How a Bronte Psychologist is Saving an Indigenous Language That Could Save a Generation and its Culture

THE endangered language of a remote indigenous community could be preserved with a new crowd-funding campaign.

Bronte resident Christine Mason is co-founder of the Ground Up Community Support Network, a charitable organisation supporting projects initiated by the Elders of the Gija and other Aboriginal people in the East Kimberley Region of Western Australia.

Bronte’s Christine Mason, from Ground Up Community Support Network, is running a crowdfunding campaign to preserve the Gija language. Picture: Daniel Aarons.

 

A $20,000 crowd-funding campaign has begun to fund a project to preserve the critically endangered language of the remote Aboriginal community of Warmun.

It will bring fluent-speaking elders together with the young people for weekly language classes, as well as bush trips to learn more about the culture, such as song, dance, and bush medicine.

“The elders see it as a matter of urgency that they teach the younger people and their community their language so it is not lost,” Ms Mason said.

Phyllis Thomas, well known artist and Gija Elder (holding the microphone) was one of the initiators and runs the Gija language program.

 

Young people needed to develop a strong sense of identity to strengthen them in the face of current social problems in their community, she said.

Loss of identity was a contributing factor in indigenous youth suicide..

“The Kimberley region has one of the highest suicide rates in the world,” Ms Mason said.

“I don’t think many Australians know, I think that’s just shocking.”

Ms Mason is also a psychologist with 30 years experience in mental health, drug and alcohol, child protection and community psychology.

Since 2010, Ground Up has been continuing the work of her son Ned Sevil, who moved to work in the Warmun Art Gallery and lived there until he died at the age of 30.

Ned Sevil made films with young people in the Warmun community. Picture: Supplied

 

The area is well-known for being home to some of Australia’s leading Aboriginal artists, including Rusty Peters and Phyllis Thomas.

Mr Sevil and his partner Anna Crane began raising money for community projects in 2009, with the help of Ms Mason and her other son Tom.

Artist Rusty Peters at Warmun in the East Kimberley Region of WA

 

Ms Crane continues to live and work in Warmun as a linguist and cultural programs manager.

To help go to www.groundupcommunity.org.

EXAMPLES OF THE GIJA LANGUAGE PHRASES

Gija: “Rangga-ma ninha” — English: “Are you listening?”

Gija: “Marra biyarra! berrani-ni?” – English: “You understand? You know?”

Gija: “Ngiyi, jirrayam” — English: “Yes, all right”