Djilba Edition: Aug / Sept 2015
Inside This Edition
Rock Solid
Foundations 2015
Appointment to
NHMRC committees
New healing portal
Our Place
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the broader community.
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is Kurongkurl
Katitjin’s official newsletter
and is produced six times a
year.
PRODUCED BY
Tracey-Lee Edwards,
Communications and
Events Officer
CONTACT DETAILS
Kurongkurl Katitjin,
Centre for Indigenous
Australian Education and
Research, Edith Cowan
University, Mt Lawley
HEAD OF CENTRE
Professor Colleen Hayward
MAILING ADDRESS
Kurongkurl Katitjin
Edith Cowan University
2 Bradford Street
MT LAWLEY WA 6050
TELEPHONE
1800 648 994
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Kurongkurl Katitjin
Out and About
L-R: ECU’s Caroline Bishop (Engagement Unit), Jason Barrow (Kurongkurl Katitjin)
and Dr Magdalena Wajrak (School of Natural Sciences) receiving the Tribal Award for
Excellence in Community Engagement at the 2015 ATEM/Campus Review Awards
Award winning science: Old Ways, New Ways
An ECU program aimed at encouraging more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to study
science has been nationally recognised.
Dr Magdalena Wajrak (School of Natural Sciences), Jason Barrow (Kurongkurl Katitjin) and Caroline Bishop
(ECU’s Engagement Unit) were awarded the prestigious Tribal Award for Excellence in Community
Engagement at the 2015 Australian Tertiary Education Management (ATEM)/Campus Review Best
Practice Awards, for their innovative community outreach project Old Ways, New Ways.
Story continued on page 3
Kurongkurl Katitjin, pronounced ‘koor-ong-kurl cut-it-chin’, is a Nyoongar phrase
meaning ‘coming together to learn’.
Welcome from the Head of Centre
Welcome to the Djilba edition of Our Place, the official newsletter of Kurongkurl Katitjin, Centre for
Indigenous Australian Education and Research at Edith Cowan University.
This edition of Our Place acknowledges some of the outstanding work undertaken beyond University
walls and outside in the broader community.
The Old Ways, New Ways program brings together Western and Aboriginal knowledge perspectives
to science. It has been developed by Dr Magdalena Wajrak from the School of Natural Sciences and
Cultural Awareness Officer Jason Barrow and is supported by ECU’s engagement team.
The workshops have been designed to encourage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students to
explore science, in particular chemistry, through a range of hands-on activities which show students
how chemistry is used in the forensics area.
Students are trained up to be demonstrators and provide technical and theoretical expertise when
running these activities with younger students. Aboriginal tool-making also gives the students the
opportunity to learn ancient techniques for bushland survival.
The award-winning program is focused on finding ways to inspire Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
young people to reach their potential and improve their educational outcomes.
Happy reading!
Professor Colleen Hayward AM
Head of Centre, Kurongkurl Katitjin;
Pro-Vice Chancellor (Equity & Indigenous)
About the Centre
ECU’s Kurongkurl Katitjin has a vital role in assisting the University to meet its commitment to Aborignal
and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Our mission is to “provide excellence in teaching and learning
and research in a culturally inclusive environment that values
the diversity of Australian Aborignal and Torres Strait Islander
history and cultural heritage”.
Consistent with this mission, the Centre provides support and
academic pathways for Aborignal and Torres Strait Islander
students and opportunities for non-Aboriginal students to
enhance their professional knowledge and cultural competence.
2
Award winning science: Old Ways, New Ways
Continued from page 1
Old Ways, New Ways is a successful ECU initiative designed to encourage and support Aboriginal and/or
Torres Strait Islander primary and high school students from WA communities to study science at upper
secondary and tertiary levels.
Dr Wajrak said this award recognises the innovative approach of the Old Ways, New Ways program.
“Aboriginal people were the first scientists and I would love to see more Aboriginal students choosing a
career in science,” Dr Wajrak said.
