Contemporary Indigenous knowledge, governance and science
Professor Steven Bird
B.Sc. M.Sc. Ph.D.
Professor Steven Bird
- Language Maintenance and Revitalisation
- Language Documentation and Description
- Participatory Design
- Computational Linguistics
- Digital Archives
Steven Bird is conducting social and technological experiments in the future evolution of the world's languages. Together with his students and colleagues, he is developing scalable methods for preserving disappearing words and worldviews for future generations of speakers and scholars. He is collaborating with speech communities in diasporas and ancestral homelands to design new approaches to language maintenance and revitalisation. Steven leads the Top End Language Lab.
Professor Michael Christie
Ph.D, M.A., B.Ed
: +61 8 8946 7338
: Casuarina campus, CDU
- Yolŋu languages and culture
- Yolŋu philosophy and education
- Transdisciplinary and Indigenous research
Michael Christie is a professor of education and heads up the contemporary Indigenous knowledge, governance and science research theme at the Northern Institute, Charles Darwin University.
Professor Christie worked in Yolŋu communities as a teacher linguist in the 1970s and 1980s, and started the Yolŋu Studies program at Northern Territory University (now CDU) in 1994. After working within the Faculty of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and the School of Education, he moved to the Northern Institute in 2010.
Professor Jennifer Deger
BA, MA (Prelim.), MA, PhD
- Art and visual culture in the Anthropocene
- The blue humanities
- Yolŋu Sea Country
- Co-creative and non-traditional research methods
- Experimental film and ethnography
- Digital life
- More-than-human worlds
Jennifer Deger works in the intersections of art, anthropology and environmental studies. Her research is concerned with the ways that digital media transform the ways we see, know—and care about—more-than-human worlds.
Trained in anthropology and communications, Jennifer brings an innovative approach to social research as a filmmaker, curator and writer. She has held a number of fellowships including an ARC Future Fellowship and visiting positions at the Center for Culture and Media at New York University and the Eye & Mind Lab at Aarhus University, Denmark. Most recently she co-curated Feral Atlas: The More-Than-Human Anthropocene, a custom designed website that brings together more than 100 scientists, artists, humanists and activists to explore the “feral ecologies” that arise when nonhuman entities get tangled up with industrial and imperial infrastructure projects. In 2019 Jennifer served as President of the Australian Anthropological Society.
As a founding member of the Arnhem Land-based arts collective, Miyarrka Media, Jennifer joins CDU with a commitment to furthering the potential of transdisciplinary and co-creative scholarship with her Yolŋu research partners. Their current ARC project sets out to activate a Yolŋu digital art of renewal for threatened coastlines and beaches.
Professor Helen Verran
PhD, B.Sc (Hons)
: +61 8 8946 7338
: Melbourne, VIC & Darwin, NT
- Studies in method: narrative, and ethnography in social science research
- What does governance have to do with culture?
Helen has had a varied career in the academy, teaching and researching—seven universities, four continents. Before taking up her professorship at Charles Darwin University, Helen spent twenty-five years teaching and researching in History and Philosophy of Science, at the University of Melbourne in Australia. During that time she worked closely with Yolngu Aboriginal knowledge authorities and scientists as they tried to work together in respectful ways. She published many papers on this work.
In the 1980s Helen worked in Nigeria for eight years, learning a lot from the Yoruba teachers she worked with. Her book Science and an African Logic (Univ of Chicago Press, 2001) won several prestigious international prizes.
Associate Professors
Associate Professor Anne Lowell
Ph.D. (University of Sydney); B.App.Sci (Speech Pathology); Grad. Dip. (Language Studies)
: 08 8946 6297
: Casuarina campus, CDU
Anne Lowell is a Principal Research Fellow in the Northern Institute, College of Indigenous Futures, Arts and Society, specialising in collaborative qualitative research and community education with remote Aboriginal communities.
Anne's primary areas of interest include intercultural communication, particularly related to Indigenous health and early childhood, as well as culturally responsive policy and practice, in both research and provision of health services. Improving recognition of the critical importance of Indigenous cultural and linguistic expertise in research and service delivery is an ongoing priority.
