Congratulations Patricia Mamanyjun Torres

We are thrilled to announce the recipient of our inaugural Alumni Indigenous Scholarship for 2015, Patricia Mamanyjun Torres.

Pat is an Australian First Nations woman directly descended from Apical ancestors Keleregodo and Eulalie from the Jabirr-Jabirr, Nyul-Nyul and Bard family lines of the Ida Mathilda Torres Family as well as Mary Minyarl Drummond from the Djugun family lines and Mary Bajinka from the Julbayi-Yawuru and Garajarri family lines of the West Kimberley region of Western Australia. Her families are traditional owners of Djugun, Yawuru, Garajarri, Nyul-Nyul, Jabirr-Jabirr and Bard lands in the areas north and south, also around Broome, WA.  Pat’s skin group is Banaga and her Indigenous name is Mamanyjun, which is a ‘mayi’ or red-bush tucker fruit.

Pat is a pretty incredible woman. She’s a volunteer Manager at Babagarra Aboriginal Incorporated family and children’s services in Broome where she supervises an emergency relief program for people who find themselves in challenging circumstances. Pat is passionate about the Australian wild foods/native foods industry and the teaching of Aboriginal cultural knowledge systems about plants for the preservation and maintenance of ancient cultural practices that involve plants as food and as herbal remedies. She is also studying a Bachelor of Indigenous Languages and Linguistics to record the remnants of language for her family’s Djugun and Jabirr-Jabirr languages.

The scholarship position is the result of a crowdfunding campaign driven by alumni and generously supported by CSL’s community to enable an Indigenous person to undertake the Fellowship Program in 2015 (more information).

Pat will be undertaking the Intensive Fellowship Program kicking off in August and held in the lush surrounds of Far North Queensland. For more information and to apply for the August Intensive Fellowship Program visit www.csl.org.au/programs/intensive-fellowship-program/.