Newsletter date: 24 September 2012
Contents:
* Congress: Report speaks volumes on Aboriginal languages future
* ANTaR backs call for urgent action on languages
* Vicki Kerrigan: Parlez vous Yolngu?
* Emma Murphy: Report: Bilingual education in Aboriginal communities is crucial
* Claire Bowern: Our Land, Our Languages and Preserving Our Heritage
* Background to the use of Aboriginal languages in NT schools
* WANFA: Traditional Owners Demand Consultation
* Living Black: The First Handout of Aboriginal Passports
* Living Black: New Laws to Affect Traditional Hunting Methods
* The Wire: Traditional Owners Know Best
* CONGRESS: REPORT SPEAKS VOLUMES ON ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES FUTURE
- News
National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples:
Report speaks volumes on Aboriginal languages future
http://nationalcongress.com.au/languages-inquiry-response/
17 Sep 12: "Congress says the recommendations from a Parliamentary Committee inquiry reinforce Congress’s priority to address the crisis in protecting and maintaining Aboriginal languages.
Congress Co-Chair Jody Broun congratulated the committee on their report, “Our Land Our Languages”, saying that almost every point in the Congress submission is included in the Committee’s recommendations. ...
"Congress worked hard to ensure our members and member organisations who are experts in these areas were instrumental in developing a strong, evidence based report to the committee on the necessity for major improvements to language learning, maintenance and revival," said Director Curnow. ...
Co-Chair Broun stressed the importance of vital living languages - not remnants of extinct languages - being recognised as a unique part of Australian heritage and culture.
"Congress will continue to advocate for the essential national coordination required to support the many regional language centres who have worked tirelessly for the better part of 25 years," she said. ... "
See:
WGAR News: 'Our Land Our Languages': Report on language learning in Indigenous communities (18 Sep 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/09/18/wgar-news-our-land-our-languages-repo...
Background to National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples
Last updated: 5 May 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/05/background-to-the-national-congress-o...
- Related News
Koori Mail: Congress welcomes languages report
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
18 Sep 12: "THE National Congress of Australia’s First Peoples has welcomed a parliamentary report which acknowledges the importance of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages in improving outcomes in the Closing the Gap framework. Congress co-chair Jody Broun Congress would continue to advocate for the 'essential national coordination required to support the many regional languages that had worked tirelessly' for more than 25 years."
- Related Audio
Central Australian Aboriginal Media Association:
http://caama.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/am-20.09-update1.mp3
http://caama.com.au/radio#tabs-6
20 Sep 12: "The chair of a Parliamentary Inquiry into Aboriginal languages has called on all Australian’s to be proud of their Indigenous languages and help recognise their importance in helping to close the massive gap in health and disadvantage."
* ANTaR BACKS CALL FOR URGENT ACTION ON LANGUAGES:
- Media Release
ANTaR - Justice, Rights and Respect for Australia's First Peoples:
ANTaR backs call for urgent action on languages
http://www.antar.org.au/antar_backs_call_for_urgent_action_on_languages
"ANTaR has today welcomed the release of a Parliamentary Report recommending urgent national action to preserve, maintain and revitalise Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages.
"Today’s Parliamentary report recognises the perilous state of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and the urgent need for action. With many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages critically endangered, we must act now before it is too late," said Jacqueline Phillips, National Director. ...
"ANTaR calls on all major parties to accept the recommendations contained in today’s report to ensure the future of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages."
ANTaR strongly supports the Committee’s call for bilingual education in communities where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages are the first languages spoken. ... "
See:
WGAR News: 'Our Land Our Languages': Report on language learning in Indigenous communities (18 Sep 12)
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/09/18/wgar-news-our-land-our-languages-repo...
- Related News
National Indigenous Radio Service: ANTAR backs call to save Indigenous languages
http://www.nirs.org.au/news/latest-news/7547-antar-backs-call-to-save-in...
18 Sep 12: "The National Director for Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation says Indigenous languages are critically endangered. ANTAR backs a parliamentary report released earlier this week stating the importance of preserving, maintaining and revitalizing Indigenous languages. Jacqueline Phillips says Australia has some of the oldest surviving languages in the world which are disappearing faster than any other Indigenous languages globally."
Koori Mail: ANTaR calls for action on languages
[scroll down page] http://www.koorimail.com/index.php
18 Sep 12: "A PARLIAMENTARY report into Indigenous languages recognises the perilous state of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages and the urgent need for action, according to Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation national director Jacqueline Phillips. ANTaR called on all major parties to accept the recommendations in the report."
* VICKI KERRIGAN: PARLEZ VOUS YOLNGU?
- Analysis / Opinion
ABC The Drum: Parlez vous Yolngu?
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-19/kerriganlanguage/4267938
19 Sep 12: "We must extinguish the idea of Australia as a monolingual place and there's no better place to start than in the classroom. ABC 105.7 Drive presenter Vicki Kerrigan on why all Australians should learn Aboriginal languages. ... Language is not just about being able to communicate with the shopkeeper; it is also the key to culture, social structures, attitudes to money, connection to country and the weather. Language is the key which can be used to unlock differences. And then together we can sort it out." By ABC's Vicki Kerrigan. Vicki is the Drive presenter for ABC Local Radio Darwin.
- Related News
ABC: School sees pitfalls in Indigenous language studies
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-09-18/school-sees-pitfalls-in-indigenous...
18 Sep 12: "The principal of Cherbourg State School, south-west of Bundaberg in southern Queensland, says it will be difficult to teach Indigenous languages in some schools. A new report is calling on the Federal Government to introduce Indigenous language education into schools with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. Principal Peter Sansby says it is a good initiative but it may not be practical in some schools with a diverse range of students."
