Cultural Awareness Training
In mid-September, members of the Chain of Ponds Collaboration were given the opportunity to attend Cultural Awareness Training hosted by Wurundjeri Council.
Increasingly Traditional Owner engagement and involvement in the Chain of Ponds Collaboration is a key priority. Following the renewal of the Memorandum of Understanding, we have increased our focus on this area.
Consequently, training was arranged to be facilitated by Uncle Bill of Wurundjeri. Participants noted the excellent presentation given by Uncle Bill, who drew on her own personal perspective and experiences to offer an authentic insight into Traditional Owner culture, history, and current issues.
The training consisted of multiple sessions, including a Welcome to Country and information on Wurundjeri Woi Wurrung Traditional Culture, a lesson on the post-colonisation era, including Coranderrk and modern history, and a session covering the ongoing effects of colonisation and racism on the health and wellbeing of Aboriginal people.
Gallery
Hi Rachel
It’s great that Chain of Ponds has been doing some cross-cultural training. Can I suggest that you reconsider using images of deceased Aboriginal people in something like your newsletter? The person photographed was also not attributed, or named, nor was it clear that you had sought Wurundjeri’s permission to use the image, which I assume is Wiiliam Barak.
I’m confident your intentions were good, and I only raise this in a spirit of constructive feedback, as we all learn how to better engage thoughtfully and respectfully with Traditional Owners.
I am not a First Nations person myself, but I work in the field of Aboriginal cultural heritage. I am a recently joined member of the Friends of Moonee Ponds Creek.
I hope this feedback is useful.
Kind regards
Anoushka Lenffer
Hi Anoushka,
Thanks so much for your comment. You’re right and it didn’t feel right to post the pic without checking with Wurundjeri. It was from this fascinating exhibition which I assumed Wurundjeri worked with the Royal Historical Society on. https://www.historyvictoria.org.au/the-swamp-vanishes-digital-exhibition/
Alas, best not to assume! I will take it off and chat with Wurundjeri about Barak images in the future.
Thanks so much for taking the time to read the news! and give great feedback.
Warm regards, Rachel