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Indigenous symposium to honour tradition
The Fifth Annual Indigenous Education Symposium at the University of the Sunshine Coast next week will include a ceremony that will hold special significance for Indigenous people locally and across Australia.
The symposium on Monday and Tuesday (26-27 September) aims to facilitate understanding between Indigenous Australians and the broader community while addressing issues in Indigenous education.
It will involve industry, professional and community members with guest speakers addressing a range of topics at USC’s Innovation Centre auditorium.
At the end of the first day of the symposium, participants will attend a naming and smoking ceremony for a gallery of Central and Western Desert paintings that are permanently displayed in the auditorium’s foyer.
The ceremony at 5.30pm will honour the paintings, but also will honour the tradition and law of the local Kabi Kabi people.
USC Gallery Curator Dawn Oelrich said the University holds a significant collection of large-scale paintings from the Western and Central Desert.
“The paintings in the Innovation Centre are all by women painters, mostly from the Pintupi, Luritja and Ngaatjatjarra language groups from the west of Alice Springs,” she said.
“The collection has been donated to the University over several years and is the largest public collection of its kind in the region.
“The ceremony will recognise the connection the University has with the local Kabi Kabi people and it will give them the opportunity to welcome the artwork to their land and to honour their laws.”
Special guests will include USC’s Vice-Chancellor Professor Greg Hill, local Indigenous representatives Auntie Pam White and Beverly Hand and guest speaker Debra Bennett, who is the Director of Indigenous Services with Relationships Australia (Qld).
Guided tours for school groups will be available after Monday 26 September by appointment by contacting Ms Oelrich on 5459 4633. There is also a comprehensive schools resource available on the University website.
— Terry Walsh