Growing up children in two worlds project.
Associate Professor Elaine Läwurrpa Maypilama
Hon. Doc Litt (CDU) & Associate Diploma in Teaching (Batchelor Institute)
: 08 8946 6473
: Elcho Island
- Expertise in nutrition, maternal health, hearing loss, sign language, chronic disease & children's health & development.
- Intercultural communication and program evaluation
- Culturally responsive research
Elaine Läwurrpa Maypilama is a Principal Research Fellow at the Northern Institute. Aspro. Maypilama is a senior Yolŋu educator and researcher with a wide range of research experience related to nutrition, health, language and program evaluation. Läwurrpa is widely respected for her high level of expertise in developing and conducting culturally responsive and high-quality research. Her advice and participation are frequently sought, not only by researchers and others working with Yolŋu but from across Australia.
Läwurrpa was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from CDU in 2013 and also has an Associate Diploma in Teaching from Bachelor Institute. Läwurrpa’s early career was as a teacher at Shepherdson College at Galiwin’ku and she has worked extensively in research with Charles Darwin University as well as Menzies School of Health for over twenty years.
Läwurrpa is currently based on Elcho Island and she continues to research with Northern Institute through the Molly Wardaguga Research Centre.
Associate Professor Jackie Gould
PhD
: +61 8 8946 6652
: Casuarina campus, CDU
- Contemporary issues affecting the management of Indigenous ‘saltwater country’
- Contemporary Indigenous relationships to country, country-based planning, and land and sea management strategies
- Indigenous marine knowledge
- Livelihood aspirations of people living in remote North Australian communities
- Emerging trends in Indigenous governance
- Collaborative management of marine resources by government, industry and Indigenous sectors
- Participatory Action Research/participatory mapping
Jackie received her PhD in Anthropology from the ANU in 2011. Her thesis examined the ways in which Indigenous Territorians engage with enterprise development as a means of pursuing self-defined community development agendas, and the different sets of values, social and economic practices, and contemporary modes of being, which inform this engagement.
From 2008 to 2014 she worked at the Aboriginal Areas Protection Authority, the statutory body created under the Northern Territory Aboriginal Sacred Sites Act. As a Research Office/Anthropologist and then as Research Manager, she worked collaboratively with traditional custodians from across the Arnhem Land coast to assist in the documentation and protection of their sacred sites. During this time she worked with several Indigenous land and sea management groups and has moved to CDU in order to pursue new collaborative projects with these groups. Her current research focuses on Indigenous knowledge of the marine environment, and the management strategies deployed by coastal Indigenous groups.
Associate Professor Rachel Groom
Professional Doctorate
: +61 8 8946 7136
: Casuarina campus, CDU
Rachel has lived and worked in Northern Australia for over 20 years. In this time, she has worked as an Environment Manager of a consultancy firm, a marine scientist with the NT government and is currently working with Charles Darwin University and the Australian Institute of Marine Science in a Research Fellowship role. Rachel has a Professional Doctorate degree in marine resource management and has developed a proficient understanding of marine estate matters, and environmental and indigenous policy, including Sea Country planning and meaningful program development with Indigenous groups.
Rachel has worked on marine resource management with diverse Indigenous communities in northern Australia and PNG including Torres Strait Treaty villages in PNG, the Wik, Girringun and Boigu Island people of North QLD, and the Larrakia, Anindilyakwa, Li-Anthawirriyarra, Crocodile Islands, Dhimurru and Thamarrurr Rangers in the NT. She has also led numerous marine research and impact assessment programs in Australia and overseas (UAE, PNG). Her knowledge and experience include the design of monitoring and research projects, leading teams of scientists and Indigenous rangers, conducting marine environmental impact assessments, policy evaluation and improving resource management informed by science.
Rachel has an extensive network of collaborators across NT communities and technical streams. Wherever possible she collaborates with technical specialists and the appropriate community members and stakeholder groups on research programs to value-add, influence, and provide rigour.
