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BLACK WORDS: HOTLINKS

Below are some key sites for accessing information about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander writers, books and other arts and cultural activities.

Indigenous Databases

Maps and Timelines

Aboriginal Authors

Writers of Film and Television

Indigenous publishers

Indigenous Theatre Companies

Indigenous Dance Companies

Annual Cultural Events

Indigenous Arts Awards

Indigenous Music and Musicians

Indigenous Media

Cultural Centres

Aboriginal Languages and Language Centres

  • FATSIL is the Federation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages and 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, in the 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 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.

  • Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Languages, edited by David Nathan. This site has annotated links to 231 resources for about 80 languages.

  • Handbook of Western Australian Languages South of the Kimberly Region: This provides an annotated bibliography and guide to the Indigenous languages of part of Western Australia. Information on individual languages can be found via a geographic, alphabetic, or language family index.

  • ASEDA: The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) holds computer-based (digital) materials about Australian Indigenous languages in the 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.

  • Yawuru language Rarrdjali Yawuru: Indigenous people of the Dampier Peninsula, Western Australia this site has many words and phrases also with audio.

  • Jiwarli: 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. There are two parts to this site - body parts and animals.

  • Language and Culture: a matter of survival - part of the Reconciliation and Social Justice Library.

  • Kamilaroi/Gamilaraay Web Dictionary: The Kamilaroi/ Gamilaraay language belongs to the Kamilaroi people and to Kamilaroi country, northern New South Wales.

  • Australian Government Quality Teacher Program Literacy in Aboriginal Languages (AGQTP): This web site outlines AGQTP Literacy in Aboriginal Languages project and provides some answers for schools starting Aboriginal language programs.

  • The Aboriginal Languages Research and Resource Centre (The Language Centre): 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.

  • The Uw Oykangand and Uw Olkola Multimedia Dictionary: 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.

Social Justice

Key Speeches and Lectures

International Indigenous Writers/Publishers/Literary Organisations

Black American Writers/Publishers Websites