Page 65 - 10th Annual International Charles Town Maroon Conference and Festival Magazine

Charles Town Maroon International Conference Magazine June 2018

culture we believe that we have always lived here, and River used to describe themselves. Today Lyn and
we call our homelands Country. In Australia there are Wendy share their partial Jerrinja worldview and
over 250 different language groups, each with their language; Gretchen shares aspects of her Nez Perce
own Country. “Country is family, culture, identity. language and cultural practices; Janet explains her
Culture is self” (Kwaymullina, 2005). Additionally, Torres Strait Islander language, background and art
our knowledge is gained through our relationships to practice; Krystal patiently teaches and shares her
people, place, animals, objects and spiritual entities Worimi knowledge; Kimiah is the least talkative but
(Martin, 2001). shares snippets of her family stories with us.

We meet in Canberra, home to all of us except one, Kimiah moves and mostly listens. She plays with
and Country to none of us. Canberra means meeting Shona, the miniature border collie who shares this
place in the local Ngunnawal peoples’ language and space with the Somervilles. Kimiah pops out to get
for the members of our collective who call this place extra arts materials and manages to sit or stand with
home we are aware that we are shaping connections to all of us. She follows the sun and we follow her. She
far places through our circle of friendship, co-learning explains her position as a non-artist, how she loves
and co-creating. symmetry and order and frets that she won’t be able
to achieve those things in this project. Krystal shares
We weave to work, talk, learn, share and co-create. with Kimiah the knowledge of how to start and incor-
Our group is connected through art and love and the porate new strips of reeds and when we are forced by
Cullunghutti project. We are Dr Gretchen, researcher the cold to move to the kitchen table Kimiah completes
and North American Nez Perce woman; Janet her symmetrical, intricate, woven work of artistry. It
Fieldhouse, a ceramic artist whose art practice is exquisite and a testament to her designer’s eye.
references her identity as a Torres Strait woman;
Kimiah Viti Alberts, artist facilitator, graphic designer We are privileged when Gretchen shares with us the
and woman of South Seas and Murri (Queensland meaning of Kimiah in her culture. This is her story to
Aboriginal) heritage; Krystal Hurst, a Worimi artist tell, however, here we can talk about what she brings
and cultural heritage expert; Lyn Talbot, a Jerrinja of her creative practice to us. Gretchen is a beader and
woman and artist who weaves, makes dancing people anthropologist and describes herself as an anthro-
and is learning glass art; and Wendy Somerville, sister beader. For this project she dives in and completes
to Lyn and a PhD scholar, researcher and non- artist. weaving her basket long before the rest. Her embel-
Krystal, Lyn and Wendy are Aboriginal people from lished-with-beads basket of memories of the day will
New South Wales and we call ourselves Kooris. In this hang on her office wall. Her basket has many spaces
collaborative project we feel the absence of Dr for memories to pass through or lodge, as they like.
Bethaney Turner, co-investigator, and Dr Tracy
Ireland, mentor, both of whom are not Aboriginal. Krystal also makes an imaginative embellished
hanging basket, though the embellishment was a
On a blowsy but sunshiny late winter day we weave, painted quandong seed, not pretty beads. Memories
talk, share and laugh. The collective compared parts might choose to wrap themselves around the quandong
of speech from their respective language groups, to roll out of the bottom of this basket. For Wendy and
hoping to capture similarities, commenting on pronun- Lyn, the quandong seed evokes memories of a childhood
ciation and meaning. Lyn and Wendy are weaving in spent in the flat red earth Country, not their own Country,
the New Zealand cabbage tree fronds that add layers but the place they grew up. Krystal spoke of a project
of meaning to their baskets and to honour the land and she would like to organise, a project that speaks to Koori
a Maori ancestor who lived and worked on the memory and cultural practice along the coast of New
mountain with his Koori wife. Tharawal means South Wales. The project involves mullet, to Lyn and
cabbage tree, and it is the language/name that people Wendy the fish that tastes exactly as fish are supposed to
from the area from Wollongong to the Shoalhaven taste and reminds both of their mother.

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