Description
Language Acknowledgement
Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation acknowledges and deeply appreciates the support of the many First Nations Language Speakers and Knowledge Holders who have contributed to the creation of these resources. We express gratitude for giving our Stolen Generations Coota Girls Survivors and descendants and the broader First Nations community the opportunity to reconnect with culture and Country through language.
Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation recognises and respects Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP) rights and acknowledges that all ICIP rights in this resource belong with those First Nations Language Speakers and Knowledge Holders, communities and Language Groups who have shown their support for Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation to include their ICIP in this resource.
We acknowledge the many variations in the spelling, pronunciation and use within First Nations languages. Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation does not claim that the language included in these resources represents the only way and we respect and acknowledge that Language Knowledge may differ for each speaker.
Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporations Language Story
In 1912, the Cootamundra Domestic Training Home for Aboriginal Girls (1912-1969) was established on Wiradjuri Land as a training institution for First Nations girls who had been forcibly removed from their families and communities under the Aborigines Protection Act (1909-1969). Once isolated far away from family and community, First Nations girls (as young as 2 years old) were brainwashed and trained to become domestic servants/slaves in wealthy non-First Nations households. As children, Coota Girls Survivors experienced a process of forced assimilation, systematic racial discrimination designed to remove their First Nations identity and connection to kin, Country and culture. This included facing severe punishment for speaking their first languages or practicing culture in any way.
For First Nations peoples, language and culture are intrinsically linked. First Nations languages are embedded with knowledge of culture, Country, and ancestors. Past policies of forced removal and assimilation have had a devastating impact on the intergenerational sharing and maintaining of First Nations languages.
Coota Girls Aboriginal Corporation (CGAC) was founded in 2013 by a courageous group of Coota Girls Survivors. CGAC aims to support Coota Girls Survivors and their descendants to heal from the associated impacts of forced removal and assimilation.
In 2021, CGAC launched Walking Our Songlines in Language Program which aims to deliver range of projects focused on reconnecting Coota Girls Survivors and their descendants with their own language.
Walking Our Songlines in Language
Is a healing journey of reconnection to language for Coota Girls Survivors, their descendants and the broader First Nations community.
For First Nations peoples, language and culture are intrinsically interwoven. First Nations languages are embedded with ancestral knowledge of culture and Country. For Stolen Generations Survivors and their descendants, past policies of forced removal and assimilation have had a devastating impact on the intergenerational sharing and maintaining of First Nations languages. We invite you on our journey of reconnection, to Walk Our Songlines in Language.
