collective contribution of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians in educating all people across this country.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language projects across Australia. This issue of Narragunnawali News focuses on the significant role honouring, learning about and nurturing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages plays in progressing reconciliation. We bring you stories of celebration and resilience from schools, early learning services, educators and teachers engaged with First Languages programs in the hope of providing ideas for how you too can make an impact. As the year begins to wind down, we send our gratitude and best wishes to the teachers and educators that are committed to driving reconciliation in their schools and early learning services. We encourage you and your colleagues to reflect on how far your reconciliation journey has come, and where it is heading—for you as an individual, for your school or early learning service, and for our nation. We hope that you feel proud of all that you have achieved and come back next year refreshed and inspired to continue the journey.
Who We Are: Brave New Clan resources
Narragunnawali evaluation Since Narragunnawali launched, the Australian National University’s Centre for Aboriginal Economic and Policy Research (ANU-CAEPR) has been carrying out an independent evaluation of Narragunnawali, to help us understand the value and impact of the program. Led by Dr. Nicholas Biddle, the evaluation team reports on the successes and challenges for the program, which enables evidence-based modifications and enhancements. So far, the evaluation has highlighted levels of engagement across states and territories, sectors and school levels, providing the Narragunnawali team with valuable insight into where support is most needed.
Apart from being excited about all the fantastic language maintenance, revitalisation and revival work happening across the country, Narragunnawali has been busy working with Cool Australia to launch a suite of new curriculum resources to support the films ‘Who We Are: Brave New Clan’. Who We Are follows the lives of six exceptional young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as they share stories about their communities, histories and cultures in contemporary Australia. The primary school units People, Culture and Country/Place contain classroom-ready lessons aligned with the organising ideas of the Australian Curriculum’s cross-curriculum priority of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures.
Read more about the evaluation here.
First Contact coming in November
Have your say
SBS’s Logie-award winning series First Contact returns for a brand new season, hosted again by journalist Ray Martin. This year, Martin takes a group of six wellknown Australians with diverse, deeply entrenched preconceptions and opinions about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples on a journey. In recognition of the rich teachings that can be accessed through the program, the Narragunnawali team has partnered with SBS to create engaging teaching resources for senior secondary students to accompany the series. First Contact will air on three consecutive nights (29 November - 1 December), so tune in and keep an eye out for the teaching resources at SBS Learn.
As part of the Narragunnawali evaluation, the Australian National University is looking at the attitudes and experiences of educators towards incorporating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content into the classroom. We encourage teachers and educators in the Narragunnawali community to contribute their voices to this important research by completing this short survey. The research will shed light on what support teachers and educators need to feel confident and capable teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander content in classrooms.
2
While the program has gained national recognition, Steph says “It is the rewards at the local level that are the most special”. In 2012, a landmark government inquiry highlighted the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language and culture programs in fostering children’s “Increased selfesteem, improved academic performance, improved school attendance, reduced drop-out rates, and better proficiency in reading skills in both the Indigenous language and English”, and recommended language nest programs be made a priority across Australia.
Right to left: Stephanie Woerde, Jobeth Winton, and Rosemary Boombi from the Miriwoong Language Nest team delivering a session to children.
NESTING NATIVE LANGUAGES
Steph agrees that outcomes of this kind are very apparent in Kununurra and appreciated by program participants, their teachers and educators, and their families and wider community. Reflecting on the Miriwoong Language Nest program’s positive impacts, a local primary school teacher said “The kids feel so clever and good about themselves. I believe [the program] helps their English and ability to learn in other areas too. I am amazed at how quickly they learn and retain the Miriwoong language. It is especially lovely to have local Miriwoong Elders in the classrooms and the school—the kids’ eyes light up”. Indeed, a recent survey of Miriwoong Language Nest participants revealed more than 90 per cent of children agreed that the main thing they feel while learning from the Miriwoong educators is “proud”.
