Anindilyakwa Land Council’s

Ayakwa

For more news on the Groote Eylandt archipelago, go to anindilyakwa.com.au

30 Bougainvillea DrivePO Box 172Alyangula NT 0885

INSIDE THIS ISSUE• Sports MOU,

page 3

• Boarding College plans, page 4

• Ajamurnda collection, page 7

ARCHAEOLOGISTS HOPE TO unearth more of Groote Eylandt’s rich history when they continue with fieldwork next year.

University of Sydney archaeologist, Associate Professor Dr Annie Clarke, has a 30-year affiliation with Groote dating back to 1991, and has just completed a project to return archaeological materials from the university to the Anindilyakwa people.

The Groote Eylandt Archaeology Repatriation Project, funded by the ALC, returned historical items such shells, charcoal, fishbones, and stone tools for safe keeping. Photographs from fieldwork in the 1990s were also digitised, and copies given to members of all the families who helped Dr Clarke with her fieldwork.

Archaeologists to uncover more island history

Continued Page 2.

HERITAGE: Shirley, Gloria, Amy, and Faith Yantarrnga work with Dr Annie Clarke, helping her to sort and catalogue pieces of shells, charcoal, fishbone, and old stone chips from the old camping places.

Digital stories in community spaces

| Newsletter November 2018

New program for early childhoodSAVE THE CHILDREN is working to engage Anindilyakwa children in play-based education and learning through the support of the ALC.

The organisation’s early childhood education program for children aged 0-5 aims to build capacity and transition children to school in Angurugu and Umbakumba, supported by Family As First Teachers.

Remote NT program manager, Rohan Corpus, said early childhood learning was paramount for children’s

growth and development.

“Young people are ambitious. They’re creative, brave, and full of bright ideas,” Mr Corpus said.

“These critical education years impact on the way our children grow as young men and women.”

The frequency of program visits to different locations will depend on community engagement and parent and child needs.

The Anindilyakwa program is play-based education, child-centred, and delivered through

bilingual activities.

Two-way learning is representative of local culture – for example, translating Anindilyakwa songs, dance, and storytelling to English, while English songs, dance, and storytelling will be interpreted to Anindilyakwa.

The program is a mobile service that can adapt to the needs of the community in Angurugu, Umbakumba, Alyangula, Malkala, Barbalumba Bay, Little Paradise, and eventually also to Milyakburra.

Forum for assistive technology THE MJD FOUNDATION held a forum as part of its Assistive Technology feasibility study on Groote Eylandt on October 24.Assistive Technology is the equipment a person might use to help them with everyday tasks that they wouldn’t otherwise be able to do on their own.The feasibility study is to investigate how Assistive Technology may be delivered to people with a disability.

Continued from page 1.

ANINDILYAKWA SISTERS, Shirley, Gloria, Amy, and Faith Yantarrnga worked with Dr Clarke, sorting and cataloguing the items. Their parents worked closely with her in the 1990s.

The material will be used to obtain carbon dates for sites that were used by the Anindilyakwa and Macassan peoples, and other sites where they recorded Indigenous occupation of the island prior to arrival of the Macassans.

The items were uncovered from ancient Groote Eylandt camping places, the oldest of which was a small cave called Angwurrkburna at Salt Lake, dating back 3000 years.

At some of the old camping places, such as

Marngkala Cave, where Dr Clarke worked with traditional owners, Claude Mamarika, Mary Amagula, and their families, pieces of glass bottles, pottery, metal tools, and glass beads from Macassan times were found alongside fishbones, shells, and charcoal.

“The old people probably got these things in return for working for the Macassans, collecting and processing ‘dirriba’ - also called trepang,” Dr Clarke said.

ALC anthropologist Hugh Bland said over the past 100 years, many culturally important objects had been taken away from Groote Eylandt and the ALC was working on various projects to have some of them returned.

In 2019, Dr Clarke will return to Groote Eylandt for another three months for more fieldwork.

MORE ITEMS REPATRIATED TO GROOTE EYLANDT

| November 2018 Page 2

“I REMEMBER MY Grandmother once made a bag,” says senior Angurugu artist, Annabel Amagula, from the ALC’s Anindilyakwa Arts Centre.

“She used to go out hunting for yam and bush tucker, and used to carry them in that bag. That bag was made in old ways from pandanas string.”

Ms Amagula’s own bag, made from ghost nets, was named a finalist in the Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize.

