The Issue or Desire
Learning circle participants are concerned that:
To find documented and archived stories in Walmajarri and Wangkatjungka languages that people from the community would consider important stories to be told in early childhood education. Olive Knight felt that these stories could be documented for a curriculum and passed on to the school to inspire the school to find stories that would be relevant for older children.
Learning circle participants are concerned that:
- Children are failing in schools.
- Children need to develop a strong sense of identity.
- Children need to know who they are, who they are related to and their links to family and country.
- Learning circle participants want traditional languages and cultural knowledge to be included in the curriculum in early years education and schools.
To find documented and archived stories in Walmajarri and Wangkatjungka languages that people from the community would consider important stories to be told in early childhood education. Olive Knight felt that these stories could be documented for a curriculum and passed on to the school to inspire the school to find stories that would be relevant for older children.
Actions Taken
3/3/08 After Learning Circle 5, Heather sought the advice of Siobhan Cassan from the Kimberely Language and Resource Centre regarding the processes involved in finding documented stories. Siobhan suggested that a request be made of Olive Knight as to whether she could remember which languages had been archived.Heather explained that the purpose of this request was to recover stories that are in languages and contextual for the children living in Wangkatjungka and the surrounds.
7/3/08 Heather asked Olive Knight if she could remember and identify who and which languages have been archived. Olive suggested to look for Walmajarri and Wangkatjungka languages first and then she would look at what was found.
10/3/08 Heather contacted the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and made initial request to search audio transcripts from the Audiovisual Unit archives for dreaming stories, animal stories and about country and seasons. The staff from AIATSIS said they would send a report with some materials. The report would contain information on the status of each piece of recorded story (for example, what is restricted, what needs permission from the Land council, what needs permission from the original source).
28/3/08 A second request was made through phone calls. The access officer explained that this was an unusual request. Normally, if people asked for stories she would advise them to look for published chidren's story books from the library.
3/3/08 After Learning Circle 5, Heather sought the advice of Siobhan Cassan from the Kimberely Language and Resource Centre regarding the processes involved in finding documented stories. Siobhan suggested that a request be made of Olive Knight as to whether she could remember which languages had been archived.Heather explained that the purpose of this request was to recover stories that are in languages and contextual for the children living in Wangkatjungka and the surrounds.
7/3/08 Heather asked Olive Knight if she could remember and identify who and which languages have been archived. Olive suggested to look for Walmajarri and Wangkatjungka languages first and then she would look at what was found.
10/3/08 Heather contacted the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) and made initial request to search audio transcripts from the Audiovisual Unit archives for dreaming stories, animal stories and about country and seasons. The staff from AIATSIS said they would send a report with some materials. The report would contain information on the status of each piece of recorded story (for example, what is restricted, what needs permission from the Land council, what needs permission from the original source).
28/3/08 A second request was made through phone calls. The access officer explained that this was an unusual request. Normally, if people asked for stories she would advise them to look for published chidren's story books from the library.
What needed to be challenged/ reflected upon?
Assumptions about core curriculum components in Indigenous settings for young children
These included issues such as:
• What should be included in curriculum on a daily basis
• On what basis decisions are made to include or exclude aspects of a curriculum
• What might a proper preschool curriculum include for Indigenous children and communities
• Thoughts and fears about what and how recorded dreaming stories could be found and recovered
• What kinds of processes and protocols need to be followed and respected
What made a difference?
Request for support to find stories by Olive Knight
Olive requested Heather to investigate if any stories could be found. Heather consulted Learning Circle 5 participants if they thought this would help identify more content for a culturally responsive curriculum. The participants agreed that this was a worthwhile project to do. Siobhan Cassan from Kimberley Language Resource Centre (KLRC) offered support in locating stories. Although Siobhan could only offer minimal support as KLRC is not funded for this type of work, she assured us of her willingness to help.
This highlights the difficulty faced by Indigenous people to find and take ownership of their stories and knowledge that have been archived over many years by linguists, anthropologists and others. The staff at Kimberley Language and Resource Centre find it frustrating that they are unable to support people in recovering such materials with ease. Siobhan has suggested that this excercise will highlight the frustration and the difficulty faced by people wanting to locate and use materials archived in the past.
Heather contacted IATSIS and requested to the community access officer at AIATSIS audio visual unit
The community access officer said that their staff would search archives and send a report. Some materials are readily accessable from AIATSIS but if more detailed information is needed the Land Council of the particular community would need to be contacted for permission.
Outcomes
8/4/2008 A report was sent from AIATSIS. Two lists of archived materials sent with more than 50 hours of audio material covering a broad range of material in Walmajarri and Wangkatjungka languages including stories and other interviews with people. The reports were sent to Olive Knight for review. Siobhan Cassan received a copy of the report. Siobhan offered to edit the long list to make the job of scanning for relevant and useful material easier for Olive.
8/5/08 Siobhan returned the list to Heather, with material removed that might not be relevant for the project. The edited list was sent to Olive.
14/5/08 Olive was contacted to establish if she still wanted to work on the transcripts. Heather was aware that this was a big job and that Olive had many responsibilities in the community and in her job as a school Community Liaison Officer. Heather checked with Olive to see if there was any other support she needed. Olive reassured Heather that this was important work and that she enjoyed transcribing the material. (Olive is an Accredited translator). Heather suggested that she had another look at the list and perhaps choose one transcript to begin with. Heather and Olive agreed to discuss the outcomes at the following visit to Wangkatjungka. Heather informed Siobhan that the material has been sent to Olive. Siobhan offered to contact Olive to provide any needed assistance.
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