The Miriwoong Language Nest Program In April this year, Narragunnawali was lucky enough to welcome Stephanie Woerde into the team. Steph has a longstanding love of languages and is passionate about bilingual and First Languages education in particular. Prior to joining Reconciliation Australia, Steph worked at Kununurra’s Mirima Dawang Woorlab-gerring Language and Culture Centre to help establish an exciting language revitalisation initiative for young children, known as the Miriwoong Language Nest.
Miriwoong Language Workers were recently among the first cohort in Australia to complete their Certificate III in Aboriginal Languages for Communities and Workplaces, demonstrating the commitment of the Miriwoong community to language revitalisation and the growth potential of the language nest model. “I feel humbled to have arrived in Kununurra to meet only a handful of fully fluent speakers in 2013, but to have left knowing that more than three hundred children—both Aboriginal and nonIndigenous—are continuing to proudly learn Miriwoong, in the true spirit of reconciliation” says Steph. “I hope that learning Miriwoong will continue to be a special part of growing up in Kununurra—Miriwoong Country—for generations to come.”
The language nest model has its origins in New Zealand and represents an innovative, immersion-based approach to early childhood language education and revitalisation. It has successfully supported the continuation of New Zealand’s Maori language, as well as First Languages in Hawaii and Canada. While the Miriwoong Language Nest program does not function as a full-day immersion (pre)school, the team adapted the model to surround the children of Kununurra in the local, critically endangered Miriwoong language in daily or weekly sessions. During these sessions, children from a range of local playgroups, childcare services and schools learn from Miriwoong educators through fun and friendly activities facilitated entirely in the Miriwoong language. These activities include simple talk, storytelling, songs, games, arts and crafts.
For more information about the Miriwoong language and its revival, read this article. To see the children in action, watch this short video.
3
ACTION IN FOCUS
Learning, or learning about, First Languages also provides an opportunity to reflect on one’s own ways of thinking and being in the world, while acquiring stronger inter-cultural awareness, communication, empathy, and respect.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages
Furthermore, engaging with traditional Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages has the potential to enhance learners’ English literacy skills and understanding of the difference between these languages and Aboriginal English, Kriol or creole languages.
Schools and early learning services can commit to learning, or learning about, Australia’s First Languages as part of their Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). This commitment supports students and children to appreciate the diversity and significance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identities, histories, cultures and contributions.
Ideas for action Where opportunities for direct language learning is limited, learning about the history, diversity and significance of First Languages in Australia is also important for students and children. Start by introducing a map of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages to your classroom, or comparing local Indigenous stories to others across Australia via ABC’s Mother Tongue collection.
Search for suitable language resources, such as bilingual audio books, digital stories and smartphone apps, created by or with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. Remember to explain the context of any resources in a language not traditionally spoken on the Country where your school or early learning service is located.
Work with your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community to explore the development of a language program within your school or service. ACARA’s (the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority) Framework for Aboriginal Languages and Torres Strait Islander Languages may also provide useful guidance.
Celebrate national and international days of significance relevant to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, such as National Indigenous Literacy Day or International Mother Tongue Day. You may also like to show your pride by participating in exciting native languages challenges such as the 2014 Indigenous Language Challenge or Marrin Gamu.
Invite people who are involved in language revitalisation work to speak with staff, students and children about the importance of efforts to preserve and promote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
Key facts
At least 250 distinct Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages were active in Australia prior to colonisation, reflecting the significant diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and identities.
Postcolonial policies, such as systemic condemnation of traditional language use and forced separation of children from their families and speaker communities, have critically endangered many First Languages.
4
The cultural protocols around language learning and teaching can vary significantly between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Europeans and the effect this had on Kaurna people. Tessa: Tell us how building relationships has supported you to bring Kaurna language into your classroom? Briony: Building trust in relationships is essential. Jack has been involved for a number of years in our National Reconciliation Week celebrations and has worked with students over the past year and introduced us to several of his colleagues and students. He was our Cultural Consultant during the process of developing our school Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP). Jack cut and made a Kaurna shield for Pulteney, which we are honoured to have. The shield is used in classrooms across the school.
