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Eastern Arrernte Elder named NAIDOC Female Elder of the Year

10 August 2015
Culture and cultural heritage
Elderly Indigenous woman, dressed in dark brown over coat and pink and white blouse, holding a blue award in the shape of a plate.

Veronica Perrule Dobson is an Eastern Arrernte Elder, often sought out for her expertise in language, culture and the environment.

Veronica Perrule Dobson is an eastern Arrernte Elder, often sought out for her expertise in language, culture and the environment. 

Born in the historic town of Alrtunga in the NT, Veronica moved to Alice Springs at the age of 16 where she became a strong advocate for teaching Aboriginal language and culture in schools.

Passionate about the environment, Veronica has worked with the CSIRO on numerous projects and delivered a paper at an Indigenous Environmental Conference in Canada.

Veronica was awarded an Order of Australia in 2011 for her work as a linguist, naturalist and ecologist. After she picked up the national NAIDOC Female Elder of the Year Award recently in Adelaide, she explained that while she is very honoured to have the recognition, she would do it all for nothing because she is so passionate about her work.

“I have worked all of my life, it is just what I do. If I didn’t get any awards for my work it would not worry me because I want to work to keep the Arrernte culture and language alive. I want people to learn about our ways and I want to teach about the country and environment, I really love the work I do.

“I am honoured that people think that I am worthy of these awards and it shows that people value my work. I hope that I can use these awards to inspire others to love the land, language and culture as much as I do,” Veronica said.

Always inspiring her children and grandchildren to love language and culture, she hopes this legacy will carry on into the future.

“I have 3 grandchildren and I hope that they want to learn about the language and culture. Young people need to learn it to keep it alive, at my granddaughter’s school the kids do the Kaurna welcome to country, it makes me very proud when I see young people sharing culture with others, “Veronica said.

“I am 71 years old, and I am not getting any younger. One day I will be gone, but that doesn’t mean that the language and culture has to die with us older people.

A lot of kid’s today struggle with their identity and the pressures of life, it is hard for them and some go off the rails.  I hope my work can help them build up resilience through learning about their people and culture,” Veronica said.

Find out more

The National NAIDOC Awards recognise the outstanding contributions that Indigenous Australians make to improve the lives of Indigenous people in their communities and beyond, to promote Indigenous issues in the wider community, and the excellence they’ve shown in their chosen field.

The National NAIDOC Awards are proudly supported by the Australian Government.