SCU hosts Aboriginal culture workshops

Three Aboriginal Senior Law Women from a community on the edge of Western Australia's Great Sandy Desert and renowned researcher and author Dr Zohl de Ishtar will visit Southern Cross University for public cultural workshops and activities from November 17 to 20.

SCU's Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples will host the Lismore visit which is part of the Kapululangu Women's Culture Tour, a national tour of speaking engagements and workshops.

The Senior Law Women, Yintjurru Margaret Anjule Napurrula, Manaya Sarah Daniels Napanangka and Pai Pai Sunfly Napangarti, are from the Ngarti Pintupi and Yintjurru peoples. The three are founding member of the Kapululangu Womens' Law and Culture Centre, a culture revitalisation program.

A key event during the visit is the launch, open to the public and media, of "Holding Yawulyu: White Culture and Black Women's Law" by Dr Zohl de Ishtar. The Senior Law Women from Balgo will launch the book with Dr de Ishtar at SCU's Gnibi College on Friday November 18 at 11.30am.

"Holding Yawulyu" [pronounced ya-wool-yu] is on cultural collision and includes both history and observation. It was written following Dr de Ishtar's two-year stay at the Wirrimanu community, living with elders in a one-room dwelling. A cultural re-vitalisation project for the youth of the community was established during her stay.

Head of SCU's Gnibi College Professor Judy Atkinson said she was delighted Gnibi could host the cultural tour. She said Dr de Ishtar's book was impressive.

"I cannot stress strongly enough the value of this work, for I believe this book has great relevance to all, as we reflect on ways we can do things better," she said.

During the Kapululangu Women's Culture Tour, the visitors will receive a Welcome to Country from Bundjalung Elders, visit a local natural birthing centre, and be involved in a community cultural celebration with story telling, entertainment and activities at Goonellabah Community Centre in Lismore on November 19 from 5pm.

On Sunday, November 20, a Women's Cultural Workshop will be held at SCU's Gnibi College with story telling, sand drawing, cultural heritage and cross-cultural interactions. The workshop open to all women and girls, with limited places available, is on from noon. To register phone Gnibi on 6620 3955 or phone 0427 322362; tickets range from $20 to $50.

Dr Zohl de Ishtar will also facilitate a Cross-Cultural Research Processes and Ethics workshop for academic staff and postgraduate students at SCU's Gnibi College on November 18 from 9.30 to 11.30am.

Dr de Ishtar was a 2005 Nobel Peace Prize nominee, and is recognised for collaboration with Indigenous people from Australia and the Pacific since 1979. She is a postdoctoral fellow with the University of Queensland's Australian Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies.

The Kapululangu Women's Culture Tour is supported by Southern Cross University's Gnibi College of Indigenous Australian Peoples and the Rainforest Information Centre.