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Indigenous Language Revival

Sat 7 Sep 2019

Des Crump + Rory O'Connor + Sandra Delaney

kuril dhagun, State Library of Queensland

Panel

7106

#Performances

#About the event

Duration: 60 minutes

Indigenous languages worldwide are in peril and Australia, once home to over 650 language groups, is losing important knowledge, culture and identity. But there’s hope. 2019 is the UN Year of Indigenous Languages. This session will look at current work being done to revive Indigenous languages in Queensland.

#Artists

Des Crump

My family and cultural links are from South-West Queensland, which is the top end of the Kamilaroi Nation. I have worked within a range of roles within the Queensland Education Department for a period of 21 years – these roles have included Primary Teacher, Secondary Guidance Officer, Administration, Policy and Curriculum Development. In 2002 I established Dhinawun Consultancy to provide educational consultancy activities including curriculum development, Aboriginal language and cultural studies programs, professional development for school staff as well as school-community partnerships. Currently I am employed as the Indigenous Languages Coordinator for the State Library of Queensland to coordinate and support activities under the State Library’s Indigenous Languages Strategy. This work entails researching the State Library Collections for language materials as well as conducting research/training workshops to enhance capacity of community to manage their language revival. 2019 is the International Year of Indigenous Languages and I am supporting State Library’s offer for the year which includes exhibitions and programming to raise awareness of Queensland’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.

Rory O'Connor

Sandra Delaney

Sandra Delaney is a Nunagal Goenbal Ngugi woman who is currently involved in Jandai language research and teaching to support the reclamation of Jandai and Gower language on country. Sandra is also a senior artist and author and has published several books on Quandamooka culture. Recently she published and illustrated two language teaching books for children.

She has served as consultant community language consultant on Jandai language with various community projects to incorporate Jandai language and has been consulted about numerous place-naming initiatives and other Jandai naming activity. Sandra works closely with members of the Quandamooka community to reclaim the language from historical materials and to develop the language for use in a range of contemporary contexts.
In 1993, Sandra was an original committee member of the Jandai Aboriginal Corporation. In 1995, Sandra produced a Jandai language poster with Quandamooka women and children focussing on body parts. Sandra also worked with Minjerribah-Moorgumpin Elders In Council members and linguist Colleen Hattersley to assist and provide advice for the Jandai Language Dictionary (2011).

#Moderator

Anita Heiss

Anita Heiss is an internationally published, award-winning author of 25 books across genres. She is a proud member of the Wiradyuri Nation of central NSW, an Ambassador for the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and Professor of Communications at the University of Queensland.

Her adult fiction includes Manhattan Dreaming, Paris Dreaming and Tiddas which she adapted for the stage. Her novel Barbed Wire and Cherry Blossoms was shortlisted for the QLD Literary Awards and longlisted for the Dublin International Literary Prize. Bila Yarrudhanggalangdhuray won the 2022 NSW Premier’s Literary Prize for Indigenous Writing, was shortlisted for the 2021 HNSA ARA Historical Novel (Adult Category) and longlisted for the 2022 Stella Prize.

In 2023, Anita released a children’s book Bidhi Galing (Big Rain) illustrated by Samantha Campbell, and became Publisher of her own imprint, Bundyi Publishing (Simon & Schuster).

In 2024 she released the historical novel Dirrayawadha (Rise Up).

Anita’s latest novel is Red Dust Running.