Acknowledgement of Country
At Magill School, students acknowledge that the land on which the school is built is the Kaurna people’s land.
Magill Piipawardliku tirkalirkalarnarlu tampinthi, yaintya piipawardli Kaurna yartangka yuwanthi.
We respect the cultural relationships Kaurna people have with their country and acknowledge them as the traditional owners and occupants of the Adelaide Plains.
Ngadlurlu Kaurna Miyurna yaitya yarta-mathanya Wama Tarntanyaku tampinthi. Parnaku tapa purruna puru purruna.
We understand the Kaurna people have been living here for generations and we understand that they have a special connection to their land.
Munaintyanangku Kaurna Miyurna yaintya yartangka tikanthi. Ngadlurlu parnaku tuwila yartangka tampinthi.
We appreciate the Kaurna people sharing their land with everybody.
Ngadlurlu parnaku yartangka taikurringka nata tampinthi. Ngadlu ‘ngaityalya’ parnalitya wangkanthi.
The above translation of the student created Acknowledgment of Country to the Kaurna language was provided by KaurnaWarraKarrpanthi along with an audio file.
Background
In 2020 Aboriginal students, with the support of ACEO Philippa Tierney, collaboratively embarked on a campaign of awareness to highlight the importance of Aboriginal land ownership and occupancy. More specifically, students wanted to acknowledge and recognise that Magill School is situated on Kaurna land and promote this to the whole school community.
Amongst the group it was decided that students would create a collaborative artwork accompanied by a student written Acknowledgment of Country. The artwork together with the Acknowledgment of Country would be shared with the school community to promote awareness and recognition of Kaurna peoples important place as First Nation people of the Adelaide Plains.
The Process
To begin the project, students created a template for their overall artwork project where each individual piece was linked to another through adjoining lines. Students then researched Aboriginal artwork symbols and what they meant before applying them to their own individual sections. Aboriginal artwork symbols in the design were used to communicate a message, recognising Kaurna land ownership and occupancy and representing the school community. In each artwork section students used specific symbols to communicate what this meant to them.
Alongside the artwork design process, students Kobe and Kase wrote an accompanying Acknowledgment of Country. This involved referring to the Department for Education acknowledgment currently in use and determining how to adjust it to more adequately reflect and represent the unique perspective for the Magill School community. It also entailed research of other Acknowledgment of Country practices both in written and media produced forms and looking into the length and breadth of Kaurna land ownership through maps.
Once students had neared the end of their individual artwork sections a graphic designer was engaged. A young Ngarrindjeri man, Jordan Lovegrove through his business Karko Creations, used the original student artwork and transferred it to a digital artwork adjusting the composition and colour. Throughout this process students made design adjustments and decisions to reach their final approved piece.
The artwork was completed in individual sections and showcases students own understandings and interpretation of what an Acknowledgment of Country means to them (accompanied by the written component) and emphasises school as a significant place for coming together, sharing knowledge, making friends and playing. The centre of the artwork was added during the graphic design phase and represents a meeting place, it shows people coming together collaboratively. Although completed individually, the artwork represents a more collaborative and overall message to send to the school community. This message is the acknowledgement and recognition that Magill School is situated on Kaurna land/Country.