Alison Nannup
9 Jul 2019Alison Nannup is a young Nyoongar Yindjibarndi woman who lives in Wadjuk boodjar (Perth). She comes from a long line of story tellers and published writers including her grandmother Alice Nannup (When the Pelican Laughed) and her father Dr Noel Nannup (Moondang-ak Kaaradjiny – The Carers of Everything).
Alison believes it’s important for future generations to know stories from their culture and country, and to be able to know, read and understand these in their own language.
‘Without a sense of language, there’s a loss of identity,’ says Alison. ‘That’s why language centres and language projects are so important—language is such a deep part of who we are.’
It is because of the importance of language to identity that Alison embarked on studies to strengthen her language knowledge so that she can continue to contribute to the reawakening of Noongar language and culture. Through the study of her Bachelor of Indigenous Languages and Linguistics degree, which Alison is currently studying in her final year, she was introduced to the creative writing genre. A talented writer of both fiction and non-fiction, Alison’s published work includes a Noongar language book and academic papers about both-ways research, the nyoongar moort (family) system and Nyoongar journey ways throughout the South-West of WA. The Bindi-bindi Koondarminy wer Maamoong waangka stories were passed on to Alison from Elders and in 2013 she published them in Noongar language through Batchelor Press.
Alison hopes that by sharing stories and language through books, talking books and other media, people will come to understand how complex her culture is.