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Preserving Culture Through Bilingual Books: A Community Success Story

Fri, 08 Nov 2024 21:15:02 GMT

A Celebration of Language and Learning

In a significant achievement for cultural preservation and education, Tangentyere Council Aboriginal Corporation's Land and Learning Bilingual Resources Project has successfully created ten bilingual Pitjantjatjara books this year, serving schools and communities across Central Australia.

The project has made a particular impact in Areyonga, where the community is celebrating 50 years of bilingual education.

"We love making books in our language (Pitjantjatjara) about learning on country, about bush trips, country visits and important things that our children need to learn," shares a community member from Areyonga. These books capture essential cultural knowledge, from traditional stories to contemporary learning experiences.

Empowering Young Readers and Culture Bearers

The impact of these resources extends beyond the classroom. As one young student proudly states, "It makes me feel really proud to show my family books that I have made at school. I can read my language and teach people about my culture."

The project's success lies in its collaborative approach, with the project officer facilitating learning-on-country activities that inform the books' content. This hands-on approach ensures the resources remain culturally relevant and engaging for students.

Looking to the Future

Community members express their gratitude and optimism: "We are really happy to be able to read our kids' books that we have made with Tangentyere about our culture and language. Old stories about living on the land are really important to us."

The project exemplifies how traditional knowledge can be preserved and shared through modern educational resources. As one teacher notes, "We want to teach all subjects at school in a way that our students can engage with," highlighting the project's role in supporting holistic education that honors cultural knowledge.

The creation of these bilingual resources marks not just an educational milestone, but a celebration of cultural continuity and community empowerment.

This project is supported by the National Indigenous Australians Agency (NIAA) through the Aboriginal Benefit Account (ABA) Building and Resources Program.

Girls Can Boys Can

Thu, 29 Apr 2021 00:01:01 GMT

The Girls Can Boys Can Project shows equal and respectful relationships between girls and boys, so that kids can thrive and grow up to be whoever they want to be and free from discrimination.

Women are more likely to experience domestic, family, and sexual violence in their lifetime than men. Violence against women occurs in society and in relationships where women and men ARE NOT EQUAL . When women also experience racism, this increases their risk of experiencing violence. Violence against women is preventable. To stop violence before it begins, children need to see and hear equal and respectful relationship between girls and boys and women and men.

The Girls Can Boys Can Project is working with parents, carers and educators of kids to create messages for books, clothing, posters and toys that show the healthy, fun, equal and respectful relationships between girls and boys, along with the strengths of Aboriginal children, families and communities.

Click here to download the Girls Can Boys Can postcard.

Click here to download the Girls Can Boys Can poster.

Click here to go to our merchandise page

Kids go to School Song, January School Holidays 2021

Fri, 05 Mar 2021 00:23:11 GMT

The Northern Territory Department of Education funded a series of 2020/2021 summer school holiday activities under the project title “Reconnecting Town Camp Students –Alice Springs Youth Activities”. As part of this project, a range of activities were delivered through Tangentyere at Town Camps and at the Tangentyere Brown St Youth Centre.

One of the activities that was delivered was Music Workshops . This project involved Nick Chandler from Tangentyere Council and Allen Murphy who is a well-known musician who has worked with indigenous musicians and drummed for Yothu Yindi and Warumpi Bands. Nick and Allen spoke about the ongoing conversations that had been occurring with Town Campers about the value in producing songs in language. From this idea, Allen got to work producing a song in conjunction with Sammy Butcher and members of the Tjupi Band which encourages kids to go to school.

Allen, Sammy and members of Tjupi Band joined forces and came up with a verse in Luritja for the song. Town Campers came up with words in English, translated them into language, designed a melody and sang the song which was a great effort and fantastic example of community involvement. There were also a series of workshops at Town Camp Community Centres that were run by Nick and Allen.

The song has six different language sections which are:

Arrernte
Anmatyerr
Alyawarr
Luritja
Warlpiri
Pitjantjatjara

The singing by Town Campers was all recorded at Tangentyere Town Camp Community Centres with basic recording equipment, microphones and computers.

Have a listen to the Kids go to School song above to hear a real life recording of real people singing loud and strong in language.

How to wash your hands

Tue, 02 Mar 2021 00:50:36 GMT

This Mummy and Baby Spider video shows kids how to wash their hands safely. Our Land and Learning and Digital Access programs have teamed up to produce a great video to spread the word on how children should wash their hands safely.

