2019 is a celebration of Indigenous Languages

In recognition of the crucial role that languages play “as a repository for each person’s unique identity, cultural history, traditions and memory” (United Nations, 2018) the United Nations declared 2019 the International Year of Indigenous Languages (IYIL).

To celebrate IYIL 2019, the University Archives and ANU Library have launched a new exhibition, which aims to enable an appreciation of the diversity, understanding and importance of indigenous languages.

This collaborative exhibition highlights the exceptional research culture and excellence of teaching related to Indigenous Languages at the Australian National University. The exhibition illustrates how ANU delivers its responsibility to Indigenous Australians and to our neighbours and friends throughout Asia and the Pacific.

The exhibition draws on the extensive collections of the University Archives (including Ngunnawal listings from Marie Reay’s research papers) and the ANU Library’s wealth of Indigenous Language resources from Australia, Asia, the Pacific and beyond.

There are key contributions from across the ANU community including CartoGIS, PARADISEC, the ARC Centre of Excellence for the Dynamics of Language and the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau. The exhibition also provides the opportunity to explore digital resources from the Living Archive of Aboriginal Languages, AUSTLANG, PARADISEC and the Pacific Manuscripts Bureau.

ANU Scholarly Information Services would like to acknowledge and pay respect to the traditional owners of the land on which this exhibition takes place – the Ngambri-Ngunnawal peoples. It is upon their ancestral lands that ANU is built. As we share our own knowledge, teaching, learning, and research practices within this University, may we also pay respect to the knowledge and traditions of the Ngambri-Ngunnawal peoples.

Thank you to Jane Simpson, Julia Colleen Miller, Hedvig Skirgård, Nicholas Evans, Kay Dancey, Jenny Sheehan and Mary Spiers Williams for their many contributions and valued input.