TEACHER FEATURE
Zoe: How do you think students feel to be learning Kaurna language?
Briony Franklin, Pulteney Grammar School, South Australia
Briony: I embed Kaurna language and culture in everything I do every single day. When the children write reflections about their learning, Kaurna language is often mentioned as an area of appeal—‘because it’s fun and interesting’. In my classroom children look forward to learning the Kaurna word for the day. The word or phrase is often connected to the Inquiry topic and we have fun working it out!
Briony Franklin is a non-Indigenous Year 1 teacher with a passion for learning and teaching about Kaurna language, the language of the Traditional Owners of the Adelaide Plains of South Australia. Tessa and Zoe of Narragunnawali caught up with Briony to talk about how Kaurna language is incorporated into her classroom everyday.
At the end of the day we say ‘nakutha’ which is ‘see you later’. Other words are also revised and explained in an historical context. For example, the Kaurna word for chicken is ‘murtaanaitya’, which literally means ‘poo everywhere thing’, because that’s what the Kaurna people thought when they first saw one! Singing a counting song and greeting song is enjoyed by all and my class has been able to teach other classes these songs.
Tessa: Hi Briony, thanks for chatting with us. Would you like to introduce yourself? Briony: Naa marni? Ngai narri Briony Kartanya Franklin. Hello – how are you all? My name is Briony Franklin and I am first born daughter.
Tessa: What advice would you give other educators around teaching and learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages?
Kaurna (Gar-na) miyurna (me-in-ah) Kaurna (Gar-na) yarta (yar-taa) ngadlu (nud-loo) tampinthi (thumb-en-day)
Briony: I strongly believe that nothing is as important as learning the language of the land you are on.
We recognise the Kaurna people and their land. This is our Kaurna acknowledgement for Assembly and Chapel which is led by a student in Kaurna language.
There are wonderful Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders in communities, and building an authentic relationship with community to learn language and culture is vital in assisting students to understand and learn about being an Australian citizen. In developing relationships that are true, and honest, it is important that information that is shared with you is treated respectfully within your school setting. If this is something that you want to do, it’s not that difficult! You’ll find out things about yourself, our history and our society that you didn’t know before. And as an educator, it’s important to bring this back to the students that you teach.
Zoe: Could you tell us about your own learning journey and how it has become an important part of your teaching? Briony: My early teaching positions took me to country towns in South Australia where I met and worked with Aboriginal educators and community members, and this is where my learning and understanding began. My interest was sparked further when I attended a talk by Dr Rob Amery, a linguist at the University of Adelaide who researches the maintenance and revival of Indigenous languages. He inspired me to learn Kaurna language and introduced me to Kaurna language teacher and Elder, Jack Kanya Kudnuitya Buckskin.
I think language is a wonderful and respectful way to be able to talk about and address reconciliation on a daily basis. To learn more about Jack Buckskin and the revival of Kaurna language, you can watch this amazing documentary, Buckskin. Ten per cent of the sales from each DVD or viewing goes to support Kaurna language programs.
I learnt Kaurna language with Jack for four years. Amongst other things, he taught me about the significance of connection to land, cultural protocols, the arrival of 5
Waking our sleeping languages: According to linguist Murray Garde, “It’s never been a more exciting time to be a linguist working with Australian Indigenous languages”. This article explores some of the exciting initiatives across the country that are revitalising or reviving endangered or sleeping Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. Conversation starter: Can you name the First Language(s) of your local area? Why do you think it is important to learn, maintain, revitalise or revive your local Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander language?
First Languages in maiden speeches: In September, the maiden speeches of newly elected Aboriginal parliamentarians Patrick Dodson, Linda Burney and Malarndirri McCarthy were moving in many ways, and the strong presence of Aboriginal languages was particularly significant. Senator Patrick Dodson and the Speaker addressed each other in Yawuru language, the Hon Linda Burney MP was sung into parliament in Wiradjuri language by family members and Senator Malarndirri McCarthy addressed the chamber in Yanyuwa language.
