Documenting Martu traditional ecological knowledge and language

Although Martu Wangka is spoken by children as a first language, Martu Elders have expressed concern that the full richness of their language is being lost. This includes several areas of detailed traditional knowledge, including flora and fauna. There is a small and shrinking number of elders who still carry the names of animals and plants, as well as the stories and detailed cultural and ecological knowledge and practices which are embodied within and expressed through language. The task of documenting this knowledge is urgent.

Australia is unfortunately a hotspot for language endangerment (Bromham et al. 2020) and traditional ecological knowledge is connected to language vitality but is particularly fragile (for example, Si 2020).

In light of this urgency, Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa, a cultural organisation in Newman, Western Australia, which runs, among other things, a ranger program and a language program, has reached out directly with an invitation to collaborate with Martu elders on the documentation of traditional ecological knowledge.

Beyond these specific domains of knowledge and vocabulary, a partnership with Kanyirninpa Jukurrpa may potentially lead to further research into language change or traditional ecological knowledge transmission over generations (Wilmoth 2022; Si 2020), or in-depth documentation of highly endangered related languages such as Yulparija, Warnman and Putijarra.