Shinju Matsuri celebrates 40th Anniversary

Coinciding with Shinju Matsuri, academic, artist and human rights advocate Deborah Ruiz Wall’s exhibition reveals a fresh perspective on the connection between indigenous people and their country.

“It’s a mission of reconciliation and how it works, not just rhetoric but as life practice.”

DEBORAH RUIZ WALL, 2nd September 2010,
The Colours of Broome: Storytelling in Poetry, Song and Photography,
University of Notre Dame Library Gallery, Broome W.A.

“Liyan is your heart feeling, liyan is spirit”

Kevin Puertollano, ABC Radio Kimberley, Broome,
25 August 2010, edited extracts:

Broome is renowned for its multiculturalism and the festival that celebrates it turns 40 years in 2010. Patron of Shinju Matsuri 2010, KEVIN PUERTOLLANO, says it is an important time for locals to celebrate, to catch up, to put aside problems and work together. In an interview with ABC Radio Kimberley’s VANESSA MILLS, he recalls how Broome in the past revolved around pearling, the tides and the full moon; of luggers lined up along the sands of Dampier Creek; of family feasts and parties.

The Filipino Contribution to St Joseph’s Roman Catholic Mission at Hammond Island (Keriri)

by Dr Anna Shnukal


Hundreds of Filipino seamen were drawn to Torres Strait from the mid-1870s by the employment opportunities and good wages offered by the pearlshell industry. ‘Pushed’ by tumultuous events in their homeland, then a Spanish colony, they worked the pearling fields close to islands which were themselves in rapid social, cultural, political and religious transition and soon to become part of the British colony of Queensland.

May your spirit fly to the bosom of Apo Namalyari

Sr. Menggay of the Aetas
by Ma. Ceres P. Doyo

Thursday, 12 August 2010 Philippine Daily Inquirer/OPINION

“May your spirit fly to the bosom of Apo Namalyari,” a sobbing Aeta leader wearing only a G-string said at the funeral Mass for Sr. Carmen ‘Menggay’ Balazo last week, on August 5. We were gathered at the convent chapel of the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (FMM) in Carmona, Cavite. Present were Sr. Menggay’s fellow FMM nuns, her immediate family, friends and representatives of the Aeta community who came all the way from Zambales.

Ang Natutunan ko kay Indo Menggay

by Christopher Domulot Sunday, 8 August 2010

Nong akoy isang munting bata pa naitanong ko sa aking sarili na bakit ganito na lamang ang pagmamalasakit ng isang madre na katulad ni Indo Menggay? May pansariling interest ba siya o ito'y isang kusang paglilingkod sa mga nangangailangan ng tulong na kagaya ng aking tribo?

When I was a little child, I asked myself, ‘why is it that a nun like Indo Menggay is so caring. Does she have a vested interest or does it spring from a natural desire to serve people in need, like our tribe?’

Sister Bunji Sister Friend

Sr. Carmen ‘Menggay’ Balazo, fmm

Menggay at the FAIRA office with Palawig Cabalic, Bob Anderson, Ben Jugatan and Max Hunt

Mil Binnung Observe Listen

An exhibition exploring the cultural identity of the Ngugi people of Mulgumpin, Moreton Island, through the life of Dr. Robert V. Anderson OAM, known widely as Uncle Bob.

3rd July to 30th September 2010 — Redland Museum, 60 Smith Street, Cleveland.
In November, the exhibition travels to The North Stradbroke Island Historical Museum, 17 Welsby Street, Dunwich, Queensland.

Where are all the people from Mulgumpin?

The text of one of the display panels in the exhibition MIL BINNUNG - OBSERVE LISTEN

Observant visitors to Mulgumpin will find ample and rich evidence of human activity, some dating back at least 20,000 years, some only a hundred or so years. Pathways, middens, residential areas, quarries and ceremonial sites can all be found. Visitors will then inevitably ask: “Where are the people who obviously lived here? What happened to them?” This is what happened to them, according to one of the “Croppies” or convicts and recorded by J. J. Knight in 1892:

Indigenous People's Traditional Rice Varieties Making a Comeback

By Michael A. Bengwayan

Traditional rice varieties once grown and nurtured by indigenous peoples are making a comeback because of the importance of their genes that are necessary in breeding rice for the future.

Marcoses return to power while Martial Law victims still wait for justice

TASK FORCE DETAINEES OF THE PHILIPPINES

On the 21st of September 2010, the nation will once again commemorate the declaration of Martial law in the Philippines by the late President Ferdinand Marcos.

We cannot avoid but reminisce the dark years of Philippine history so that we may never ever forget the supposed lessons learned by our people. We remember, so that the atrocities of martial rule will never happen again.

Ilustrado by MIGUEL SYJUCO - Reviewed by WARD SUTTON

MIGUEL SYJUCO’s intriguing novel deserves an equally entertaining review.
WARD SUTTON’s illustrated review fits that requirement with style and Ward has most graciously allowed us to reprint. Thanks Ward!

The politics of writing the Philippines

BRISBANE WRITERS FESTIVAL, 2 SEPTEMBER 2010 IN THE STATE LIBRARY OF QUEENSLAND

For the then unpublished manuscript of “ILUSTRADO”, MIGUEL SYJUCO won the 2008 Man Asia Literary Prize and the Philippines’ highest literary honour in the English Division of the Palanca Award. The following excerpts are from Tiffany Murray’s conversation with Miguel and some questions from the audience at the 2010 Brisbane Writers Festival.

Melba Marginson - first Filipina to be inscribed on the Shilling Wall

On July 13 this year in Melbourne, Melba Marginson, Executive Director of the Victorian Immigrant and Refugee Women’s Coalition (VIRWC), was one of ten female commissioners whose names were inscribed on the Shilling Wall at the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre. The Shilling Wall is a public tribute wall made from coloured glass, established by the Queen Victoria Women’s Centre in 2008. The Shilling Wall acknowledges and celebrates the many and varied contributions of women in shaping the world in which we live.

MARISSA SAROCA says I’ll take Manhattan

Newcastle singer-songwriter Marissa Saroca has been a busy girl since the release of her debut album Cheaper Than Therapy.

The twice-winner of Best Female Vocalist at the ABC Newcastle Music Awards lets us in on what makes her tick, her love of New York, and the role models who have inspired her fresh, soulful sound.

Asian Indigenous Women’s Network
3rd AIWN Conference
15-16 November 2010
Manila

Global Seminar-Workshop
18-19 November 2010
Mandaluyong City