Mother Tongue our Birth Right
Mother Tongue’ Project was developed following my PhD research. It is a language revitalisation project that is focussing on grammar rebuilding and immersion learning methods across creative cultural expression. The Project approach draws on a long line of cultural tradition founded in the practice of Wangan Ngootyoong, a personalised cultural methodology founded in Gunditjmara learning and named from and modelled on Aboriginal Ways of Being, Doing and Knowing (Martin 2003: 205). Aboriginal cultural protocols for engagement and practice underpin and are exemplified in Aboriginal Ways of Knowing Being and Doing. The integrity of my Project’s approach is paramount in aligning with these Ways which incorporate key Aboriginal principles and values of respect and relationship. From this position of cultural respect the Project focuses on working with individuals, family clan groups and Traditional Custodian groups in a collaborative process in identifying language and cultural revitalisation priorities. This Project offers opportunities to explore and experience cultural revitalisation practice; create, produce tangible and ephemeral creative expression outputs. These outputs will have innovation and leading-edge possibilities through singular and participatory aspects of creative cultural experience and expression which are targeted at living legacy.
The aim of this project is to consolidate and embed the foregrounding of our Aboriginal cultural knowledges and practices by examining how cultural revitalisation of Aboriginal knowledges and practices affect healing, health and wellbeing in Aboriginal communities and produce sustainable pathways, resources and cultural models of application to ensure restoration and continuance of living legacy in our sacred and unique Aboriginal Ways of Knowing Being Doing.
There is a multitude of digital recordings and other types of information storage that documents knowledge to ensure ‘history’ is archived; is saved for and is accessible to future generations. What is lacking in our contemporary Aboriginal paradigm is the giving of pre-eminence to the re-building and strengthening of the continuation of the transference of knowledge to living repositories; that is our young people and therefore future generations.Languages as the repositories of cultural knowledge are vital to the survival and continuance of peoples identity, relationship to Country, health and wellbeing. The project will focus on drawing on creative and cultural practices as a pathway through which languages can be revived and applied in everyday use creating living legacy. Including:
- Weaving, Fibrecraft
- Song, Dance, Ceremony
- Writing (poetry, story, translation)
ICIP remains with Custodians of Origin.