2017

Mount Magnet Elder Ollie George awarded NAIDOC Male Elder of the year

Posted: July 24th, 2017

Filed under: Badimia, Geraldton, NAIDOC

YMAC sends our heart-felt congratulations to Ollie George for receiving the Male Elder of the year award at the NAIDOC 2017 national award ceremony in Cairns. Mr George led several Badimia families and the Bundiyarra-Irra Wangga Language Centre on a project to create a new Badimia Dictionary, to preserve culture and language that can be shared across generations.

This year the annual NAIDOC Week theme was celebrating the importance, resilience and richness of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages. The focus: Our Languages Matter. As one of the last people living that can speak Badimia – an endangered Aboriginal language – Mr George’s 20 year commitment to documenting language and culture was recognised as a significant contribution to Aboriginal heritage.

“When I look back I’m proud because it’s my language and I’m not scared to speak my language. A lot of people in my town won’t speak it. It’s gone they reckon. But It’s not gone for me, I’ve still got it there.” Mr George said. “I’m proud to be able to share my knowledge and language with the next generation.”

Use the link below to view Ollie’s speech.

http://www.sbs.com.au/nitv/article/2017/06/28/male-elder-year-recipient-awarded-preserving-aboriginal-languages

Nominations for Pilbara NAIDOC Awards close 19 June

Posted: June 16th, 2017

Filed under: NAIDOC, Pilbara, Port Hedland

Nominations to recognise inspirational Aboriginal people for the 2017 Port Hedland NAIDOC Awards are open until Monday 19 June.

A number of categories are available, including Artist of the Year, Person of the Year, Sports Person of the Year, and many others. You can find more information about the categories, selection criteria, and nomination process here.

Winners of the awards will be recognised during NAIDOC Week 2017, which takes place between the 2^nd and 9^th of July. More information about NAIDOC Week events can be found by emailing Katie at Health WA at 9174 1240 or by emailing katie.papertalk@health.wa.gov.au.

YMAC Director Featured on ABC Midwest

Posted: June 1st, 2017

Filed under: 1967 Referendum, Australian citizenship, Victor Mourambine

Victor Mourambine, Yamatji Member for the YMAC Board of Directors, was recently featured on ABC TV in the Midwest and Wheatbelt region.

Victor and his granddaughter Telisha Riley discussed having to apply for Australian Citizenship following the referendum for Aboriginal rights in 1967.

You can watch the video of their interview on Facebook.

https://www.facebook.com/abcmidwestandwheatbelt/videos/10155155761460985/

Victor and Telisha’s story is part of a free exhibition on display at the Museum of Geraldton. Right Wrongs: ’67 Referendum – WA 50 years on is open from 28 May to 3 September 2017.

Watch the 2016 On-Country Bush Meeting at Yule River

Posted: May 29th, 2017

Filed under: Aboriginal Heritage Act, Regional Services Reform, Traditional Owners., Yamatji Marlpa Aboriginal Corporation, YMAC, Yule River

In September of 2016, Traditional Owners from across Western Australia met at Yule River to discuss their concerns about the WA Aboriginal Heritage Act Amendment Bill and the State Government’s Regional Services Reform Plan.

These films document the participants, processes, and outcomes of these meetings.

Referendum exhibition opens in WA

Posted: May 29th, 2017

Filed under: 1967 Referendum, State Library of WA, WA State Museum

An exhibition named “Right Wrongs: ’67 Referendum – the WA Story” will open to the public on Saturday 27 May. It commemorates the fiftieth anniversary of the historic vote for Aboriginal rights in Australia.

Focusing on the themes of resistance, survival, and activism, the exhibition will feature stories of Aboriginal people from Western Australia.

Hosted by the State Library of Western Australia and the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, the exhibition will be available to visit across the State, including in Perth, Fremantle, Albany, and Kalgoorlie, and Geraldton.

For more information, you can visit Western Australian Museum’s website here.

“Revealed” exhibition opens 7 April

Posted: April 6th, 2017

Filed under: Fremantle Arts Centre, Revealed Exhibition and Marketplace, WA art

An exhibition featuring Aboriginal artists from across WA will open on Friday 7 April, and will run until Sunday 21 May at the North Wing of the Fremantle Arts Centre.

More than 80 artists from the Kimberley, Pilbara, Midwest, Goldfields, Wheatbelt and Great Southern will display paintings, prints, wood carvings, textiles, weaving, and multimedia features.

On Saturday 8 April, The Revealed Art Market will also be open, with prices for the artist’s works starting at $50.

For more information about the exhibition you can visit the Fremantle Arts website here, and for details about the art market you can visit the Facebook event page here.

Wajarri Country featured on ABC

Posted: April 3rd, 2017

Filed under: ASKAP, CSIRO, Wajarri Yamatji

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UaRkE7KUiz8

The Square Kilometre Array (SKA), one of the largest experiments ever designed to study the origins of our universe, has been featured on ABC’s Radio National.

The Australian arm of the project to build the world’s largest radio telescope, which can be found in the heart of Yamatji Country, has been partners with Wajarri Yamatji Traditional Owners since its beginning.

You can read the ABC Radio National feature here, and watch a video about the project above. If you want to learn more about the SKA, you can visit the CSIRO website here or the project’s website here.

Grants available for WA heritage

Posted: March 20th, 2017

Filed under: Community Heritage Grants

Applications for the Federal Government’s Community Heritage Grants program are now open, and are offering up to $15,000 for community organisations including indigenous groups.

These grants are made available to protect and display cultural collections of national significance. The grants program offers collection management workshops to offer training to assist regional staff and volunteers with preservation efforts.

Grant applications close 8 May. More information about the program can be found here, and the guidelines and application form can be found here.

Major grant for regional artists closes 3 March

Posted: March 1st, 2017

Filed under: Country Arts WA, Regional Arts Legacy Grants

Country Arts WA is reminding regional artists that the final round of the Regional Arts Legacy Grants (RALG) close on Friday 3 March.

More than $170,000 is available for community art projects. In the last 12 months, the RALG program has contributed almost $1 million to regional organisations which promote cultural activities, community vibrancy, and professional development for regional artists.

For more information about how to apply for a grant, you can call Country Arts WA on 1800 811 883 and (08) 9200 6200, or visit the website here.