Veronica Perrule Dobson facts for kids
Veronica Perrule Dobson (born in 1944) is an important elder from the Eastern Arrernte community in Central Australia. She is a linguist (someone who studies languages), an educator, an author, and an ecologist (someone who studies how living things interact with their environment). Veronica has played a big part in making Eastern Arrernte a written language. She is also a Traditional Owner of her land.
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Early Life and Home
Veronica Dobson was born in 1944 at a place called Arltunga in Central Australia. She lived at the Arltunga Mission for about ten years. Later, her family moved to the Lytentye Apurte mission, also known as Santa Teresa. When she was 16, Veronica moved to Alice Springs. There, she worked helping families in their homes and in some local factories.
Her Work and Contributions
Veronica has spent many years working as a translator and interpreter for the Arrernte language. This means she helps people understand each other when they speak different languages. She also teaches about the Arrernte language and culture.
Helping the Arrernte Language
Veronica helped write the Eastern and Central Arrernte to English dictionary. This book was very important for making Arrernte a written language. She also created learning materials to help teach the language to others. She was one of the first people to develop school lessons for the Arrernte language at Yipirinya. This is a special school for Indigenous children in Alice Springs.
Understanding Nature
Veronica is also an expert in plants and the environment. She uses her deep knowledge of Arrernte culture to understand local plants and how they are used. She knows a lot about the food and medicines found on Arrernte lands. She has written books about plants and worked with scientists on many projects. These projects include studying plants, checking water quality, and managing bushfires. She also helped with projects about Arrernte ideas of family connections and the Native Seed Bank. She has written many reports about Indigenous ecology.
Veronica has worked with groups like the Central Land Council and NT Parks and Wildlife. She also worked with CSIRO, which is a big science organization in Australia. She helped create the bush medicine garden at the Olive Pink Botanic Garden. She also helped with the Alice Springs Desert Park in Central Australia. She was part of a group that gave advice on how to use bush foods in Central Australia in a good way. In 2019, she was a main advisor for the Indigemoji app. This app uses emojis to help people learn Arrernte words.
Veronica has received awards for her amazing work. She often shares her knowledge about nature and history with everyone.
Books and Posters
- Dobson, Veronica; Turner, MK; Woods, Gail; Turpin, Myfany (2009) Thipele arle ileme akerte. Things that birds let you know about, posters. This work helps people learn about what birds can tell us.
Awards and Recognition
Veronica Dobson has received many important awards for her work:
- 2011: She became a Member of the Order of Australia. This award recognized her service to the Indigenous community. It honored her as an Arrernte elder, a Traditional Owner, a linguist, and an ecologist. It also recognized her efforts to protect Aboriginal language and culture.
- 2011: She won the Northern Territory Research and Innovation Award. She shared this award with several other people for their work.
- 2013: She was made a Companion of Charles Darwin University.
- 2015: She was named NAIDOC Female Elder of the Year. This is a very special award for Indigenous elders.
- 2020: She was honored at the Webby Awards for the Indigemoji app.
- 2020: The Indigemoji app also received an Honorary Mention at the Prix Ars Electronica.
- 2020: The Indigemoji app won Best Digital Product at the First Nations Media Awards.
