EDITORIAL: For sixty years the first week of July has been NAIDOC (National Aboriginal and Islander Day Observance Committee) Week.
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More Australians than ever are taking part in NAIDOC events at councils and schools across the country.
This week’s event in Logan City saw dance performances and a video of Australia’s national anthem sung in two languages – Aboriginal and English.
In 2017 the theme is ‘our languages matter’, an acknowledgement that after more than 200 years since the earliest permanent contact with European settlers, only around 120 of the known Aboriginal languages and dialects are still spoken.
As community elders age and die, much of this spoken culture is at risk of disappearing.
According to NAIDOC Week committee co-chair Benjamin Mitchell, the 2017 theme is designed to encourage all Australians to notice the use of Indigenous languages in their community.
“There is currently a wave of activity, with people in many communities working to learn more about their language, and to ensure they are passed on to the next generation before it is too late,” he said.
“Nationally, many place names for our suburbs, rivers, mountains and parks are Indigenous language words.
“Noticing and paying attention to these words will generate greater appreciation and respect for the significance of language among all Australians.”
And we can all play our part locally.
‘Jimboomba’ has its roots in local Aboriginal language. Gimboomba is a Gugingin word thought to mean ‘place of loud thunder and little rain’.
The Gugingin are a clan of the Yugambeh people, traditional owners of the Logan City and Scenic Rim regions.
Their words might seem very unfamiliar, but in order to learn to speak them, all anyone needs to do is ask and listen.
After all, one of the first steps to reconciliation is a willingness to try, even if we don’t get things right first time.
This NAIDOC Week, let’s speak up.
