Brewarrina voices carry language into classrooms across Australia

Children from Brewarrina in north-west New South Wales are helping bring Aboriginal language, culture and stories into classrooms across Australia through the Indigenous Literacy Foundation’s 2026 Busking For Change campaign.

As reported by the National Indigenous Times, the national program will see schools and early learning communities learn and perform MINYAN NGABANGKA (What’s in the Water), a new song co-written by Brewarrina students, Murrawari artist and Indigenous Literacy Foundation Ambassador DOBBY, and Murrawarri, Yuwaalaraay and Gamilaroi artist Kelsey Iris. 

Featuring Murrawarri language, the song draws on Brewarrina’s connection to the Baawan/Bama River and will be used by students to raise funds for books in language for children living in remote Communities. 

The campaign places children’s voices at the centre of language learning, with Brewarrina children sharing language and cultural knowledge with classrooms across the country.

The song title MINYAN NGABANGKA translates to “What’s in the Water”, with Minyan meaning “what” and Ngabangka meaning “in the water” in Murrawarri language. 

Elders and Knowledge Holders, including Aunty Missy, worked on the project to keep local language, culture and stories central to the campaign. 

For early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, the campaign offers a meaningful example of how language, music and storytelling can support cultural identity, connection to Country and respect for First Nations knowledge.

Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in early learning is most powerful when children are learning with communities, not simply learning about them.

Initiatives such as Busking For Change can support educators to reflect on how they:

• value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages;
• introduce culture through music, story and movement;
• support children’s connection to community and identity;
• engage with resources created with cultural authority; and
• build children’s respect for language and Country.

Busking For Change was founded by Indigenous Literacy Foundation Lifetime Ambassador Josh Pyke and has grown into a national education campaign. 

Now in its fourth year, the campaign aims to recruit 100 schools in 2026 and raise funds for culturally relevant books for children in remote Communities. Schools, early learning centres, workplaces and community groups are encouraged to register. 

The full National Indigenous Times article can be read here.