- Cook Government committed to supporting strong Aboriginal communities
- Space open to Aboriginal people who want to find out more about their ancestry
- One of many truth-telling initiatives of Aboriginal History WA
Aboriginal people who want to learn more about their family history now have a dedicated client space within the State Library to request ancestry information and research services.
The Aboriginal History Western Australia (AHWA) unit, which was created in 1997, has established the client service area to enhance its efforts in providing access to native welfare records and other historical material.
The AHWA team, within the Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries (DLGSC), has a unique skillset that enables it to locate hard-to-find records, and the capacity to create comprehensive genealogies extending back multiple generations.
The new AHWA service desk is on Level 3 of the State Library, at the Perth Cultural Centre. It includes original artwork called Boodja Wangkinyby prominent Noongar artists Peter Farmer Jr, Kayley Emery and Jason Hirst depicting the six Noongar seasons.
The service desk is a key element of a collaboration between the AHWA, the State Library, and the State Records Office to establish a Cultural Hub for Aboriginal people seeking personal and family history materials held by the three entities.
This is one of many initiatives undertaken by the AHWA in partnership with Aboriginal communities and stakeholders, to connect people to their Aboriginal ancestry including the release of family history databases that are searchable on the AHWA website.
For more information about the AHWA's family history research service and projects, including the new client service desk, visit the DLGSC website:www.dlgsc.wa.gov.au/aboriginal-history
As stated by Aboriginal Affairs Minister Dr Tony Buti:
"Our Government is committed to ensuring Aboriginal culture is strong, and that Aboriginal people have high levels of social and emotional wellbeing - which are important targets in Closing the Gap.
"The Aboriginal History WA team is doing some remarkable work to assist in truth-telling, and its new face-to-face client space is an important addition to the services available.
"The extent of records created by historical Government agencies illustrate a prolonged period of excessive control by the State.
"As intrusive as these records are, they provide many Aboriginal people, including members of the Stolen Generations, a window into not only their life story, but the life stories of their direct ancestors.
"AHWA's new service space is a welcoming area for Aboriginal people to come and have a yarn, and to learn more about their ancestors and previously untold stories from the past."