The video, which can be viewed in Pitjantjatjara, Luritja and English is a simple step-by-step educational aid which breaks down the steps involved in washing your hands with a fun story to remember each step.

The video is a strong visual aid to promote health and hygiene in a fun way, so please share.

NAIDOC Week

itsupport@tangentyere.org.au (IT Support) — Wed, 11 Nov 2020 02:07:47 GMT

Strong Community Control in Town Camps

As a part of Mparntwe NAIDOC Week 2020, yesterday Tangentyere Council proudly hosted the Strong Community Control in Town Camps Launch. This event launched Town Camp initiatives that showcase exemplar leadership and local decision-making of Town Campers - the Town Camp Wellness Framework, the Girls Can, Boys Can Campaign and the Men’s Family Safety Group, and a number of innovative programs within Tangentyere Council.

The event was very well attended and celebrated the achievements and amazing work of Town Campers in our community. The celebration included the launch of these initiatives, the screening of recently made short films from our Digital Access Program, music performances by Stuart Nuggett, kids activities and a great feast for lunch.

We’d like to thank all staff and community members who made the event the success that it was, in particular the executive and women’s and men’s leadership, and key programs who showcased the innovative work that you do. Thank you also to Tangentyere Employment Services for their support and preparation of lunch and of course the cake, and to the corporate team for their efforts before and after the event.

We’d also like to thank the National Indigenous Australians Agency and Mparntwe NAIDOC Committee for supporting the event, and our key partners who attended the event including the Department of the Chief Minister and Cabinet, Department of Education, Department of Local Government, Housing and Community Development, Services Australia and NTPFES.

Local Decision Making Agreement with the Northern Territory Government

itsupport@tangentyere.org.au (IT Support) — Thu, 30 Jul 2020 07:11:40 GMT

Today the Tangentyere Council executive including the Men's Family Safety Group welcomed the Chief Minister, Michael Gunner, to the Council for a ceremonial signing of a Local Decision Making Agreement (LDM) with the Northern Territory Government. Our CEO, Walter Shaw, said “this is a momentous occasion for the Northern Territory Government and Tangentyere as well as the Town Camps of Alice Springs and the Housing Associations”.

The Chief Minister noted that “this Agreement is proper recognition of what you want to achieve, what you can achieve and how to work together to make sure that happens. The First priority – You are in charge of your own housing, I think that is a really important place to start everything”.

The LDM Agreement sets out the priorities for changes to occur, with emphasis on the first priority of a community controlled housing model for all of the Town Camps and aims to deliver long-term wellness outcomes. Walter highlighted “this is where Aboriginal people have community control handed back to them … and self-determination is the vehicle for that change”.

Read more about Local Decision Making at Tangentyere here and the Wellness Framework that underpins this work.

Ewyenper Atwatye Artists

itsupport@tangentyere.org.au (IT Support) — Tue, 28 Jul 2020 00:03:58 GMT

The Ewyenper Atwatye Artists have designed a collection of animated videos explaining some of the ways in which we can stay safe. Each video has been produced in English, Eastern Arrernte, Western Aranda and Warlpiri languages. Check them out below.New Paragraph

3 Brown Street Renovations

Thu, 14 May 2020 17:01:27 GMT

Early 2020 saw 3 Brown Street undergo an exciting new renovation. The new infrastructure includes a new basketball court and skate ramp which has further increased the usability and access of the youth facility by young people across town. To find out more about 3 Brown Street check out our Youth page .

Food Security Pilot Program

Tue, 12 May 2020 17:03:00 GMT

Tangentyere launched its pilot Food Security Program on Tuesday 12th May with donations from Coles.

“Tangentyere Council is proud to work with Coles to support Town Camp households in a time of crisis. Access to these care packages will buy necessary time for longer-term food security plans to be enacted, whilst providing vulnerable families with an economic safety net” - Walter Shaw.

Minimising the risk of COVID-19

Tue, 28 Apr 2020 17:00:13 GMT

Tangentyere Council delivers 250 packs of cleaning supplies to every household in the Alice Springs Town Camps as a part of their COVID-19 response plan. S taff from Access to Education Division and Employment Services Division put together personal and home hygiene products, and distributed these to all Town Camp households.