The groundbreaking works of Caroline Tennant-Kelly, close friend of the famed American anthropologist Margaret Mead, were believed destroyed until uncovered by the detective work of a dogged team of two University of Queensland researchers — Mr Kim de Rijke and Mr Tony Jefferies.

The works contain recordings of Indigenous Languages of Southeast Queensland and Northern NSW.

You can read more about this in a media statement released by The University of Queensland.

St Peter Claver indigenous education liaison officer Kargun Fogarty is backing calls to introduce indigenous language into schools. Photo by Rob Williams.

AN INDIGENOUS Ipswich educator has backed calls for Aboriginal languages to be taught in primary schools and protected for future generations.

St Peter Claver College’s indigenous education liaison officer Kargun Fogarty said teaching the traditional language would benefit students, whether they were indigenous or not.

His comments came after Dr Dale Kerwin, a research fellow from the Griffith Institute for Educational Research, suggested the languages should be taught in school and protected by law.

Read the full article and make a comment on the Queensland Time website .

A CAIRNS filmmaker has the world in his lens, debuting a movie at the Berlin Film Festival.

Reflecting on his achievement: Rima Tamou’s film First Contact will screen at the Berlin Film Festival next week. Picture: JAKE NOWAKOWSKI

Rima Tamou, 46, will be at home at Manunda when his short film First Contact is screened as part of the omnibus film Embargo Project in Berlin this week.

First Contact features non-actors speaking in traditional Girrimae language – a challenge given to him by other filmmakers within the project.

Read the full article

HERVEY Bay is poised to pioneer an indigenous education revolution.

Scrub Hill Indigenous Education Forum. Attending: Sandy Strait State School principal Shane Urquhart, Fraser Coast councillor David Dalgleish, Paul Herschell and Will Davis of Qld Studies Authority with Butchulla elder Frances Gala and Butchulla community linguist Joyce Bonner. Photo by Daniel Tweed

A senior officer from the Queensland Studies Authority was told yesterday that the Fraser Coast is ready to trial a ground-breaking new school syllabus which could place the Butchulla language alongside Chinese, Indonesian, German and French as classroom subjects.

Paul Herschell, acting deputy director of the QSA’s teaching and learning division, met with Butchulla elders and education leaders at the Korrawinga Aboriginal Centre in Hervey Bay to present a statewide proposal to formalise the education of indigenous languages.

Read the full article

A Brisbane academic has called for indigenous languages to be taught in schools.

Griffith University’s Dale Kerwin says Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island dialects have been denied their rightful place as official Australian languages.

Dr Kerwin says the incorporation of indigenous language into the classroom will go a long way to create social cohesion and preserving indigenous cultural heritage.

Read the full article

Read the full article

This month they have highlighted the National Languages Policy Announcement.

The article, and full newsletter can be read at http://www.languageseducation.com/newsl090827.htm#toc1

Gold Coast Bulletin Article by Ben Dillaway

SONGS in a local Aboriginal language once thought to be lost will be sung by people from all walks of life at the Yugambeh Corroboree tomorrow.

The full article can be found on the Gold Coast Bulletin website.

THE Federal Government has pledged $9.3 million over the coming year to help take 113 indigenous languages off the critically endangered list.

Of 145 spoken dialects, 110 are at risk of being lost, a report in 2005 found.

Announcing the national indigenous languages policy yesterday, Indigenous Affairs Minister Jenny Macklin and Arts Minister Peter Garrett said more would be done to raise awareness of the campaign.

“These languages are . . . a significant part of Australia’s heritage and we must ensure they are protected for the benefit of future generations,” Mr Garrett said.

Read the full article:

http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25905201-953,00.html

Here’s the various links.

Provided by:

Stephen Cassidy
Director, Indigenous Languages and Intangible Culture
Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts
GPO Box 787, Canberra Act 2601
Ph 02 6275 9616 Fax 02 6275 9664 Mob 0407 300 145

…

http://www.alp.org.au/media/0809/msartia090.php

http://www.arts.gov.au/indigenous/languages_policy

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/08/10/2650659.htm

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/93m-to-save-indigenous-languages-20090809-edza.html

http://news.theage.com.au/breaking-news-national/93m-to-save-indigenous-languages-20090809-edza.html

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/national/847818/9-3m-to-save-indigenous-languages

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,25904841-2702,00.html

http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Politics/2009/08/09/93m_to_save_indigenous_languages_360722.html

http://www.thewest.com.au/aapstory.aspx?StoryName=594688