Stanley Vernard Grant Sr (born 1940)Michelle Innis

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

8 April 2016. is an elder of the

Wiradjuri The Wiradjuri people (; ) are a group of Aboriginal Australian people from central New South Wales, united by common descent through kinship and shared traditions. They survived as skilled hunter-fisher-gatherers, in family groups or clans, a ...

tribe of

Indigenous Australians Indigenous Australians are people with familial heritage from, or recognised membership of, the various ethnic groups living within the territory of contemporary Australia prior to History of Australia (1788–1850), British colonisation. The ...

from what is now the south-west inland region of the state of

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The grandson of an elder who was gaoled for speaking his own language, Grant Sr now teaches the

Wiradjuri language Wiradjuri (; many other spellings, see Wiradjuri) is a Pama–Nyungan language of the Wiradhuric subgroup. It is the traditional language of the Wiradjuri people, an Aboriginal Australian people of New South Wales, Australia. Wiraiari and Je ...

to students.

Background and language work

Grant was born in Cowra. His siblings include educator Flo Grant, Elaine Grant, Ivan Grant, and Pastor Cecil Grant. For many years, Grant was an itinerant worker. Some times, he sold fruit and vegetables. At another time, he worked as a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

er, where he lost the tips of two fingers in industrial accidents. Grant is one of the few people still living to have heard native speakers of his tribe's

, having been brought up as a child around native speakers of his grandfather's generation, notably his grandfather on his mother's side, Wilfred Johnson. Johnson could speak seven languages. He was arrested in the late 1940s after a policeman overheard him calling to his son in Wiradjuri it was forbidden to use Aboriginal languages in public and he was detained overnight in a cell. From that day on, his grandfather refrained from speaking his native language in public. However, he continued to teach young Stan and his brother Cecil. His father on his father's side was Bill Grant, who had lived on Bulgandramine Mission. He has been crucial to the reconstruction of the Wiradjuri language along with John Rudder, with whom he travels among the Wiradjuri people, teaching their language. From a small base of

anthropological Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behaviour, wh ...

records, they have rebuilt the spoken and sung language among both urban and rural tribal members. In 2005 they published "A New Wiradjuri Dictionary”, running to some 600 pages.January 26 is a reminder that Australia still hasn't reckoned with its original sin
Stan Grant Jr, 2021-01-26 In 2006 this work was recognised with the

Deadly Award The Deadly Awards, formally titled National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Music, Sport, Arts and Community Awards and commonly known simply as The Deadlys, was an annual celebration of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ac ...

of Outstanding Achievement in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education. The Wiradjuri language, culture and heritage course at

Charles Sturt University Charles Sturt University is an Australian multi-campus public university located in New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Victoria, Australia, Victoria. Established in 1989, it was named in honour of Captain (British Army and Royal ...

was developed by Grant and, , he still attends the graduation ceremonies of students.

Personal

His father was Cecil, who served in the 9th Division in Tobruk. Grant married Betty Cameron, whose family came from Gunnedah Hill, near

Coonabarabran Coonabarabran () is a town in Warrumbungle Shire that sits on the divide between the Central West and North West Slopes regions of New South Wales, Australia. At the 2021 census, the town had a population of 2,387, Material was copied from th ...

. After marrying, they lived in a broken car in the Aboriginal reserve near Griffith. The couple have several children and many grandchildren. They include the noted journalist, Stan Grant and his daughter, the radio presenter Lowanna Grant. The couple live near

Narrandera Narrandera ( ), until around 1949 also spelled "Narandera", is a town located in the central Riverina region of south-western New South Wales, Australia. The town lies on the junction of the Newell Highway, Newell and Sturt Highway, Sturt highwa ...

, at the southern end of Wiradjuri country. Grant Jnr. recalls the family frequently living in modest huts on the outskirts of towns in country NSW, the family frequently moving so Grant senior could find work. In May 2017, the son interviewed his father to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the

1967 referendum Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

to alter the

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to recognise Aboriginal people. The father discussed how he experienced overt

racism Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

as a young man: Yet, he later noted differences in how people treated him:

Publications

* ''Stories Told By My Grandfather and the Other Old Men: a collection of short stories'' (1999) * ''Crossing Cultures: experiences of growing up Aboriginal in Wiradjuri country'' (1999) With Dr John Rudder: * ''Learning Wiradjuri 1–5 (graded texts)'' * ''Learning Wiradjuri 1 & 2 CD'' * ''A Teaching Wiradjuri Support CD'' * ''Eric Looks for a Friend (PowerPoint book)'' * ''Wiradjuri Language Songs for Children'' * ''Wiradjuri Language Song Book 2'' * ''CD of Wiradjuri Language Songs'' * ''Wiradjuri Language – How it works: A Grammar in Everyday English'' * ''Wiradjuri Language A First Dictionary of Wiradjuri'' * ''Wiradjuri Sentence Book'' * ''Wiradjuri Language Black Line Poster Masters'' * ''Wiradjuri Language Black Line Masters – Book 1'' (Colouring-in) * ''Wiradjuri Language Black Line Masters – Book 2 – Learn to Draw'' * ''Wiradjuri Language Colouring-in Books 1 and 2'' * ''Wiradjuri Language Learn to Draw Books 1 and 2'' * ''English Language Blackline Poster Masters of Australian Natural Science & People'' * ''Unlabelled Blackline Poster Masters of Australian Natural Science & People''

Honours

Grant was named a

Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

on 8 June 2009 "for service to Indigenous education and the preservation and promotion of the Wiradjuri language and culture, as a teacher and author, and to youth". He was granted an honorary Doctorate of Letters by

in December 2013 in recognition of his work with the indigenous communities. The vice-chancellor of CSU, Andrew Vann is quoted as saying "

rant A diatribe (from the Greek ''διατριβή''), also known less formally as rant, is a lengthy oration, though often reduced to writing, made in criticism of someone or something, often employing humor, sarcasm, and appeals to emotion. Hist ...

has made an outstanding contribution to Charles Sturt University's regions, especially to Indigenous communities ... As an Elder, author and teacher, he has made an outstanding intellectual contribution to our communities. His deep involvement in the introduction of the University's new Graduate Certificate in Wiradjuri Language, Culture and Heritage program in 2014 is a clear demonstration of his work." In the 2022

NAIDOC Awards The NAIDOC Awards are annual Australian awards conferred on Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals during the national celebration of the history, culture and achievements of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ...

Grant's work was recognised with the Lifetime Achievement Award.

References

External links