Australia Day

January 26th is known as Australia Day to some, Survival Day and Invasion Day to others. It's marking the day the British landed in Sydney harbour and the day that life changed dramatically for the Aborigines in Australia. The day is celebrated in different ways by different people -- everything from picnics and barbeques in parks, to music concerts and huge fireworks displays.

Mick Dodson was named Australian of the Year. In a quote from The Australian, "Professor Dodson, who is the brother of Pat Dodson, dubbed "the father of reconciliation", was one of the authors of the 1997 Bringing Them Home report on the Stolen Generations. A self-described "persistent bugger", Professor Dodson has long agitated for compensation."

The news was full of suggestions that January 26th was not the right day for celebration for the Aborginal community, but even within the community there were differences of opinion.

At the Share the Spirit Indigenous music festival we attended, there were Indigenous folks suggesting that a song to go with the Aboriginal flag would make things right and that the day would be a celebration for everyone. I saw this flag painted on an apartment wall near where we live right now.



Anyway, the Share the Spirit festival was terrific -- lots of great music from Sol Nation (reggae), some amazing break-dancing boys who looked like they could flip themselves forever, and some good, cool jazz for a toasty day. There were market stalls selling all sorts of Aboriginal art, books, music and other bits. I had to get the t-shirt below which was at the ANTar Victoria (Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation)/Reconciliation Victoria stall.


Reconciliation Vic has a downloadable PDF about "An Australian Day for all Australians" that gives a bit more information about the discussions that seem to need to happen about the date of celebration.

National Library of New Zealand

I visited the Alexander Turnbull Library on Tuesday -- it's in Wellington and is part of the National Library of New Zealand.



















David Jones (my host) is the Māori Services Librarian and he gave me the lowdown on the kinds of services he provides for researchers and the community -- everything from general tours to a formal welcome (powhiri). As well, he's responsible for acquiring and classifying Māori resources for the collection. The library uses Māori subject headings which allows patrons to find the kinds of materials they're looking for without the clumsiness and shortcomings of LC headings.




















The building foyer is full of Māori art and design which provides a welcoming space for Māori visitors. Here's a carved entryway into a bigger part of the library.

So far in NZ

Well, it's been a flurry of a week. We have just arrived in Christchurch on the south island, after several glorious days in Whakatane (north island), where I was fortunate to meet and talk with Graham Smith, CEO of Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi - a tertiary or post-secondary school with several campuses. When I explained my project to him, he was eager to fill me in on what goes on at the Wānanga and how successful they have been with producing excellent students -- 98 percent or so of whom are Māori. With master's and PhD programmes, along with certificates and diplomas, the Wānanga graduates students who are all over the world. Graham spent 5 years in Vancouver at UBC, and still has students he helps supervise in the EdD programme there. He is familiar with UVic's SAGE programme for Indigenous graduate students and encouraged me to be involved with this group. After the WIPCE conference, it was clear that we (the library) had to be involved with SAGE -- a support group for graduate Indigenous students -- that encourages them to talk about their research with colleagues and peers. This programme is based on something that the Wānanga has been doing for a while with their graduate students and it's helped to shape student learning, scholarship and confidence.



















The best part of my visit to the Wānanga though was finally meeting Mereana Coleman, the library manager. Mereana and I had been chatting by email since August/08 and even though we were both at the WIPCE conference, we never did meet up (it was a huge conference!). So, meeting her was wonderful. We're standing outside her library.

Mereana gave me things to read about Māori librarianship, the state of libraries, archives and records in Aotearoa New Zealand and lots of support, encouragement and help. We were put up at the Wānanga while there -- many thanks to everyone for this hospitality. Mereana and her family fed us, drove us around and took good care of us while in Whakatane. We are grateful and we miss you all already.

11,558 km later

We landed in Auckland early this morning (Friday the 9th of Jan) after a long flight. The sun is out, the air is soft and we're off to explore a bit - but not too strenuously as jet lag is a current reminder of long-distance travel.

New Year musings

While it's already a few days past the start of the new year, I wanted to wish my UVic library colleagues a happy 2009. Remember the old adage of 'there's no I in team'? Well, I believe that the team has helped to make my study leave possible. Yeah sure, I worked long enough to warrant one, but it's when you're gone that others have to pick up some slack and they usually don't have a lot of extra time. So, Thanks team! I really appreciate your help and support.

Counting Down

We leave on Wednesday for Auckland, New Zealand. My first visit is to Te Whare Wānanga o Awanuiārangi in Whakatane (south of Auckland). Awanuiārangi is one of only three institutions designated as wānanga under the Education Act 1989. I'm looking forward to meeting with Graham Smith (CEO) and Mereana Coleman (Librarian). Before we get there though, we're going to spend a few days in Auckland, looking around and checking out the town.