Establish First Nations Place Names

Every place on this continent now known as Australia has a language name spoken by First Nations People, which has been passed down by Elders since time began.

Colonisation has impacted languages, land and community, disrupting the way our places are known.

And we want to decolonise the record.

We're a team of dedicated First Nations women and a trusted ally working to establish a national database of First Nations Place Names to honour Country, created by, for and with First Nations peoples.

Building on Gomeroi Woman, Rachael McPhail's Place Names In Addresses campaign, our dedicated team, including Rach, Kirli Saunders (Gunai woman), Tamina Pitt (Wuthathi and Meriam woman) and Kaz McGrath (ally and activist) have been working around the clock for nearly two years to establish a Not-For-Profit to champion change.

"Country is who we are and where we come from... Language comes from Country... When we use the right names for places and Country, we're showing respect to that place, and the people and Ancestors... it's is an act of resistance... which says ‘This place is important for our people, now, since the first sunrise and always... we honour and will care for her." ~ Kirli Saunders (OAM)

First Nations Place Names will operate in the Data Sovereignty space to acknowledge Country and traditional place names with Community in Culturally respectful and safe ways. We will create a widely accessible digital offering that enables us to connect with Country and identify the First Nations Custodians of the land we are on.

As we establish our NFP, we need your support to make this initiative happen. In order to create a public presence for our campaign, we need to raise funds to develop our website and visual branding and to cover the administration costs associated with our beginning.

We can't wait to launch our campaign with your support and to honour our lands, people, stories and languages.

Walk with us.