The Old Ways, New Ways program acknowledges and respects Aboriginal scientific knowledge, partnering
this with Western science to create a culturally relevant, hands-on learning experience.
ECU Cultural Awareness Officer Jason Barrow said: “Providing kids with a new lens by which to view the
interface between their Aboriginal cultural heritage and contemporary Western science encourages
them to not only view their world differently, but to hold on to their heritage, as its worth is reinstated.”
Old Ways, New Ways aims to address areas of significant disadvantage among Aboriginal and/or Torres
Strait Islander communities such as lower levels of scientific literacy among adolescents and under
representation in science and technology degrees and careers.
The program is one of many community outreach projects supported by the ECU Engagement Unit,
which seeks to raise aspirations for higher education among the communities that the University was
established to serve.
The 2015 Old Ways, New Ways program will culminate with an inter-school Science Extravaganza held
at ECU’s Joondalup Campus in November and hosted by celebrated UK science communicator Tim
Harrison.
Kurongkurl Katitjin set to host its fifth Alumni Sundowner
2015 marks the fourth anniversary of the establishment and recognition of Edith Cowan University’s
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Alumni and the unveiling of the Rock Solid Foundations tribute.
To celebrate, Kurongkurl Katitjin, ECU’s Centre for Indigenous Australian Education and Research is
hosting a sundowner to re-connect, network and socialise. If you, or someone you know graduated
from Edith Cowan University or its predecessors, between the years of 1951 and 2015, we would love
to hear from you.
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Date: Friday, 27 November 2015
Time: Between 6.00pm and 8.00pm
Venue: Kurongkurl Katitjin Gallery, Building 15, ECU Mount Lawley Campus
2 Bradford Street, Mount Lawley (enter via Central Avenue)
Details: This event is open to Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander graduates of ECU.
One guest per graduate is welcome to attend. Unfortunately, no children. Guests must be 18 or over. Canapés and beverages will be served.
RSVP: Via email to [email protected] by Friday, 20 November.
Nyoongar Season: About Djilba
What happened to Makuru season? This time of year should be the coldest and wettest time of the
year and when it is in full swing, you’ll know that winter is definitely here. However, this year we’re seeing
Makuru and Djilba becoming as one.
Traditionally, this was a good time of the year to move back inland from the coast, as the winds turned
westerly and southerly, bringing the rains, icy cold air flows and the occasional snow that we see on the
peaks of the Stirling and Porongurup Ranges. Whilst we may see some of the frosts and possible snow
falls on the peaks of the Great Southern Ranges, our day times continue to be unseasonably warm.
This has been especially evident for those who have been observing the happenings around us. There
have been many plants and animals that have gone right into their Djilba season activities. The Waardongs
(or Ravens) have been paired up now for quite some time, with some already sitting on eggs in their nests
and we’ve already seen the first ducklings out and about in NAIDOC week, just as we did back in 2013.
Interestingly though, our rainfall to date isn’t too far off the seasonal long term averages. When and
how it gets to the ground has changed and along with change we’re also seeing some plants alter their
flowering patterns. Already we’re seeing some of the plants that like to flower in Djilba making good use
of the warmer weather to flower much earlier and others that are still awaiting some frosty mornings to
help trigger their Makuru flowering.
An example of this has been the late flowering of the Cockies Tongue (Tempeltonia retusa), with many
observed plants choosing to flower on their southern and western sides until we saw some frosty nights
in late June that then triggered the rest of the flowers to burst into colour. Whilst this Makuru will
continue to be a dry one, there should be a wet Djilba that will follow, and there will be many plants and
animals, let alone the farmers, that will be eagerly looking forward to this.
With the arrival of rain, we’ll see the ‘red rust’ appearing on the male Sheoaks (Allocasuarina fraseriana),
which should coincide with the tannins from the upper reaches of the river systems that will start to be
flushed down-stream, thus providing some unique ambushing opportunities for some of the larger Black
Bream and Mulloway around the new and full moons during this time of the year.
