More about Aunty MarilynAboriginal Water Grants program sees funding for Bendigo Creek continue
Aunty Marilyne Nicholls has been involved as a water projects officer, and as a Dja Dja Wurrung person working with Dja Dja Wurrung Enterprises and engaging members. Water is life, and holds huge significance for the Dja Dja Wurrung people as a place to live, and part of traditional ceremonies, Aunty Marilyne said. Now, they want to reclaim agency in the system of water ownership, for the good of the land and for future generations. “Everybody needs to play their part for the future of better water for country as well as people, and the impact it plays on that bigger biodiversity of life,” she said. “Because it’s not just about us as peoples, it’s about the future, it’s about what we leave for our kids for the future.” When the work began, the site was a disaster zone. The project has changed her mind about how Aboriginal people can work to heal waterways. “When I first was asked if I’d like to be involved in a Bendigo Creek project, I said, no,” Aunty Marilyne said. “I teach traditional weaving with sedge grasses, and I thought no, I’m not going to take any of my people down to that waterway to get sick while they’re harvesting grasses, we’re not going anywhere near it. “To see something like this, and to be engaged and work on this process of how it’s been developed has changed my mind about how we can work to start healing that water.” To read the entire article, go here https://www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au/story/5486874/dja-dja-wurrung-receive-funds-to-continue-healing-waterway-work/
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... the mosquito is coming soonA new arts project, dubbed The Mosquito, will be dedicated to telling the story of Hepburn Shire through a series of story slams. A number of story slam nights will be held in Daylesford which will culminate in a finale, to coincide with the town’s Live.Life.Love Festival in November. The slam will be recorded on podcast and vidcast. These recordings will then be played on Hepburn Community Radio and at Visitor Information Centres around the shire as a fresh way to promote the shire and the people who live within it. Local storyteller Anne E Stewart, who will facilitate the workshops, said she came up with the idea with former Hepburn Shire Council Mayor, Rod May. “I went out with Rod. This was always our idea. We went out in Brooklyn to see The Moth and were blown away with how the true stories were being told live... so we came up with a crazy idea to do it back home. We decided on The Mosquito because we thought it would sound a bit more Aussie,” she said. The body which has auspiced the program, the Spa Country Events Group, received $11,400 of funding towards the project. “The concept behind The Moth is to tell personal stories based on a theme, for example, endurance. But I really want to target the themes that are unique to Hepburn Shire like the region’s natural landmarks, food, organics, green principles, rainbow families and wellbeing, so the workshops will contribute to telling the personal stories of the community,” she said. “The Dja Dja Wurrung are also interested in the project so I’m looking at doing a workshop with them to get their perspective too.” The project will up-skill contributing artists by allowing them to exchange skills in storytelling and digital media.by Hayley Elg JULY 11 2018 - 7:30AM To celebrate this year’s NAIDOC Week theme, ‘Because of Her, We Can’ three women are joining forces to tell women’s stories from different perspectives.
Local storyteller Anne E Stewart will host the storytelling event, which will be led by multi clan indigenous elder, Aunty Marilyne Nicholls. Social ecologist Laurel Freeland will share stories of women’s connection with Mother Earth. The day is intended to celebrate Mother Earth as well as the women who have told the stories and passed on the traditional practices that keep culture and connection to the land alive. It will open with a Dja Dja Wurrung Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony, followed by a day of stories, ceremony and healing. Participants will be immersed in traditional aboriginal and contemporary stories of women, earth healing practices, rituals and will work with the elements. Our Connection with Mother Earth: Stories and Workshop will be held at the Story House and Garden in Daylesford on July 12 from 10am-3.30pm. To register, visit www.storyhouseandgarden.com/events |
AuthorPresenting the Stewart sisters, Anne E and Jane. Archives
June 2020
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