Doctors
Dr Matthew (Mat) Bettinson
PhD (University of Melbourne); Bachelor of Arts (Honors)
- Mobile apps for oral language preservation
- Computer assisted language learning (CALL)
- Collaborative technologies for remote communities
- Use of web technologies for rapid prototyping
- Cross-cultural interaction design
Mat Bettinson is researching the use of mobile apps for language learning and knowledge exchange in remote communities. He is exploring approaches to mitigate the lack of telecommunications infrastructure, as well as user experience (UX) design where digital literacy levels are low. The goal of this work is to adapt collaborative technologies that we take for granted in order to address the needs of remote indigenous communities.
Mat was born and raised in Darwin but spent 25 years abroad working in the ICT and video gaming industries. After returning to Australia he studied linguistics and Chinese at the University of Melbourne and recently completed a PhD on methods to establish large-scale language conservation with mobile apps.
Mat is a member of the Top End Language Lab.
Vale Dr Cathy Bow
B.A., M.A Linguistics, Grad Dip Yolngu Studies, PhD
In October 2021 Dr Cathy Bow passed suddenly. We keep her webpage as a live memoriam for our dear friend and colleague.
Please find her book of shared condolences and her memorial Facebook Album.
Cathy Bow was an incredibly humble person. All Cathy’s research work was undertaken with the utmost care and respect. In working on the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages, she had close relationships with many Aboriginal Language Speakers across the Northern Territory. She worked to find, collate, digitise and keep safe many records of language and language learning resources, drawing them into one place and making them available under the authority of Elder leadership for the benefit of future generations.
Her passion for this work followed through into her PhD studies, which have been so important to her over the last few years. She worked carefully finding and creating ways to work with Aboriginal languages in ways which maintained their integrity as the places and identities of language speakers whilst also opening language learning to non-Indigenous speakers and young people. It was with great pride that she received her doctorate in May this year, becoming Doctor Cathy Bow, a title recognised as very well deserved by all her peers.
It was the small acts of care and kindness that we have appreciated so much from Cathy, as she has tirelessly and with great enthusiasm helped many, many people with language work, paper collaborations, conferences and other social gatherings. Always over-committing because so many people wanted to work with her, but always enthusiastic for the next project and the new thing that had not been done yet, but which was just waiting around the corner.
Her kindness and generosity in supporting ways that we can connect together, has helped the TopEndSTS collective to flourish and grow. Cathy was a founding member, and the heart and soul of this group. Always pushing us to believe in our own abilities and contributions, as well as participating in all our madcap schemes with immense joy and practical attention to detail.
She has been a solid point around which so many people have oriented. Within the Northern Institute at CDU, in linguistics work with speakers of Bininj and Yolŋu languages, with her commitment to the church. We have come to rely on her guiding influence in so many areas. It’s just testament to so many people that she touched, that the many communities of which she is a part become visible and gather around to support each other at this time.
It’s with such sadness that we remember the many joys and achievements of Cathy Bow’s very, very full life. An unfailingly smiling person who in the words of Dr Waymamba Gaykamaŋu ‘was just SO nice’. She is missed by the Bininj and Yolŋu Elders and collaborators who have known her so well over the years, and who have spoken about the unfailing support that she has offered to them and their languages. They have come together to share the news of Cathy’s passing, and to commemorate the particular work and relationships that they shared.
It will take a long time for the sense of shock at Cathy’s passing to subside. As someone who was so active and vital, with seemingly so many wonderful adventures and achievements ahead, it is difficult to reconcile this current situation with what we had all expected. We had expected she would always be there, we relied on her steady hand and guidance. This is not something anyone had considered and it makes it so much harder to process. She never hogged the limelight, or stepped forward unnecessarily, at the same time as she was a diligent powerhouse of small detailed activity, connecting so many people and achieving so many things with such grace and respect. You just imagine her walking down the corridor, calling on the phone, responding to that email.
Thank you to Dr Michaela Spencer for writing about Cathy on behalf of NI staff.
Dr Cathy Bow is a linguist with research experience in both descriptive and applied linguistics. She has described the sound system of an African language, investigated language development in children with impaired hearing, explored endangered language documentation, and researched the language and communication needs of international medical graduates. Cathy has worked as a teacher of English as an Additional Language, and as a trainer and coach for language learners. She works as project manager for the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages, and co-ordinator of the Digital Language Shell and the online Bininj Kunwok language and culture course.