Yirra Yaakin artists perform Shakespeare in Noongar language.
RECONCILIATION IN THE MEDIA Languages focus
Conversation starter: What is the symbolic and practical significance of Australia’s First Languages being spoken in the Senate and House of Representatives?
With new apps, websites, language competitions and programs emerging around the country, the urgency and energy for learning about Australia’s First Languages is clear. This is reflected in increasing media coverage celebrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and the stories of people learning and supporting the continuation of these languages.
Shakespeare translated into Noongar language: As part of a discussion on ABC’s Q&A program focused on Shakespeare, Kylie Farmer translated sonnet 127 into Noongar language from South-West WA. Kylie is a part of the Yirra Yaakin Shakespeare project, which focuses on using sonnets such as 127, which she believes is a sonnet “lobbying for the beauty in Blackness”, to teach students language.
In consultation with your local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community, teachers and educators can build awareness of the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and the stories around their history and modern usage. The below articles and resources are useful conversation starters for students, parents and colleagues.
Conversation starter: What is the value of performing or learning about a Shakespearean English play in Noongar - one of Australia’s First Languages?
If language tells us who we are, then who am I? In this opinion piece written in August, Stan Grant reflects on the power of language and its place in his own life as a journalist, traveller, and Wiradjuri man. Living in the “worlds in between”, Stan’s first language is English, but his father’s is Wiradjuri.
First Aboriginal language Wikipedia site: For the first time, an Australian Aboriginal language Wikipedia page is being developed. The language is Noongar, and it is hoped the NoongarPedia Project will help revitalise this and other Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
Conversation starter: How does language shape a person’s identity? What language(s) do you speak and how do they connect to your sense of self?
Conversation starter: Why is it valuable to create online resources in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages? 6
Lionel Lovett and students Rebecca, Caitlin and Samantha teaching and learning Wiradjuri language at Parkes Public School.
SPOTLIGHT ON
language classes that are supporting a positive shift in attitudes toward Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. “Anyone can come in and see what we’re doing ... it’s a real collaboration”, says Lionel when describing the classes. “Reconciliation is definitely a word that you can use to describe the language program ... Aboriginal students have gained confidence and relationships are stronger with their non-Indigenous peers”, he adds.
Wiradjuri Language Program, Parkes, NSW About five hours west of Sydney on Wiradjuri Country in central New South Wales is Parkes. Famous for “the Dish”, the Parkes community is also becoming well known for its revitalisation of Wiradjuri language. Most schools in Parkes have a Wiradjuri Language Program, with around 1000 students and children learning First Language words for objects and people in the world around them.
This year, students from schools in Parkes were invited to be part of barrangal dyara (skin and bones). This epic installation by Wiradjuri/Kamilaroi artist Jonathan Jones was presented for the 32nd Kaldor Public Art Project at the Royal Botanical Gardens in Sydney from 17 September – 3 October. The artwork’s name, barrangal dyara, means ‘skin and bones’ in the local Sydney language. To construct the work, 15 000 bone-white shields were carefully placed to retrace the parameters of the Garden Palace, a colonial building that briefly towered over Sydney in the 19th century. The palace showcased Australia’s major exports and housed a large number of Indigenous objects collected from the colonial frontier. In 1882, the building burnt to the ground in a devastating fire that destroyed everything within it.
Lionel Lovett, President of the local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG) and Wiradjuri language teacher at Parkes Public School, teaches language at the school he attended as a student himself. When he was a student he learnt about language and culture through books. Now, language is visible and alive in every classroom, around the school and across the community. “Language is all around ... The names of farms, the names of creeks. You can see it. The words have to have a meaning, and with meaning comes appreciation and understanding”, says Lionel.
Jones’ installation is a response to the immense loss felt throughout Australia due to the destruction of these culturally significant objects, many of which were from Wiradjuri Country. It is also a revival of a story of great significance to Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australia.
