In October I was fortunate enough to attend the Puliima National Indigenous Language and Technology Forum in Melbourne. It was good to see and hear of the work and language projects people are involved in from around the country. The workshops covered topics and projects in Education, Technology and Community. I attended most of the Community … Read more
At the State Library we get some unusual and quite interesting requests from clients. One such query came this week via a phone call from Art Gallery Food & Wine which is the restaurant for the Art Gallery of South Australia. The restaurant is refreshing their menu and have added some traditional foods – one of … Read more
Final preparations are underway for the State Library’s annual Indigenous Languages Research Discovery Workshop to be held in December. This research event is aimed at language workers and community members who are currently working/have an interest in traditional languages and supporting language revival programs in communities. It allows language workers and community members to explore the collections … Read more
The biennial Puliima National Indigenous Language and Technology Forum will be held in Melbourne 12-15 October, 2015. The week includes pre-conference workshops leading up to the conference which is hosted by the Miromaa Aboriginal Language and Technology Centre, Newcastle. Puliima brings together a range of participants and speakers from across Australian language communities as well … Read more
The State Library of Queensland’s Indigenous Languages Project received funding support during 2014-2015 from the Attorney-General’s Department Ministry for the Arts for Languages and New Media. The project entailed technology workshops in communities as well as the development of an online toolkit to support communities and language workers. The website is now live and features ‘how to … Read more
Indigenous Literacy Day aims to raise awareness of the need to improve literacy levels among Indigenous children. The Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF) coordinates a range of fundraising events across Australia to raise urgently needed funds to put books into the hands of families in remote communities, run story writing workshops and publish the stories of young … Read more
This innocuous title refers to an article written in 1936 by Gilbert Percy Whitley, Ichthyologist and Curator of Fishes at the Australian Museum. Whitley published this article in Mankind, the Journal of the Anthropological Society of NSW. The State Library collections hold several titles by Whitley, including Fishes of Australia, Marine Fishes of Australia and Freshwater Fishes … Read more
Captain Cook’s Journal Saturday 23 July, 1770 – One of the Men saw an Animal something less than a greyhound; it was of a Mouse Colour, very slender made, and swift of Foot. On Saturday 4 August, Cook wrote in his journal that the animal was ‘called by the Natives Kangooroo, or Kanguru’; thus becoming … Read more
As part of the State Library’s Indigenous Languages Project, Queensland Memory has hosted an Indigenous Languages Residency over the past three years. This activity allows for individuals and groups of community members to explore the collections for content related to their community language. This year we held two residencies – the first in late May … Read more
NAIDOC Week’s theme for 2015 “We all stand on Sacred Ground: Learn, Respect and Celebrate” highlights the ongoing spiritual connection of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people to land and sea. It also provides a focus for schools, communities, IKCs and libraries to celebrate Indigenous culture and language. Connection to country also reinforces the connection of language … Read more