* EMMA MURPHY: REPORT: BILINGUAL EDUCATION IN ABORIGINAL COMMUNITIES IS CRUCIAL
- Analysis / Opinion
Green Left: Report: Bilingual education in Aboriginal communities is crucial
http://www.greenleft.org.au/node/52287
20 Sep 12: "The report unashamedly puts language front and centre not just to Aboriginal identity but also health and wellbeing. For example, it says Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders who speak an Indigenous language enjoy "markedly" better health and are more likely to be employed, attend school and receive a post-school qualification than those who don’t. ... The recommendations in Our Land Our Language have been welcomed by bilingual education advocates. They are implicitly very critical of current approaches - especially in the Northern Territory, where bilingual education was dramatically scaled back four years ago by the then Labor government." By Emma Murphy
- Related Audio
ABC Brisbane: Bilingual education for Indigenous Australians
By Lachlan Mackintosh
http://blogs.abc.net.au/queensland/2012/09/bilingual-education-for-indig...
19 Sep 12: "There's a lot to a language, it’s more than just a tool for communication, it's a social identity. So when a language disappears, how does it affect the culture attached to it? The 'Our Land, Our Languages' report was released this week, it looked at the role of Indigenous languages in Australia and how they could help strengthen the Aboriginal identify and culture.
Dr Felicity Meakins, a Research Fellow in Linguistics at the University of Queensland, joined the program to talk about the topic."
* CLAIRE BOWERN: OUR LAND, OUR LANGUAGES AND PRESERVING OUR HERITAGE
- Analysis / Opinion
Fully (sic) - Crikey's language blog: Our Land, Our Languages and Preserving Our Heritage
http://blogs.crikey.com.au/fullysic/2012/09/21/our-land-our-languages-an...
21 Sep 12: "We’re all in a tizz at Fully [sic] over the new report Our Land, Our Languages. We’re usually pretty mellow when it comes to government releases but this one is worth taking up some pixel space over. It’s pretty rare that Indigenous languages (IL) get a day in the sun in such a spectacular way. ... That’s why this report is so important: it ... provides 30 recommendations for how to go about it. The recommendations cover a very broad range of activities, from language documentation to education, implications for health, interpreting programs, and increasing national recognition for Australia’s linguistic diversity." By Claire Bowern, Associate Professor of Linguistics, Yale University
* BACKGROUND TO THE USE OF ABORIGINAL LANGUAGES IN NT SCHOOLS:
Last updated: 23 September 2012
http://indymedia.org.au/2012/05/05/background-to-the-use-of-aboriginal-l...
* WANFA: TRADITIONAL OWNERS DEMAND CONSULTATION
- Statement
Western Australia: WA Nuclear Free Alliance Conference Statement - Traditional Owners Demand Consultation
Indigenous Peoples: http://indigenouspeoplesissues.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=art...
20 Sep 12: "The Western Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (WANFA), made up of Aboriginal Traditional Land Owners who are concerned about uranium mining on their country, from the Pilbara, the Kimberley, the Goldfields, the Great Victorian Desert, the Central Desert, the Gascoyne, Perth and the South West and their allies. WANFA met from 15th-16th of September at Kutunatu Ngurra camp just outside of Leonora. ...
The West Australian Nuclear Free Alliance supports Aboriginal Sovereignty across all Aboriginal territories in Western Australia. WANFA demands that the Government and Industry respect the basic Human Rights of Aboriginal peoples and adhere to the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, respecting our right to self-determination and engaging with Aboriginal peoples within the framework of the principle of Free, Prior and Informed consent. ... "
* LIVING BLACK: THE FIRST HANDOUT OF ABORIGINAL PASSPORTS
- Audio
Living Black: The First Handout of Aboriginal Passports
By Michelle Lovegrove
http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/aboriginal/highlight/page/id/233887/t...
21 Sep 12: "Non-Indigenous Australians officially receive Aboriginal Passports. ... Hundreds of people gathered in Redfern for the first official handout of new Aboriginal Passports to non-Indigneous Australians. Passport applicants signed a Pledge Of Sovereignty, recognising that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people never gave up their lands, or relinquished their autonomy. Two of the better-known recipients were John Shipton, father of Julian Assange and former Guantanamo Bay detainee Mamdouh Habib. ... Mamdouh Habib spoke strongly on the implications of holding an Aboriginal Lands Passport at the handout ceremony."
* LIVING BLACK: NEW LAWS TO AFFECT TRADITIONAL HUNTING METHODS
- Audio
Living Black: New Laws to Affect Traditional Hunting Methods
By Marc Tong
http://www.sbs.com.au/yourlanguage/aboriginal/highlight/page/id/233891/t...
21 Sep 12: "Traditional hunters in Queensland now no longer exempt from new animal cruelty laws. ... The Queensland government has passed amendments to its animal cruelty laws to include traditional turtle and dugong hunters. It was an election promise but one that the state is only now discussing with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders and animal welfare groups. Seen as a threat to native title rights, there has been a severe backlash from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and talk of a High Court challenge."
* THE WIRE: TRADITIONAL OWNERS KNOW BEST
- Audio Interview
The Wire: Traditional Owners Know Best
Produced by Emilie Gramenz
http://www.thewire.org.au/storyDetail.aspx?ID=9635
21 Sep 12: "Leah Talbot, from the Australian Conservation Foundation, says Indigenous communities should be more involved with national conservation. Their close relationship to the land and knowledge would benefit Australia's conservation movement, she says. We spoke to Leah about this issue.
Featured in story: Leah Talbot, ACF"
- - -
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