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Jeanie Bell facts for kids

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Jeanie Bell was an amazing Australian linguist. She was a Jagera and Dulingbara woman. She worked hard to help keep Indigenous Australian languages alive. She also helped a lot with university-level learning for Aboriginal people.

Jeanie Bell's Life

Jeanie Bell was born in 1949 in south-east Queensland. She grew up in Brisbane. After finishing school, she moved to Melbourne, Victoria. There, she studied at Monash University.

Early Career and Teaching

After university, Jeanie taught for three years. She taught linguistics at the Yipirinya school in Alice Springs. She also trained Aboriginal interpreters. These interpreters helped people understand different languages. She also edited two books about Aboriginal languages.

Later, Jeanie taught Indigenous Australian language studies. This was at the North Queensland Institute of TAFE in Cairns. In 1984, she became a lecturer in Aboriginal Studies. This was at the Northern Rivers College in New South Wales.

Important Roles and Contributions

In 1985, Jeanie Bell made history. She became the first coordinator of the Aboriginal and Islander Studies Unit. This was at the University of Queensland. After this, she went back to Alice Springs. She worked at the Institute for Aboriginal Development.

Jeanie was part of important groups. In 1988, she joined the National Aboriginal and Islander Education Policy Task Force. In 1990, she did research for the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody. She also helped the Research Committee at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies. From 2004 to 2005, she worked as a linguist. She helped the Victorian Aboriginal Corporation for Languages in Melbourne.

Language Work and Recognition

Jeanie earned a master's degree in Linguistics. This was from The University of Melbourne. For her degree, she wrote about the Badjala language. This language is spoken on Fraser Island (K'gari) in Queensland. It is a type of Gabi-Gabi.

She worked hard to bring languages back to life. This is called language revitalisation. She focused on the Badjala and Yagara languages. She also researched kinship (family relationships) in Aboriginal communities.

In 2012, Jeanie Bell was honored. This was during NAIDOC Week. She was recognized for her work in keeping Indigenous languages alive. In 1993, she was one of six Indigenous Australians. They gave the Boyer Lectures. This was for the International Year of the World's Indigenous People.

There is a special scholarship named after her. It helps Indigenous PhD students at the Bachelor Institute. This helps continue her important work.

Jeanie Bell passed away on May 12, 2024. She was near Caboolture.

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