Treasure Talk: indigenous languages in the Northern Territory
2019 is the International Year of Indigenous Languages, and to mark the occasion the Northern Territory Library will explore their collection in a series of Treasure Talks.
By Tamara Howie
Historian Sam Wells had a chat with Off The Leash about what to expect at the Treasure Talk series.
What is the Treasure Talk series all about and what can audiences expect?
The Northern Territory Library has a large collection of materials about Indigenous languages and we wanted to acknowledge this important year by delving into these collections and retrieving items that shed light on the wealth of Indigenous languages in the Territory.
What are some of the items in the collection that will be looked at during these talks?
We will show the work of the coloni-al settlers/explorers/ethnographers who compiled extensive Aboriginal word lists in the late 1800s.
We will show rare maps that document Aboriginal place names in Central Australia and the Top End.
We will look at the resources of the bilingual education programs of the 1970s and the prolific work of the Literacy Production Centres.
And finally, we will look at more recent collaborative projects where Aboriginal Territorians have led the way in documenting and preserving Indigenous languages.
How are these languages being preserved?
The Library preserves the documentary heritage of the Territory, including records of Aboriginal languages and collaborative projects.
Tue 19 Mar, 10.30am | Wed 3 Apr, 5.30pm | Tue 16 Apr, 10.30am | Wed 1 May, 5.30pm | Northern Territory Library | Free | ntl.nt.gov.au
Thumbnail artwork by Sabrina Kelly, featured in Let's go hunting in Alekarenge
