Cirrus@Austlit

'Ivy Hector Nambijina-Nangari was born in 1935 and was regarded as one of the last speakers of her language Bilinarra, a severely endangered Indigenous language of the Victoria River District in Northern Australia. Throughout her life, Ivy dedicated herself to keeping her language and culture strong in her tiny remote community of Nijburru (also known as Pigeon Hole - 450km south-west of Katherine).'

Students at Iramoo Primary School in Victoria have created a animation film called ‘Dyeerm’, which means bullfrog in Wathaurong, the language of the Indigenous people around the Geelong and Werribee areas.

'My great grandmother adopted a new identity. My father’s family called one of the tent boxers cousin. Both families have inconsistent and doubtful histories. They seem to have gone to ground, merged with the general population of their neighbourhoods. Why did they think it was necessary?...'

'This story has been written with the support of the Young Indigenous Writers Initiative, a mentoring program run by FATSILC that helps young Indigenous writers to develop their writing skills and get their work published. The aim of the program is to foster and promote the new generation of Indigenous writers in Australia. Vincent Buckskin, a Kaurna man from Adelaide, is our Young Indigenous Writers Initiative participant and Voice of the Land contributor for this issue.'