Cathy is a member of the Top End Language Lab and TopEndSTS, and completed her PhD 'Entanglements of digital technologies and Indigenous language work in the Northern Territory' in November 2020 through Charles Darwin University and the Australian National University.
Dr Kathy (Gotha) Guthadjaka AM
: thenortherninstitute@cdu.edu.au
: +61 8 8946 7468
: Gawa, Elcho Island
- Warramiri knowledge, language, culture and country
- Aboriginal education & two-way education
- Indigenous spirituality, identity, religion, women and gender policy.
Dr Kathy (Gotha) Guthadjaka AM is a senior elder from Gäwa, a small family community on Elcho Island in East Arnhem Land in the Northern Territory. Kathy has worked as an educator for over 50 years and has always had a strong interest in research and currently employed as a part-time Senior Research Fellow at NI. Kathy is interested in collaborative qualitative research projects where she can share her Aboriginal knowledge and expertise and cover multidisciplinary areas in her partnership projects.
In October 2018 Dr Guthadjaka was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by CDU and a few weeks later appointed a Member of the Order of Australia by Her Honour the Honourable Vicki O’Halloran AM, Administrator of the Northern Territory on her country in Gäwa. She was appointed an AM for significant service to the Indigenous community through contributions to education and cultural preservation in East Arnhem Land. Kathy is the 2018 NT 'Senior Australian of the Year'. This award recognised her work in creating a bilingual educational model that delivered high attendance and graduation rates on Elcho Island.
Dr Jennifer Macdonald
B. Sc (Hons) – Human Geography
: jennifermairi.macdonald@cdu.edu.au
: (08) 8946 7334
: Casuarina campus, CDU
- Indigenous land and sea management strategies and country-based planning
- Environmental politics and decision-making practices
- Contemporary practices of knowledge and governance
- Livelihood aspirations of people in remote Australian communities
- Indigenous research development
- ‘Ground Up’ and good faith research practices
- Human geography
Jennifer is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow with CDU and CSIRO, part of the Responsible Innovation Future Science Platform (RI FSP) at CSIRO and with the College of Indigenous Futures, Arts and Society (CIFAS) at CDU. She is interested in data ethics and digital inclusion for remote and regional Australian's and the opportunities and challenges for ethical-AI-driven technologies in environmental decision-making. Her work of co-designing appropriate and acceptable technologies with Indigenous people for environmental management disrupts the idea that autonomous technology is about taking people out of the landscape and out of the loop of design thinking. She is working with Traditional Owners to build Indigenous governance into the loop of innovation design-thinking, and developing methods that ensure young people are benefiting and Traditional Owner authority is respected.
Jennifer has experience working with Traditional Owners and their land and sea enterprises and organisations in Kakadu National Park, South-East Arnhem Land, NT, and the APY Lands, SA. Her background is in Human Geography, with a growing interest in Science and Technology Studies (STS). She completed my doctoral studies with the Research Institute for the Environment and Livelihoods (RIEL) at CDU, where she focused on building the evidence base to successfully care for Indigenous estates.
Dr Kellie Pollard
Ph.D
: 08 8946 7354
: Casuarina campus, CDU
- Indigenous epistemologies, ontologies and axiology
- Indigenous research methodologies and ethics
- Indigenous-Australian contact archaeology
- Indigenous and historical archaeology
- Truth-telling Australian history and treaty making
Dr Kellie Pollard is a Wiradjuri archaeologist, lecturer and researcher at Charles Darwin University. Originally from from New South Wales, she gained her PhD in Archaeology from Flinders University. Dr Pollard specialises in teaching Indigenous philosophies of knowledge making and Indigenous methodologies. Dr Pollard is also interested in Indigenous research ethics, capacity building / self-determination in research and emancipatory approaches.
Dr Pollard is registered to supervise postgraduate research at CDU.