The Wiradjuri Language program started a decade ago in primary schools and is now taught from early learning services through to secondary schools, creating pride in the next generations. There are also community Wiradjuri 7
barrangal dyara (skin and bones) marks the footprint of the 19th Century Garden Palace building at the Royal Botanic Garden, Sydney. 2016. Photo: Peter Greig
A soundscape of eight Aboriginal languages from southeast Australia was heard by thousands of visitors from around the world who attended barrangal dyara (skin and bones). These languages represented the groups from which the objects within the Garden Palace came. The soundscape included the following Wiradjuri words spoken by high school students Michael, Nicayden and Kyah from the Parkes community:
winhanga-y-gunha-nha gayaa (remember the shovel)
winhanga-y-gunha-nha wargang
Lionel Lovett and students from Parkes talking to visitors of the barrangal dyara (skin and bones) installation about their involvement in the project. Photo: Peter Greig
(remember the canoe)
winhanga-y-gunha-nha bugang (remember the necklace)
The trip highlighted to students and teachers the scale of the project, and the significance of being able to contribute. “We didn’t realise the enormity of the project, the scale of the work” says Lionel. “It was tricky getting everyone together from the different schools, but in the end we thought ‘wow, look what we’ve done’. It definitely put a feather in our cap.”
In September, 15 students and 10 teachers, including Michael, Nicayden and Kyah, were invited by Kaldor Public Art Projects to witness firsthand their contribution to the artwork installation. While in Sydney, and as part of the Public Program for the installation, students spoke with Jonathan Jones to a full audience about their experience of learning language at the Royal Botanic Garden.
To learn more about Wiradjuri language in Parkes, watch ABC Open’s Our Mother Tongue: Wiradjuri.
8
RECONCILIATION RESOURCE REVIEW
Angelina is fighting to save her traditional language, Marra, after both her father and grandmother have passed away. These family members made her aware of the deep importance of language, but Angelina never got the chance to learn her ‘lingo’ at school:
My Grandmother’s Lingo
“The language, it’s our identity—culture, Countries, and skin names…
My Grandmother’s Lingo is an online resource that uses voice-activated gaming technology to connect users with the story of Angelina Joshua, a passionate and determined young Aboriginal woman from East Arnhem Land’s remote Ngukurr community.
It’s fading away really slowly … I can’t back down now.” – Angelina After each scene in the story, users are prompted to repeat words in Angelina’s Marra language into their microphone. This interaction allows users to continue onto the next scene and unlock key chapters in the story. The resource ends with a ‘heat map’ which allows users to pin their location, illustrating how many people across Australia and around the world have listened to Angelina’s story and been inspired to learn, or learn about, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. To support teachers and students to incorporate research, reflection and action around Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages within education environments, SBS Learn resources have also been developed for My Grandmother’s Lingo. The resources provide strong support for Secondary Languages and Media Arts classes in particular.
My Grandmother’s Lingo is animated by Jake Duczynski, a young Aboriginal animator from Bulli, New South Wales. It also incorporates music from the Northern Territory record label Skinnyfish Music, remixed by an 18-yearold Aboriginal DJ and Triple J favourite, Kuren (Curtis Kennedy). My Grandmother’s Lingo is an innovative and interactive animation resource that provides users with a unique and powerful opportunity to better appreciate the context, complexity and continued significance of Australia’s First Languages.
Angelina Joshua from Ngukurr is fighting to save Marra language.
The online interactive experience of My Grandmother’s Lingo can be accessed at www.sbs.com.au/lingo. 9
read and write in Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, then learning English becomes easier and our kids can think in both worlds. Esma: Why is teaching Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages important to reconciliation, and in general? Daisy: Because the kids come to school speaking Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, but they don’t know how to read and write these languages. Teaching them to read and write in their first language helps them to read and write in English. It also helps the kids to speak the proper way, and not to use slang—this way, they can teach their own kids when they grow up. Priscilla: It is so important for the kids. Their language will keep strong, and so they will keep strong too. Daisy (left) and Priscilla (right) in action at Indulkana Anangu School.
