Two of Australia’s most respected Indigenous identities will present the 10th Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture at Charles Darwin University’s (CDU) Casuarina campus on Saturday, 15 August.
Associate Professor Gracelyn Smallwood has been a tireless advocate for improved outcomes in Indigenous health for more than 40 years.
Since qualifying as a registered nurse, one of the few employment options open to Aboriginal women in Townsville in the early 1970s, Ms Smallwood has championed the improvement of health, in particular Indigenous Health and HIV- AIDS prevention and has gained national and international recognition in both mainstream and cultural public health spheres.
The first Aboriginal Australian to be awarded a Master of Science Degree in Public Health, Ms Smallwood is also a recipient of the Order of Australia Medal in recognition of her service in public health.
Ms Smallwood’s lecture, “Human Rights and Indigenous Culture”, will draw on her consummate knowledge and work in human rights, Indigenous health and Indigenous higher education.
Distinguished Indigenous Elder, musician and scholar, Dr Joe Neparrŋa Gumbula will also present his lecture, entitled “Wuŋuli Dhärranhana: Making enduring records work for Indigenous cultural survival”.
Dr Gumbula is best known to local Indigenous audiences as an eminent traditional musician, and a longstanding member of the seminal Yolngu band, Soft Sands. Yet during the past decade, he has also earned international recognition as a leading authority on holdings of Yolngu cultural heritage in collections worldwide.
It will incorporate live traditional music performed in conjunction with women and men of his family including Lapuluŋ Dhamarrandji, Gawura Ganambarr and Dhamanydji Gaykamaŋu.
The lectures will be preceded by a performance of the Yanajanak song series from the Awurnbarna (Mt Borrodaile) region of Northwestern Arnhem Land led by the current custodian, Charlie Mangulda. A biography on Mandawuy Yunupingu by Dr Aaron Corn will also be launched at the event.
The annual Vincent Lingiari Memorial Lecture commemorates the Wave Hill Station walk-off led by Vincent Lingiari with his Gurindji people and other groups in August 1966, marking a catalyst for Aboriginal people across Australia to have their rights to traditional lands recognised and for those lands to be returned.
The 2009 Lingiari Memorial Lecture will be held at CDU’s Casuarina campus in the Mal Nairn Auditorium, Saturday 15 August at 7pm. All are welcome and the event is free.