CAN is thrilled to announce that we are partnering with SharingStories Foundation to create a series of educational resources about Ballardong* culture, history and knowledge.

The resources will be based around the 2019 stop motion short film Welcome to Balardong. Created as part of CAN’s Rekindling Stories on Country program in collaboration with Noongar community storytellers, Welcome to Balardong relates previously untold stories about Noongar life in and around York and Ballardong Country.

Featuring charismatic clay figures created by community members during art workshops, Welcome to Balardong is narrated by 8 Noongar storytellers from various generations, some who grew up in the area, including the York Reserve, and some who moved to the area more recently. There are stories of discrimination, of resistance, of resilience, of love, and they have captured the hearts and minds of audiences at exhibitions at venues ranging from Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts to Taipei Fine Arts Museum.

With its focus on bringing to light previously hidden history, the short film is a perfect jumping off point for CAN’s new partnership with SharingStories Foundation. Through their national education platform Jajoo Warrngara: The Culture Classroom SharingStories provides educational resources to school teachers who wish to embed information and stories relating to Country, First Nations culture and history into their classrooms and teaching. Welcome to Balardong will be presented on Jajoo Warrngara with accompanying Unit Plans that have been developed to align with the learning areas and the Cross Curriculum Priority, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures across the Australian Curriculum.

Four Unit Plans will be available, including: Life on the Reserve (Year 9), Work in Western Australia (Year 9), Rebels and Trailblazers (Year 10), and Biographies, Autobiographies and Memoirs (Year 5 & 6). A Welcome to Country video has been produced with Welcome to Balardong contributors Audrey Narkle Nettle and Merle Narkle Goodwin, to welcome students and teachers to the resources. Together with CAN, SharingStories has also consulted with Noongar Custodians to develop a comprehensive Cultural Protocols document, designed to guide teachers through the Unit Plans, and build cultural understanding and confidence to deliver lessons in First Nations education.

Schools and teachers can purchase a subscription to Jajoo Warrngara to access the resources, which include films, multi-touch books, interactive discovery maps, classroom teaching protocols, Welcome to Country videos, activities and other printable teacher resources from 24 communities around Australia. Jajoo Warrngara is set up as a revenue share model that returns 50% revenue to the communities that co-create the resources, often supporting their ongoing cultural programs or engagement of Elders in the classroom. SharingStories retains 50% of the revenue so they can continue this amazing work with new and existing partner communities.

Community Arts Network is excited to continue working with SharingStories Foundation to develop more resources from Noongar Boodjar.

The Ballardong resources will be available at the end of June. In the meantime, check out the Jajoo Warrngara portal and subscribe. Stay tuned to find out when they’re available.

Welcome to Balardong was produced by Jessica Wraight, directed by Mat Sav, with animation by Steve Aiton and Noongar artist Bradley Kickett, with community storytellers Merle Narkle Goodwin, Audrey Narkle Nettle, Gail Airey, Colin Boundry, Graham Nettle, Lois Ralph, Jayde Bateman, Karlee Parnham and Kadeena Ryan.

*Since the film Welcome to Balardong was released the community has agreed to a new spelling of Ballardong. For this reason there are two different spellings used in this post, reflecting both the current agreed-upon spelling and the original title of the film.