Other striking flowers that have already started to emerge are the blues and purples of the Blueberry Lilly
(Dianella revoluta), the Purple Flag (Patersonia occidentalis), the Native Wisteria (Hardenbergia comptoniana)
and the very striking Blue Leschenaultia (Lechenaultia biloba) that will emerge in bushland areas. With the
continuing warm weather, we’ll see the yellows of the Wattles and the creams of the Parrot Bush begin
much earlier than they should, with some already in full bud ready to bloom.
For the avid bush walkers amongst us, and even those just happy to get out around the various walking
trails, it is also the time to seek out the many orchid species of the South West that have been waiting
patiently for the rains to hydrate them before they burst quickly into their short lived lives.
These two seasons are some of the best times to get out and amongst it, so enjoy all that is on offer.
Jason Barrow
Kurongkurl Katitjin Cultural Awareness Officer
[email protected]
4
Wongi Nyoongar – Talking Nyoongar
In this last edition of Wongi Nyoongar, we conclude with another online resource currently in development.
‘Noongarpedia1’ is a project funded by the Australian Research Council until 2016 to research why is
there no Noongar Wikipedia and investigates the problems and possibilities of using contemporary digital
networks and affordances to promote the use and future of the Noongar language.
The project concentrates on the process of populating Wikipedia entries into a number of broad
knowledge domains. The list below shows examples of the domain categories and suggested content.
Categories
Country
Places, landscapes, flora, fauna; tribal groups and trading patterns
Narrative
Stories from everyday life, including suburban domestic, urban industrial and
regional traditions; literature and other art-forms
Music
Lyrics, traditional and modern
Popular culture
Citizenship
1
Content
Broadly defined, including ‘Gen Next’ and emergent knowledge;
Public knowledge and exchange, from ‘welcome to country’ to international
first-peoples forums
https://www.facebook.com/NoongarPedia-925565157522262/
Similarly, the project identified a number of ‘sources’ for the trial version of the Noongar Wikipedia. These
sources include archived material, family/community, media and public institutions.
Professors Len Collard, Kim Scott, John Hartley with CCAT Research Associate Ingrid Cumming and UWA
School of Indigenous Studies Research Associate, Jennifer Buchanan are all working on the project to
record the language and believe the new tool will preserve and revitalise the Noongar language.
Nyoongar Story Time
Berrin-berrin - Rainbow Bee-eater - Part 2
Traditionally, Nyoongar girls were taken in groups of seven and married into the neighbouring groups of
the Yamatji and Wongi People.
It was believed that the migatory habits of the Berrin-berrin ensured that messages were moved about
the country, even to where ever the girls/women might be.
Dr Noel Nannup
ECU Cultural Ambassador and Kurongkurl Katitjin Elder-in-Residence
[email protected]
5
Principal Researcher appointed to two NHMRC committees
Experts in health ethics, policy, patient care and innovation are among those appointed to five National
Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) committees to help shape the future of Australia’s
research sector.
The committees play the vital role of providing advice and guidance to the NHMRC Council and CEO,
and are important pillars of the NHMRC as Australia’s premier body for administering medical research
funding and issuing health and ethical guidelines.
Kurongkurl Katitjin’s Principal Research Consultant Dr Dan McAullay has been appointed to two of the
Council’s committees, namely the Australian Health Ethics Committee (AHEC) and Research Committee
(RC).
Membership of these committees draw on expertise in philosophy, the ethics of medical research, public
health and social science research, clinical medical practice and nursing, disability, law, religion and health
consumer issues.
Dr McAullay’s selection is based on his demonstrated leadership and extensive experience in various fields
of health and medical research. He will be a member on each committee for the 2015-18 triennium.
For further details about the NHMRC committees, visit: www.nhmrc.gov.au
Information sharing inspires healing
Edith Cowan University’s Australian Indigenous HealthInfoNet, in partnership with The Healing Foundation,
has launched a healing portal on the HealthInfoNet website.
