'Gaja Kerry Charlton is an Elder and traditional owner from south-east Queensland, with ties to the Gulf. Her Tribes are recognised in three native title claims: Quandamooka, Yuggera Ugarapul (YUP), and Kabi Kabi Peoples, and she was taught by elderly speakers while growing up. Gaja Kerry is a trained teacher, counsellor, community worker, cultural educator and consultant, and an experienced member of boards, committees and working groups. With colleague Barry Brown, Gaja Kerry co-founded the Wulara-Nguru historical language mapping project, publishing a lexical handbook titled ‘An Introduction to the Languages of Moreton Bay, Yagarabul, and its dialect Djandewal, and Moreton Island’s Gowar’ to celebrate the 2019 United Nations Year of Languages of the World’s Indigenous Peoples. The Wulara-Nguru lexical handbook contains comprehensively researched and compiled word lists, surveyed words and cultural insights to assist language revitalisation across Moreton Bay and south-east Queensland. Twelve years of inquiry produced this exceptional resource for language custodians and their partners in reclaiming languages. Gaja Kerry is Indigenous Industry Fellow at the School of Languages and Cultures at the University of Queensland.' (Meanjin Winter 2023)