Ghost nets are abandoned fishing nets, which have washed up on shores.

“Those nets kill our bush tucker, our turtles, fish, and crabs. The rangers go around and pick up the net and give it to us,” she said. “This bag carries the story.”

The 2018 Woollahra Small Sculpture Prize exhibition is from October 20 to November 11 at Woollahra Council in NSW.

Archipelago joins forces to save young peopleA WHOLE ARCHIPELAGO has joined forces in a bid to save its young people from boredom and anti-social behaviours.

The ALC signed a historic agreement with three other organisations in September, to use sport and recreation to combat youth disengagement.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the ALC, East Arnhem Regional Council (EARC), Bush Fit Mob, and Australian Football League NT (AFLNT) sets out a coordinated approach to increasing sport and recreational activities for the young people of Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Island, upgrading facilities and sharing resources.

ALC chair, Mr Tony Wurramarrba, said the archipelago had a serious shortfall of healthy recreational activities for children.

“One of our aims is to develop the athletic potential of children, and the other is to be able to offer fun, active activities, such as BMX riding and going to a water park with parents,” Mr Wurramarrba said.

“We know that sport and activity has the power to transform lives, so we at the ALC have been working really hard to play our part in many of the challenges that our communities face.

“We believe sport and recreation can break down barriers between Anindilyakwa clans who might not otherwise engage, as the rules of sport and recreation are not based on clan systems.

“We also believe more mentors can provide positive

role models for at-risk young people, and help our young people to realise their importance in society.”

ALC chief executive, Mr Mark Hewitt, said both EARC and AFLNT had already contributed many years to this goal, and had notable success and achievements.

The ALC is currently funding a major sport and recreation infrastructure upgrade on Groote Eylandt and Bickerton Island.

For the full story, go to anindilyakwa.com.au.

COLLABORATION: The agreement means more Groote Eylandt children will get a chance to shine in their sport of choice, just like Desley Amagula and Celia Nundhirribala who both took home silver at the NT Athletics in Darwin.

Artist makes story bag from ghost nets

FINALIST: Annabel Amagula is a senior artist from Angurugu. (INSET) The prized bag, made from ghost nets.

Community spirit in Umbakumba festival | November 2018 Page 3

A SURVEY OF 250 Anindilyakwa traditional owners shows strong support for a remote primary boarding college to be built in the Groote archipelago.

Households in Angurugu, Umbakumba, and Milyakburra, as well as outstations at Four Mile, Malkala, Bartalumba Bay, and Little Paradise were interviewed.

The survey was requested by attendees at a mid-year community meeting.

Its results showed 67 per cent of traditional owners supported setting up a boarding college, while 17 per cent were opposed. The remaining 16 per cent opposed it based on its proposed location, which they believed was a ceremonial site.

Further, 61 per cent of households indicated that children should attend Monday to Friday and go home on weekends, while 39 percent thought children should stay all school term and go home on school holidays.

The biggest support (83 per cent) was for children aged eight to 11 to attend. Just seven per cent said children aged five to eight should attend, and 10 per cent, children all the way from five to 11 years old.

Through the survey, people also gave their views on cultural and family obligations, and on how college housing should be set up for house parents and children.

If approved, it is expected the college would open in 2021, after three years of planning and construction.

ALC chair, Tony Wurramarrba, said more investigation was needed on a college site before a decision could be made by traditional owners.

Meetings and workshops have been held between the ALC, the Groote archipelago’s Community Education Reference Group (CERG), and experts.

KPMG consultant, Kristy Rees, is helping with strategic planning and business planning; education consultants, Dr Kevin Gillan and Ian Smith, are helping set up the college operations and governance; and Cox Architects

creatives, Kieran Wong and Heather MacRae, are helping with the college design and investigating a suitable site.

Meetings to progress college MEETINGS are being scheduled to further plans for a boarding college in the Groote archipelago.

At an October workshop on Groote Eylandt, Registrar for non-government schools in the NT, Tony Considine, linked in remotely to talk to the Community Education Reference Group about guidelines and procedures to register a non-government school.

Another workshop to move forward with the work has been scheduled for Groote Eylandt Lodge on November 21-22.

A separate meeting is planned to incorporate the Groote Eylandt Bickerton Island Primary College under the Office of the Register of Indigenous Corporations (ORIC), in preparation for the college funding application.

The meeting will be advertised to be held in November.