Dr Michaela Spencer
Ph.D, M.A., B.Sc/B.A
: +61 8 8946 7251
: Casuarina campus, CDU
- Contemporary practices of knowledge and governance
- Contemporary environmental politics
- Indigenous research development
- Collaborative services design
- Ethnography and STS
Michaela is a Post-Doctoral Fellow with the Northern Institute at Charles Darwin University. Her background is in environmental science, sociology, geography and Science and Technology Studies (STS), with her doctoral studies focusing on recent practices of environmental management and governance in Tasmania.
Her current research involves working from the ‘GroundUP’ with Indigenous knowledge authorities, and differing traditions of knowledge and governance. This involves collaborative research for policy development, and engaging with government, service providers, university staff and Indigenous people in remote communities. So far this research has been focused around issues such as disaster resilience, emergency management, governance and leadership, remote engagement and coordination, volunteering and women’s health and wellbeing. Michaela also facilitates the Indigenous Community-based Researcher Micro-credential program/s.
This work drives her current interest in how social science may recognise itself as an active participant in contemporary governance practices, and as working at the interface of differing means for knowing and governing Australian people-places.
Dr Tracy Woodroffe
Master of Education, Bachelor of Education, Diploma of Teaching
: 089466624
: Casuarina campus, CDU
- Indigenous education and leadership
- Knowledge systems
- Classroom practice and assessment
- Teacher education
A Warumungu Luritja woman with years of experience in the field of education - Early Childhood, Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary. The majority of that time has been spent in the classroom teaching and in associated leadership roles. She is a lecturer who coordinates, develops and delivers teacher education units about teaching Indigenous learners and the importance of Indigenous knowledge in education.
PhD title: Is it important to include Indigenous knowledge in pre-service teacher education? If so, what should be included?
Researchers and research assistants
Emily Armstrong (PhD in progress)
B Speech Pathology (Hons1), B Arts (English), CertIV TAE
Emily Armstrong is a researcher in the field of intercultural communication and a PhD student in the College of Indigenous Futures, Arts and Society. Emily is a speech pathologist with diverse experience across a wide range of health, education and disability services. She has worked with children and families with communication and feeding difficulties in NSW, Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania. She has contributed to program development and implementation in a range of intercultural contexts – for example, the first speech therapy training programs in Viet Nam and Bangladesh and School Based Aboriginal Trainee programs in Allied Health Assistance (TAFE NSW).
Emily's PhD research explores the perspectives of Yolŋu (Aboriginal) families and early childhood service providers (e.g. health providers, educators) about the ways they communicate during Yolŋu children’s assessments. Emily is working collaboratively and interculturally with Yolŋu researchers in North-East Arnhem Land using video-reflexive ethnography, in-depth interviews in participants’ preferred languages, and collaborative analysis. Phase 2 of the research will use a participatory action research approach to co-create and pilot accessible resources based on findings. A working title for the project is Waŋanhamirr ga ḻarrum maḻmaḻ’maram rrambaŋi nhaltjan ga yothu ŋuthan - Talking together to find out about how a child is growing up.
Joy Bulkanhawuy
: 08 8946 7217
: Casuarina campus, CDU
Joy works closely with Northern Institute researchers as well as Yolŋu teachers providing guidance, cultural authority and education.
Ŋarra yäku Joy Bulkanhawuy ga ŋarra Djambarrpuyŋu yolŋu miyalk. Ŋarraku wäwa’mirriŋu ŋunhi ŋayi leadership ŋayathaŋala linyalaŋgalaŋaw bäpa’mirriŋuw, ŋayi ga rom djämamirri. Ŋayi ŋarraku wäwa’mirriŋuy märraŋal djäma linyalaŋgal bäpa’mirriŋuwal ŋunhi Djirrikay. Djirrikaydja dhuwal nhe dhu märram bukmak bäpurru Dhuwakunḏitjnha ga Ḏalkarra ŋunhi Yirritjay dhu märram. Djirrkaynydja ŋayi yolŋu balanya ŋayi marŋgithirr manikaygu, gamunuŋguw, Ŋärraw bukmakku ŋunhi ŋayi yothu yan marŋgthin bäpa’mirriŋuwal ga märiwal. Ŋayi märraŋal märi’wal Djirrikay.
