Websites on Aboriginal culture

Below are some key websites with information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers, books and other arts and cultural activities.

Indigenous databases
Maps and timelines
Aboriginal authors
Film and TV writers
Indigenous publishers
Indigenous theatre companies
Indigenous dance companies
Annual cultural events
Indigenous arts awards
Indigenous music and musicians
Indigenous media
International Indigenous writers, publishers and literary organisations
Cultural centres
Aboriginal languages and language centres
Social justice
Key speeches and lectures
Lists conferences, workshops and seminars.

Indigenous databases

Maps and timelines

Aboriginal authors

Film and TV writers

Indigenous publishers

Indigenous theatre companies

Indigenous dance companies

Annual cultural events

Indigenous arts awards

Indigenous Music and Musicians

Indigenous Media

International Indigenous writers, publishers and literary organisations

Cultural Centres

Aboriginal Languages and Language Centres

  • FATSIL - Federation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages: http://www.fatsil.org.au/
    FATSIL is the national peak body for community based Indigenous language programs in Australia. The organisation was established in 1991 in response to the Australian Language and Literacy Policy, to promote the maintenance, retrieval and revival of indigenous languages through the support of community based language programs.
    Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island language programs are serviced by a national network of language centres operating across Australia. From the Wadeye Language Centre in Port Keats, Northern Territory, to the Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre in Hobart, the language centres provide an information and resource base for community language programs and Regional Language Management Committees.
    The centres are also involved in the employment and training of Indigenous administrative and project workers, and teaching staff. For further information about FATSIL’s Language Centres, see the National Indigenous Language Directory (http://www.fatsil.org.au/content/blogcategory/61/79/) which aims to support national networking and improve communication between community and language interest groups. It includes contacts and profiles for Language Centres, Universities, TAFEs, and other relevant bodies and individuals, listed by location.
  • AIATSIS - The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies: http://www.aiatsis.gov.au/
    AIATSIS holds computer-based (digital) materials about Australian Indigenous languages in their Aboriginal Studies Electronic Data Archive (ASEDA). ASEDA has materials including dictionaries, grammars, teaching materials, and represents about 300 languages. ASEDA offers a free service of secure storage, maintenance, and distribution of electronic texts relating to these languages: http://www1.aiatsis.gov.au/ASEDA/
  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages, edited by David Nathan: http://www.dnathan.com/VL/austLang.htm
     This site has annotated links to 231 resources for about 80 languages.
  • NSW Aboriginal Languages Research and Resource Centre (The Language Centre): http://www.alrrc.nsw.gov.au/
    Part of the NSW Department of Aboriginal Affairs, The Language Centre plays a key role in the preservation and revival of Aboriginal languages in the state.
  • Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay Web Dictionary:
    ttp://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVLPages/AborigPages/LANG/GAMDICT/GAMDICT.HT The Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay language belongs to the Kamilaroi people and to Kamilaroi country, northern New South Wales.
  • Handbook of Western Australian Languages South of the Kimberly Region:
    http://coombs.anu.edu.au/WWWVLPages/AborigPages/LANG/WA/wahbk.htm
    This provides an annotated bibliography and guide to the Indigenous languages of part of Western Australia. Information on individual languages can be found via geographic, alphabetic or language family index:
  • Yawuru language - Rarrdjali Yawuru: http://members.westnet.com.au/anugraha/yawuru/
    Indigenous people of the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia. This site has many words and phrases also with audio.
  • Jiwarli: (link to come)
    A language of Western Australia. This site aims to introduce you to the Jiwarli language, culture and region. You can hear Jiwarli being spoken by the last native speaker, see photos and maps of the area in which it was spoken and much more.
  • Yindjibarndi online dictionary: http://www.roebourne.wa.edu.au/culture/language.htm
    There are two parts to this site: body parts and animals.
  • Language and Culture: A matter of survival: http://www.austlii.edu.au/au/special/rsjproject/rsjlibrary/parliamentary/language/
    Part of the Reconciliation and Social Justice Library.
  • Uw Oykangand and Uw Olkola Multimedia Dictionary: http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Delphi/2970/
    Uw Oykangand and Uw Olkola are Australian Aboriginal languages spoken in central Cape York Peninsula in far north Queensland. This dictionary is a community-based initiative of the Kowanyama Aboriginal Community Council.
  • Australian Government Quality Teacher Program Literacy in Aboriginal Languages (AGQTP): http://10ss.qtp.nsw.edu.au/lial/index.html
    This website outlines AGQTP Literacy in Aboriginal Languages projects and provides some answers for schools starting Aboriginal language programs.

Social Justice

Key Speeches and Lectures

Lists conferences, workshops and seminars.