Survey shows strong support for college

SURVEY SNAPSHOTOf 251 community members surveyed:

67% support the college

83% think children aged 8 to 11 should attend

96% think boys and girls should attend

61% think children should attend Monday to Friday, and go home on weekends

39% think children should stay all school term, and go home on school holidays

100% think children should return to community for funerals and ceremonies.

98% think students should be separated by gender

87% think there should be 6 children per house

67% think there should be 2 children per bedroom

54% think housing should be separated by clan

| November 2018 Page 4

TWO of three sites proposed for a remote primary boarding college are being further investigated.

The sites were considered during a series of meetings with Traditional Owners, Jungkayi, Kaku, and other senior custodians of an area on the north coast of Bickerton Island, close to the existing Telstra Tower.

The ALC asked that the meetings consider three sites (see map right), all big enough for the school.

A well-attended meeting at Milyakburra Cultural Centre in August told the ALC that important Dreaming tracks passed through the area, but at least one of the sites might be free of culturally-significant places, and could be available for the school.

The ALC organised a site visit in September following calls by meeting attendees.

The ALC hired a helicopter for senior men to fly around the area to establish where significant cultural sites were located. A meeting was also held on the beach with other senior men who had driven in.

ALC anthropologist, Hugh Bland, said after careful consideration of the cultural sites in the area and close inspection of sites A & B, the senior men advised that the two sites could be surveyed.

The final approval of the site will be made at the next meeting of Traditional Owners,

senior custodians, and senior members of those Groote Eylandt clans who hold the same Dreamings.

The results of the further work by the surveyor will be revealed at the meeting, together with the results of a community survey (see article page 4).

Cultural consultations for school site

SELECTION: The ALC asked that the meetings consider three sites, all big enough for the school.

New board elected THE NEW ANINDILYAKWA Land Council board was announced on October 1 following elections.The clan representatives are now Thomas Amagula, Leonard Amagula, Sue Bara, Silas Bara, Annette Jaragba, Lucina Jaragba, Eric Wurramara, Kathyanne Wurramara, Jenny Bara Bara, Leilani Bara Bara, Gregson Lalara, Elma Maminyamanja, Kerrina Maminyamanja, Tony Wurramarrba, Scott Wurramarrba, James Durilla, Joel Mamarika, Ida Mamarika, Elma Yantarrnga, Jennifer Yantarrnga, Cherelle Wurrawilya, and Kitisha WatsonThe community representatives are Kierinson Wurramara (Milyakburra), Serena Bara (Angurugu), and Nesman Bara (Umbakumba).Congratulations to all new and returning members. The ALC is excited for what this next period will hold.

| November 2018 Page 5

“WE WANT TO do our own festival, to build unity, a little happiness, make ourselves strong,” was the word from the Umbakumba community. And so they did.

The Umbakumba Mini Festival in October was a weekend of celebration and community spirit, attracting about 500 people to the Umbakumba Cultural Centre on Friday and another 700 on Saturday.

The festival was a testament to outstanding traditional culture and the power of collaboration. It was a massive success at only a small financial cost, largely funded by the ALC, with GEAT providing buses and ferries for Bickerton Island families, Bush Fit Mob and East Arnhem Regional Council running the sports, Aminjarrinja working with municipal works (EARC) and GEBIE (CDP) and Power and Water (ESO) providing machinery and man power.

“The many barbecue volunteers were awesome,” says one of the organisers, Percy Bishop, from the ALC’s Radio Umbakumba 106.3FM.

“And we hired Groote Eylandt’s Tongan community who put on a massive feed mixed with seafood caught during the week by Umbakumba families.”

Entertainment was by Umbakumba’s uplifting and thrilling Salt Lake Band and Angurugu’s soulful Eylandt Band, led by the moving voice of young singer, Ramson Lalara. They were joined by the charming rock soul sounds of Ngukkur’s T-Lynx, Numbulwar’s stand out Mambali Band, and that beautiful spiritual sound of Yilila Band, also from Numbulwar, led effortlessly and beautifully by the powerful voice of Grant Nundhirribala.

The festival was also an opportunity to experience the programs that form the ALC’s cultural centre in Umbakumba.

The centre, along with the new cultural centres at Angurugu and Milyakburra house the ALC’s art, media, music and language programs, as well as radio stations and men’s sheds with strong links to sport and recreation.

The opening of the cultural centres sees the realisation of a major goal of the ALCs 15-year Strategic Plan, which was developed over 18 months and released in 2012 after extensive community input.

