Iwiri

Iwiṟi is collecting winter clothing to keep our community safe and warm this coming winter. Drop in or message us 🧣

Iwiṟi choir were invited to celebrate the co-signing of the Aṉangu Bilingual Education Policy at the Department for Education. 

The Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Education Committee (PYEC) directors worked alongside the Department for Education to develop this policy to strengthen first language learning in Pitjantjatjara and Yankunytjatjara, while also supporting Aṉangu students to learn English as a second language. 

All those who attended were invited to sing along with Maṟa kuḻunypa Kutju- One little finger and Tjitji tjuṯa, kulilaya - Listen, all you children from the Iwiṟi Early Years Songbook , Inkamala! (Let’s sing!) 🎶

This weekend Iwiri Choir performed at the very special Handback 40th Anniversary Celebrations at Uluṟu.

In October 1985 the Hawke government handed back the title deeds for the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park to Anangu, ending decades of determined lobbying by the traditional owners to have their rights recognised.

This year to celebrate, the choir performed with pride along side many deadly bands and singers including , Muṯitjulu band and Docker River Band.

Thank you to parks Australia for supporting us to be apart of this incredible experience and to college for housing our singers and team
Will be one to remember always 🖤

Iwiri Choir had a fantastic time at the Dockside Festival hosted by
Thank you to everyone that came out and supported 🎶

Having started in the 1960s as a course, the Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Language and Culture Summer School was then established in the early 2000s and is now run by the University of South Australia in partnership with Iwiṟi who provide experienced Aṉangu tutors.

The school owes its success to the dedication of generations of Aṉangu educators who have designed an interactive methodology based on Aṉangu traditional ways of teaching, in collaboration with Piṟanpa (non-Aṉangu) educators with long-term involvement with the language and culture.

📸 David Curl

1. All 2024 summer school’s tutors with one of its founders Paul Eckert
2. Tutors Alyana Scales and Agnes Saunders with their group of students
3. Tutor Tanya Luckey from Empowered Communities - NPY Region with her group of students

We are celebrating another successful partnership with the University of South Australia after completing the 2024 Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Language and Culture Summer School, which saw its highest attendance ever!

The school ran from the 8th to the 19th of January with 75 students, including the Governor of South Australia, Her Excellency the Honourable Frances Adamson AC.

We are proud of and thankful to our Aṉangu tutors for their dedication to quality teaching and learning. A special thanks also to Empowered Communities - NPY Region for their service.

📸 David Curl
1. All tutors and students at the end of the course
2. The Governor of South Australia with some Aṉangu tutors

Last Saturday Iwiṟi had its annual Christmas party. It was so nice seeing everyone and spending time with each other! Merry Christmas from Iwiṟi!

📸 Santa handing gifts to children and mothers/grandmothers enjoying the celebrations with their children and grandchildren.

Iwiṟi artist, Melissa Thompson, has been working on her ceramics ‘Fisher of Men’.

She shares her story with us:

The net is broken, as fish are swimming around. This reminds us that as humans, there are too many problems and the fish escape, swim out from the broken net. We need to build a fresh and strong net together. Once it was palya (alright) but now the fish are swimming out and in, the net is broken. In the bible" Jesus told Simon, “don’t be afraid! From now on you will bring in people instead of fish”.

This artwork will be on sale online starting from the 8th of December at the AIATSIS Indigenous Art Market 2023 https://www.facebook.com/events/283231651260304

Last week Iwiṟi received a visit by Nat Cook MP, Minister for Human Services. This was an opportunity for us to talk about the work that Iwiṟi does with and for our Aṉangu community.

Iwiṟi seeks to promote better outcomes for Aṉangu by providing specifically tailored first language and culture training to organisations working with Pitjantjatjara/ Yankunytjatjara people, families and communities. We have developed and delivered cultural training to a range of state government service providers and helped support services to be more culturally responsive to the Aṉangu community contexts they are working in. If you would like to organise a workshop or enquire about it, do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] or via our social media pages.

📸 In August 2022, Iwiri and of South Australia partnered to provide a language and culture orientation course to new SAPOL recruits heading to the APY Lands. Tjinkuma Wells is pictured here with the students at Fort Largs Academy.

Iwiṟi provides translation and interpreting services in Adelaide and the APY Lands. We partner with government and non-government bodies to translate a range of promotional and educational resources and we provide skills development and employment opportunities for Aṉangu through those services.

If you need interpreting and/or translation, please contact us at [email protected] or through our social media pages.

📸 Deryk Lynch (Director of Iwiri) and Alicia Barnett (Language Services coordinator) working together on a video transcription project (September 2023)

Today we started an exciting new project that aims at collecting and recording bedtime stories in Pitjantjatjara which will be narrated through drawing animation. Today Aṉangu elders and children started drawing the story of Iṯi mamu (meaning ‘monster/evil spirit baby’) through a collaborative workshop.

Bedtime stories are a very important vehicle for early language teaching as well as teaching children cultural stories and social/ethical values. The project will help preserve and promote an important cultural tradition that is currently under threat.

This project is supported by the Indigenous Languages and Arts Program AusGov Office for the Arts