The healing portal will engage users from a broad range of areas including health, justice, child protection
and family violence. At the heart of the portal and Yarning place is the connection with culture, knowledge
systems and information sharing.
The launch was held on Monday 14 September 2015 at
Yorgum Aboriginal Corporation in Perth.
The Healing Foundation CEO, Richard Weston, said sharing
and elevating Indigenous knowledge is critical to developing
better policy.
“The portal will help legislators, researchers and universities
broaden their understanding of healing and what’s working
around Australia, and make it easier for Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander agencies to access current healing research and
L-R: HealthInfoNet’s Director Neil Drew and
Healing Foundation CEO Richard Weston implement this in their work”.
HealthInfoNet Director, Professor Neil Drew, said of the new portal and Yarning place ‘It brings together
a wealth of information including cultural ways of healing, trauma, Stolen Generations and healing for
children, young people, men and women’.
The Healing Foundation is a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisation with a focus on
community led healing solutions.
For more information and to view the portal, visit: www.healthinfonet.ecu.edu.au/related-issues/healing
6
Staff Snapshot
Oriel Green
Kurongkurl Katitjin Out and About
Each edition, we showcase some of the meetings, activities
and events Kurongkurl Katitjin staff were involved or
attended ‘out and about’ in the community.
Here’s what we got up to the past few months:
Aug 2015
Elder-in
-Reside
nce - JO
WA Local Government AGM & Convention
6/8
Second Stage Opening - Butler College
7/8
Old Ways, New Ways - Adam Road Primary School
10/8
Yorga Djenna Bidi Reception
11/8
Leadership WA: Exclusive Leadership Lunch
17/8
AEETC Meeting: West Coast Institute of Training
19/8
WACOSS Conference Advisory Committee Meeting
Favourite music:
Music from the 60s and 70s and a
bit of Katy Perry
23/8
National Indigenous Science Education Program
24/8
Commissioner for Children and Young People
Briefing and Roundtable
Favourite food:
Seafood dishes
26/8
Australia Day WA Function
27/8
Department of Corrective Services: Youth Justice
Board Meeting
Favourite book:
Wandering Girl by Glenyse Ward
Favourite TV Program:
Home and Away, Mr Bean
Favourite Movie:
Comedy movies
If you could meet anyone, who
would it be?
Elvis Presley
What is something that people
don’t know about you?
I do swear sometimes!
7
5/8
Sept 2015
1/9
Rio Tinto: Colours of Our Country exhibition opening
2/9
Meeting with CEO of the Lowitja Institute
2/9
National Portrait Gallery Foundation - unveiling of
Richard Walley paiting by Julie Dowling
4/9
Queen’s Birthday Honours Investiture Ceremony
8/9
Leadership WA - Leader in Residence David Martin
9/9
Synergies Screening: Water Corporation
21/9
Indigenous Content in Education Symposium (SA)
23/9
WA Universities: Indigenous Student Services
Support Meeting
About this Publication
Our Place is Kurongkurl Katitjin’s official newsletter.
Produced six times per year, each edition coincides with one of the six Nyoongar seasons and highlights
key activities of the Centre and the University, as well as other significant events and information
relating to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education and research.
It is circulated electronically to a range of stakeholders including staff, students and the broader
community. Past editions can be found online under the News section at www.kk.ecu.edu.au.
EMAIL CONTACT DETAILS
Kurongkurl Katitjin,
[email protected]
MAILING ADDRESS
Kurongkurl Katitjin
Edith Cowan University
Building 15, 2 Bradford Street
MT LAWLEY WA 6050
TELEPHONE
134 328
FAX
08 9370 6055
WEBSITE
www.kk.ecu.edu.au
Join our Mailing List
To keep up to date with what’s happening at Kurongkurl Katitjin, join our mailing list by completing the
online form under the News section at www.kk.ecu.edu.au.