CULTURE: Robbie Murrungun performs as part of the Red Flag Dancers in the opening of the festival.

END OF LIFE: A scene from a powerful film by Angurugu Health Centre and Palliative Care NT, called Advanced Care Planning, which helps the people of Groote Eylandt make plans about final days with health staff, family, and friends. For more information and a link to the video, go to anindilyakwa.com.au

Community spirit in Umbakumba festival

Finding dignity in the final days of life

| November 2018 Page 6

HEALTHY BREAKFASTS AND lunches are on the

menu for Angurugu School students with the

opening of their new home economics centre, two

years after fire destroyed their old building.

Education Minister, Selena Uibo, officially

opened the school’s new home economics and

administration building in September.

The $5.7million project was undertaken by NT

construction company, Norbuilt, and employed 14

Aboriginal workers during construction, including

12 Angurugu locals.

It includes contemporary kitchen facilities for

cooking classes, and facilitates the full return of the

school’s popular nutrition program, which provides

healthy breakfasts and lunches for students.

Angurugu School principal, Paul Riches, said

students enjoyed their new outdoor dining area.

Language team creates digital resources catalogueTHE ALC’s Groote Eylandt Language Centre team is busy sorting through 40,000 Anindilyakwa resources to give community members access to a heritage collection containing photos, audio and videos recorded in Groote Eylandt over

the last 40 years.

The team has made big advances this year on its Ajamurnda project, which builds a digital catalogue of existing, repatriated and newly recorded language and other cultural and historical resources through a computer

app, which is easy to use.

Linguist David Nathan said it was a big job to define who could access what material.

“There are so many resources to check through and people are busy,” David said.

“Different people

and methods and situations are needed for different types of things so it be quite complicated.”

The language centre is being guided by community members on who can see what and where the materials can be viewed.

Community involvement is a large part of the project and regular meetings are being set up in each community to talk about accessing the collection.

The Language Centre is looking for community members to help gather information about the items in the collection, for example, identifying people in photos.

For the full story go to anindilyakwa.com.au

School buildings rise from ashesMORE ITEMS REPATRIATED TO GROOTE EYLANDT

| November 2018 Page 7

IMPRESSIVE: The new home economics and administration building was built with the help of 12 Angurugu locals.

SUPPORT: ALC team members with Education Minister, Selena Uibo, at the opening.

Item #A006918 from the Ajamurnda Collection. Source: CMS Hart Collection Darwin.

Ph 08 8987 4010Fax 08 8987 4098info@anindilyakwa.com.au For editorial contributions email danielacooper@outlook.com.au

30 Bougainvillea DrivePO Box 172Alyangula NT 0885

anindilyakwa.com.au

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THE ALC’S MEDIA team is setting up dedicated community spaces in Angurugu, Umbakumba, and Milyakburra for Anindilyakwa people.

Community members can visit to browse videos, photographs, music, and any other type of digital story telling that is owned by or relevant to them.

Staff are working hard to ensure content in these digital keeping places is culturally appropriate, which includes ‘resting’ and ‘blocking’ content that has had viewing permission withdrawn for cultural reasons.

The ALC has named the media program Ayangkidarrba-langwa Media, which can be translated to ‘Island Media’, ‘Media From the Islands’ or ‘Media Belonging to the Islands’.

In addition to these community spaces, Ayangkidarrba-langwa Media will be setting up a dedicated production studio.

This studio will be a space for staff to learn about and produce digital media.

ORGANISATIONS GET ON BOARD TO KEEP ISLAND PEST-FREE

Page 8

THE ALC’S ANINDILYAKWA Land and Sea Rangers are working with other organisations to keep Groote Eylandt free of introduced pests and diseases.

More than 30 GEBIE Civil and Construction staff recently participated in a bio-security course conducted by the rangers.

ALC quarantine and biosecurity officer, Tom Lawton, said many individuals and organisations understood the importance of helping to protect the island’s pristine ecosystems and unique native flora and fauna.

“The Groote archipelago is relatively free from many of the introduced pest species that are common on mainland Australia, and it is vital

for our economic, environmental, social, and cultural values on Groote that it remains this way,” Mr Lawton said.

Digital stories in community spaces

COMFORTABLE SPACE: Young local boys enjoy the digital keeping place where they and other community members can browse videos, photographs, music and any other type of digital story telling.

IMPORTANT: Rangers train GEBIE Civil and Construction staff in quarantine and biosecurity.

| November 2018