Mia Speed's nieces and nephews wanted to learn more about their language and culture - so she wrote a children's book in her Wirangu language.
'Where’s my Minya Marlu?', a story about a mother marlu (kangaroo) who is looking for her minya marlu (little kangaroo/joey), has just been published by the .
Mia, 18, wrote and illustrated the book two years ago as part of a school research project, with a goal of providing a Wirangu language resource for kids in her community.
Last month she returned to her former Lincoln Gardens Primary School in Port Lincoln, South Australia, to launch the book.
“Writing a book in my traditional Aboriginal language holds significant meaning for several reasons," Mia said, "including cultural preservation to help my community and younger children to preserve part of their language; as an educational resource to be used in schools to teach both the Wirangu language itself and the cultural context; and promoting bilingual education that values Indigenous knowledge.”
'Tears flowed with every Wirangu word spoken'
Mia Speed has illustrated and written a book in Wirangu language. Credit: ILF
“Congratulations Mia Speed on sharing our beautiful culture and Wirangu language in this stunning children's book, super proud of you," she said.
"Hearing Mia share Wirangu language as she read her book and watching all of the children hanging off every word was extra special.
"Every adult in the room was bursting with pride, tears flowed with every Wirangu word spoken aloud.”
Lincoln Gardens principal Sandra Spencer said it was clear from when Mia was young that she had the potential to achieve whatever she set out to do.
“Mia could have stopped at her research project, but she was determined to have her book published – that takes a lot of courage and determination," she said.
"Mia wanted to produce a book in her language that she could read to her nieces and nephews and now she is able to pass that on to the next generation of young readers.
“Mia is an inspiring young woman that other young people can relate to, she has opened their eyes to what is possible.”
The Wirangu people's Country is on the west coast of South Australia.
This is the first book to emerge from the ILF's partnership with the Far West Language Centre.
Mia hopes 'Where's my Minya Marlu?' will help to revitalise language for the next generation and said language was part of her Aboriginal identity.
She is studying at university in Adelaide and hopes to create more books.