My name is Joy Bulkanhawuy and I am a Djambarrpuyŋu1 woman. My brother is the one who held leadership for our father and clan. He performs the rom2 . My brother received the authority from our father as a Djirrikay – Dhuwa3 ceremonial leader. The Dhuwa ceremonial leader will bring all Dhuwa clan-nations and also Ḏalkarra – Yirritja4 ceremonial leaders. The Dhuwa ceremonial leaders learn songlines, the designs of lands, sacred ceremonies and everything. My brother learned all from his father and mothers’ mother and her brothers when he was a child. He became a Dhuwa ceremonial leader from his mothers’ mother and her brothers. I worked at a clinic in Galiwin’ku5 for 10 years as a professional Yolŋu health staff. Then I moved to Darwin and I worked at the Aboriginal Interpreter Service as an interpreter, particularly in health services sector for four years, then started teaching Yolŋu knowledge and practice at Sanderson High School in Darwin for several years together with my close Yolŋu kin.
After almost 20 years of Yolŋu health professional experience, I began working with Aboriginal Resource and Development Services Inc. as a bilingual and bicultural health educator delivering community services for Yolŋu people in Darwin and east Arnhemland. As a professional Yolŋu health educator, I always work in two-ways; Yolŋu and Western biomedical health practices. In collaboration with researchers at Charles Darwin University and Menzies School of Health Research, and Yolŋu research professionals at Yalu Marŋgithinyaraw in Galiwin’ku, I have worked on projects such as in the discipline of disaster management, natural resource management and public health. All of my educational background was built in Galiwin’ku, not only through health training, but also through learning and practising Yolŋu education, gamunuŋgu (the design of land) and manikay (songline). My father passed his knowledge to my brothers and now I am co-holding and looking after my father’s knowledge for Djambarrpuyŋu people in ceremony and everyday life. I do not sing as men do, but I perform my authorised knowledge through ceremonial crying called milkarri. Now I’m authorised to share my knowledges and professional skills as a Djambarrpuyŋu elder with others such as those who work in (non) government organisations, health professionals working at hospital and also students being passionate about learning our Yolŋu culture and languages.
1 Name of clan-nation
2 Rom has multiple meanings as law, education, culture, custom, tradition, and behaviour.
3 One of the moiety. The opposite to Dhuwa is Yirritja.
4 One of the moiety. The opposite to Yirritja is Dhuwa.
Victoria Baskin Coffey
: PhD Researcher at the James Cook University/Aarhus University
Victoria Baskin Coffey (Viktor Baskin, they/them/enby) is a Visual Anthropologist with an enduring interest in the ways that images make the world.
They are the Visual Editor of "Feral Atlas: The More-than Human Anthropocene", Editor of Curatorium for the Australian Anthropological Society (special issue forthcoming) and the Co-Curator & Founder of the art and anthropology collective, otis (www.otismakers.com).
Viktor is currently curating the "Feral Atlas" project (an interactive, open-access website) for public exhibition around the world alongside Prof. Jennifer Deger. This work has been recognised in the top 20 of Art Review's Power 100 list of the most influential art figures in the world and was released by Stanford University Press (www.feralatlas.org). Viktor's ongoing collaborations with Prof. Jennifer Deger have led them to join Miyarrka Media, an arts collective based in the Yolŋu community of Gapuwiyak in Northern Australia.
While working across these worlds, Viktor is also currently completing their own PhD research exploring the digital-visual image practices amongst transgender, gender nonbinary, & gender variant communities of Southern India.
Yasanori Hayashi (PhD in progress)
: +61 8 8946 6278
: Casuarina campus, CDU
- Yolŋu languages and culture
- Cross-cultural and cross-linguistic communication
- Collaborative Indigenous research
Yasunori Hayashi is a coordinator of Yolŋu Studies at Charles Darwin University. His background is in community education, community development and cross-cultural and cross-linguistic communication.
His research interest involves collaborative work with Yolŋu knowledge authorities in East Arnhemland in the area of Yolŋu governance and decision making process, which he believes, embedded in Yolŋu worldview and its value, including the use of Yolŋu languages.
