ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY

The Australian Government acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and acknowledges their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respects to the people, the cultures and the Elders past and present.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this website may contain images, voices and names of deceased persons.

Indigenous.gov.au Connecting With First Nations Australians
Back to Stories

Celebrating Thaynakwith language

16 November 2023
Community Weipa
Children and Schooling
Weipa kids reading 'We Look, We Find'.
Councillor Kaylene Jawai, Napranum Aboriginal Shire Council, reading 'We Look, We Find' at the book launch in Weipa.

New bilingual book, 'We Look, We Find', is a colourful story written and illustrated by women and children from the Napranum community and features Thaynakwith language and English.

A new bilingual book We Look, We Find, has been published.

We Look, We Find is a colourful story written and illustrated by women and children from the Napranum Parents and Learning (PaL) featuring Thaynakwith language and English.

‘The Elders were extremely proud of having a children’s book launched in their language because it’s the first children’s book highlighting Thaynakwith language,’ said Torres Strait Islander woman and Director of Napranum PaL, Trish Schuh. 

‘As for the children involved, this book will always be around. It’s something they can look back on and be proud of, having a book written and illustrated in their language, Australia wide, not just Napranum,’ Trish said.  

 ‘We thought it would be really great to have a book that highlighted going out on Country, and hunting and gathering our way. And all the different animals that’s in our everyday life,’ Trish said.  

In 2021, the Napranum PaL hosted an art workshop at the Napranum Early Childhood Centre to develop some Thaynakwith language cards. The cards featured animals and Napranum Country. 

Motivation for the language cards was to preserve Thaynakwith language but also came from looking at old photos from preschool excursions out on Country that documented the children’s experiences of being on Country with their family and Elders. 

The We Look, We Find book was also influenced by the language words documented in Thanakupi's Guide to Language and Culture: A Thaynakwith Dictionary, written by community Elder Thanakupi, who taught the community of Napranum that language is a part of them.

Following another art workshop to draw the illustrations and backgrounds for the book, the story was ready for publishing with the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF).

Earlier this year, Napranum PaL and the ILF launched We Look, We Find, at the Western Cape Cultural Centre in Weipa in Queensland. Around 100 people, including school children, Elders and the community attended the event.

The book is now available in all the schools and early childhood services in Weipa and will continue being used to teach language and culture. 

Through the Indigenous Advancement Strategy, the National Indigenous Australians Agency supports the Napranum PaL Group to increase the engagement and interaction of Indigenous parents and children aged 3-5 years in early literacy learning activities.