History and Culture

2013 marks the 21^st anniversary of language and cultural support within the Midwest, Murchison and Gascoyne regions.

In 1991 a group of Wajarri women were concerned that their Indigenous languages were not being used by the community or learned by children. They secured funding for the Yamaji Languages Aboriginal Corporation to be established, a program focussing on the maintenance and preservation of the Indigenous languages of the Mid-West region. YLAC operated until 2005.

In 2005, at the request of a funding body and with support of community leaders, the Bundiyarra Aboriginal Community Aboriginal Corporation (BACAC) took over the management of the program, and the Bundiyarra – Irra Wangga Language Program was established.

Since its inception, Irra Wangga has focussed on recording and documenting the languages of the Mid-West, Murchison and Gascoyne, which has lead to the production of wordlists, grammatical sketches, language books and other teaching resources.

Irra Wangga also strongly supports language revitalisation efforts in the Midwest, working closely with schools and other educational institutions. The program played an instrumental role in the development of the TEE Curriculum of Wajarri (one of only three Indigenous languages offered as a WACE subject in WA) with the WA Curriculum Council. The Program also provides regular courses of language classes to the Indigenous and non-Indigenous community.

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