Sebastian Lowe (PhD in progress)
: PhD Researcher at the James Cook University/Aarhus University
Sebastian J. Lowe (Ngā Tāngata Tiriti) is an anthropologist, musician and filmmaker from Aotearoa New Zealand. He has an interest in sound worlds, particularly ngā taonga puoro (traditional Māori instruments), creative research methods, community research and research ethics.
Adam Gulungulk Waṉambi
- First Nations multimedia development
- Bi-cultural and bi-lingual competencies
- Upskill younger generations with First Nations multimedia skills
My name is Guluŋgulk Waṉambi. I am a Marraŋu man from Raymaŋgirr and Gapuwiyak. My father taught me about the ceremonies and business. I have huge interest in multimedia, filming, photographing and audio editing. I wish to develop my skills and have more professional multimedia training. I am capable of bringing people together and having conversation with both sides – Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. I like to learn more. In the future, I’ll be able to teach younger generations. I can recognise Yolŋu business and individuals how they are related to each other.
Ŋarra yäku Guluŋgulk Waṉambi. Ŋarra Marraŋu yolŋu ga Gapuwiyakpuy ga Raymaŋgirrbuy. Bäpa’mirriŋuy ŋarraku marŋi-gurrupar ŋarranhany romgu. Ŋarraku ga yindi djäl ŋorra marŋgithinaraw multimedia-w, filiming-gu, wuŋili dhapmaranhaw wo dhäruk dhapmaranharaw. Bulu rraku ŋapa-ŋal’maram ŋarraku gakal.
Ŋarraku gakal ga ŋorra ŋarra dhu ḻuŋ’maram ga räl-manapan yolŋu’yulŋuny malany ga waŋanhaminaraw märrma’ gali’ Balanda ga Yolŋu. Ŋarra ga djälthirr ŋarra dhu marŋgithirr yalalaŋumirriw limurruŋ. Ŋarra ga gakal ŋayatham ŋarra dhu rom nhäma ga dhorr nhäma yolŋunhany mala nhä’manydjikurr.
Gawura Waṉambi
: 08 8946 6067
: Casuarina campus, CDU
Gawura works closely with Northern Institute researchers as well as Yolŋu teaching providing guidance, cultural authority and education.
Ŋarra yäku Gawura Waṉambi. Wäŋany ŋarraku Raymaŋgirr. Bäpurruny ŋarra Marraŋu. Bundurrnydja ŋarra Gatjinydji, Ḏalthaŋu, Muwuḻu, Binygurrŋu, Dhaliyali. Ga ŋutharnydja ŋarra marrtjin ŋunhal retjaŋur. Marŋgithinany ŋarra marrtjin retjapuywu ŋathaw yan, nhinanharaw ga ŋorranharaw retjaw yan, märranharaw ŋathaw, wäyingu gapupuywu ga ḏiltjipuywu. Nhäŋal ŋarra marrtjin rom nhaltjarr gan ŋaḻapaḻmirr mala waŋanamin, ŋamaŋamayunmin nhäku ŋula, nhäŋal ŋarra marrtjin nhä gan burwu barr’yurr nhaku ŋathaw märranhaw, nhä warrakan gan djukurr’mirriyin, nhä maranydjalk wo guya wo minaŋara gan ŋamathin. Marŋgithin marrtjin nhälil wäŋalil dhu ŋurukiyi ŋathaw marrtji, nhäthamirriy waluy ŋayi ŋuli ŋunhi borumdhirr wo djukurr’mirriyirr. Balanyaraw ŋarra marrtjin marŋgithin mirithin.
My name is Gawura Waṉambi. My home is Raymaŋgirr. My clan-nation is Marraŋu. My bundurr2 is Gatjinydji, Ḏalthaŋu, Muwuḻu, Binygurrŋu, Dhaliyali. I grew up in the bush and learned about bush food and how to collect them and learned to live in the bush. I was learning rom3 by watching elders discussing, and making decisions. I was learning which flowers bloom for which food to collect and when animals became fatty such as stingrays, fish and rock oysters, also learning where is the place to collect that food. I was learning by watching how rom was performing, the songline tells and teaches us through which country it travels and where it begins and where it finishes or completes. It tells and teaches us the path of the songlines that can be under the water and through the bush where the songlines are embedded.