Early collections of Warlpiri cultural heritage and resulting community access needs in remote desert Australia

Led by the Warlpiri elder, artist and intellectual, Steven Wanta Patrick, this Project will assess early Australian collections of Warlpiri cultural heritage in five major institutions including AIATSIS and Sydney University. Collected by Pink, Elkin and Meggitt, these materials date from 1933 and are the oldest ethnographic records of Warlpiri culture known. Collections will be explored with reference to traditional intellectual frames that continue to guide Warlpiri community life in remote desert Australia, and consultations will be conducted with relevant elders, media agencies, and curators to explore how new digital technologies can best be deployed to provide Warlpiri communities with reliable local access to this invaluable content.