Honouring Essie Coffey and Uncle Norm Hunter(NAIDOC 2023: For Our Elders)

ACMI Stories & Ideas

This special episode of the Mirring Yalingwa Podcast, hosted by Wurundjeri and Ngurai-Illum-Wurrung man Jasper Cohen-Hunter, was recorded at ACMI to kick off NAIDOC Week for 2023. Produced by Jasper, the podcast focuses on Australian cinema and First Nations-led cinema productions. Jasper Cohen-Hunter: "Across every generation, our Elders have played, and continue to play, an important role and a prominent place in our communities and families. They are cultural knowledge-holders, trailblazers, nurturers, advocates, teachers, survivors, leaders, hard workers and our loved ones. That's why this NAIDOC Week 2023, I want to acknowledge Aunty Essie Coffey and Uncle Norm Hunter. Essie Coffey was a Murawarri activist, advocate and filmmaker concerned about the influence of white culture and education on Indigenous children. She was the first Indigenous woman to direct a documentary feature My Survival as an Aboriginal (1979). Uncle Norm Hunter was an advocate for education, he was instrumental in establishing the Gunung-Willam-Balluk Learning Centre, a part of the Kangan Institute. He was a proud Wurundjeri Elder who documented the stories of his mum, Nanna Jessie Hunter, the last girl born on Coranderrk Aboriginal Mission. Together they created a set of tapes to permanently tell her story, so that it was never lost to time." Episode 2 of the Mirring Yalingwa Podcast was recorded in collaboration with ACMI this NAIDOC Week, and I want to personally thank them for facilitating Culture, Language and Lore during such an important time for Mob. Subscribe to the Mirring Yalingwa Podcast here: https://open.spotify.com/show/4F1Z0v1arDmaLtNtuU58gy