AustLit

'Kia Kia, Noogiting Wirren, Minang Yorga, Minang Boodja

We acknowledge the sleeping spirit, the Minang woman, from Minang country

Bessie Flowers was Minang Noongar woman born in 1851 in King Georges Sound, Albany. She lived at Annesfield mission until she was 16 but spent most of her adult life in Victoria. She is remembered for her gifts as a pianist and singer, for her dedication to teaching, and as a strong Noongar woman who fought to keep Aboriginal families together.'  (Publication summary)

'First Nations media organisations have adapted their crisis response to the pandemic to focus on vaccination information and managing information flow about the evolving directives for travel and lockdowns on an ongoing basis. Through case study examples, this study has generated understanding about how First Nations media organisations operated during the early days of Australia’s COVID-19 pandemic. It has identified key lessons that can be learned from that experience, both for the future benefit of media organisations and for those First Nations communities continuing to struggle with the impact of Australia’s most urgent public health challenge in nearly a century.'

Source: Introduction.

'Since the 1970s First Nations media organisations have been established across remote, regional and urban Australia, and have been broadcasting and producing media in and for their local communities. Many of the resulting community-managed audiovisual collections have yet to be digitised or archived and are often stored in substandard conditions. With UNESCO's deadline of 2025 for digitisation of analogue media rapidly approaching, these rich social and cultural heritage collections are at high risk of being lost. Since 2013 First Nations Media Australia (FNMA, formerly Indigenous Remote Communications Association) has worked closely with member organisations and national collection agencies to develop a First Nations Media Archiving Strategy and to support community organisations develop the capacity to manage their collections according to best practice. FNMA is committed to keeping strong community control of media collections and recordings, and believes that the relationship between media production and access to archived recordings is intrinsically linked to the processes of self-determination and to social, cultural and economic sustainability and benefit. This paper explores the ways in which on-country archiving work enables local decision-making processes, which are considered critical to future collection access and use. The paper discusses how First Nations media organisations are often hampered by a lack of funding for the equipment, software and training needed for preservation work and ongoing management of community collections.' (Publication abstract)

'The Strathfieldsaye Estate collection at the University of Melbourne Archives is discussed in relation to recognising, protecting and reclaiming Koori (First Peoples of southeast Australia) heritage. The settler collection includes early 1900s photographs of Koori people within two distinct albums – a family album that includes a series of studio portraits of Koori adults and children, and an album depicting Koori families on Ramahyuck Aboriginal Mission Station. In the past, these albums have been defined by, and limited to, traditional archiving practices excluding Koori interpretation, authorship and social context. Restoring Koori ownership and authorship of intangible heritage plays a large part in consolidating ancestor photographs with Koori perspectives of identity and culture.'  (Publication abstract)