Steph: How do you feel when you are teaching language, and how do you think the students feel to be learning language?
TEACHER FEATURE
Priscilla: I feel proud! The students are proud too. They love it!
Priscilla Singer (Anangu Coordinator) and Daisy Henry (Anangu Education Worker), Indulkana Anangu School, APY Lands, South Australia
Daisy: I feel confident, brave and proud to teach my language to the kids. I think the kids enjoy learning their language, and they really like listening to my stories when I read to them.
Earlier this year, Narragunnawali’s Esma Livermore and Stephanie Woerde met Priscilla Singer and Daisy Henry from Indulkana Anangu School at the Stronger Smarter Leadership Program. Esma and Steph were inspired by the ways these two women foster reconciliation in and around their school and community through the sharing of language and culture.
Esma: What is your favourite Pitjantjatjara or Yankunytjatjara word or phrase, and why? Daisy: Rikina, pukulpa! This means ‘good and happy,’ and that’s how I like to feel! Priscilla (*chuckling*): Lanma! It means ‘boring’ but I like saying it to make people laugh! Steph: You are both also beautiful artists. Does art play a role in your teaching, and why is it important?
Esma: Steph and I first met you during the Stronger Smarter Leadership Program—what do you think helps students and children to be strong and smart?
Priscilla: It is our culture. I have designed a new staff jumper that has art showing how we work with children!
Daisy: Coming to school every day, listening to their families, teachers and friends, and learning hard to become strong and smart for the community in the future. Role models in the school, community and sporting teams show the kids the right way to be and how to make strong choices.
Daisy: We both used to do painting in the Art Centre. We are both artists. Art can help to tell Tjukurpa, our Dreamtime stories, and it can help the kids to understand the stories. By painting, we can teach the kids about our history and tjukurpa.
Priscilla: Being able to read and write in both languages —traditional language and English.
Research shows a strong connection between Aboriginal language and cultural programs and children’s increased self-esteem, improved academic performance, improved school attendance, reduced drop-out rates and better proficiency in reading skills in both the Indigenous language and English.
Steph: What was it that made you decide to become a teacher? Priscilla: I did it for the kids. Daisy: Yes, I wanted to start teaching the kids how to read and write in the local language … I think that if you can
10
LEARN MORE If you are interested in continuing your learning of, or about, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages, there are a number of pathways available. Below is a selection of training options available nationally, but there are also many local opportunities—just check with your local training and education institutions or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community. University of Sydney
Batchelor Institute
The University of Sydney offers a number of qualifications designed for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language educators, including the Masters of Indigenous Languages Education (MILE) and the Graduate Certificate in Indigenous Languages Education.
Batchelor Institute is a dual sector tertiary education provider that services the education, training and research needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. The Institute is located in Batchelor, Alice Springs and throughout the Northern Territory and offers a range of accredited language and traditional knowledge courses.
Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity (RNLD)
Charles Darwin University
The Resource Network for Linguistic Diversity (RNLD) is based in Melbourne and offers community training as part of its Documenting and Revitalising Indigenous Languages (DRIL) program—conducted on-site in communities or language centres.
Charles Darwin University offers courses in Indigenous languages and linguistics that are largely aimed at community language maintenance or research.
HAVE YOU GOT A STORY TO TELL?
Narragunnawali (pronounced narra-gunna-wally) is a word from the language of the Ngunnawal people meaning peace, alive, wellbeing and coming together. The Ngunnawal people are Traditional Owners and Custodians of the land and waterways on which Reconciliation Australia’s Canberra office is located.
We love hearing about the fantastic things happening in your schools and early learning services to increase pride in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures! Please send stories about reconciliation in your school or early learning service to schools@reconciliation.org.au.
www.reconciliation.org.au/schools
11