Izak Rigney
Izak Rigney-Sebastian (21 June 2003) or his indigenous Australian name, Jundumarra Divine is an Indigenous Australian[1] of the Ngarrindjeri[2] people, a Musician, Actor, public speaker and Model. Dubbed an indigenous Australian youth role model, he is regarded as a prime example of what young indigenous Australians can achieve if presented with the same opportunities as non-indigenous Australians. Izak's contribution in his music and public speeches helped raise over 200,000$ for his indigenous school called Gawura[3]. This made him a great inspiration for indigenous youth all over the country. "Izak still maintains his connection with the Gawura school, he spends a lot of time going back and acting as a role model, whenever he goes down there they treat him like a rock star," Ms Diallo said (Izak’s teacher).[4]
Biography[edit]
Born at the Point McLeay Mission on the banks of Lake Alexandrina in the Coorong region of South Australia, Izak was the second and youngest child of the Rigney Family of the Portaulun branch of the Ngarrindjeri[5] people. Izak started school in 2007 at the indigenous school Gawura, which is under the umbrella of St Andrew's Cathedral School[6]. Through the teaching of his family and the school he attended the schools's Music Tour in 2018 being the "indigenous Ambassador" contributing by playing the Didgeridoo, Violin and singing with the Choir. The school performed all over England and Scotland which the school featured in Edinburgh castle and for the British Royal Family[7] in Westminster Abbey where Princess Meghan Markle, Duchess of Sussex,[8] Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex[9] and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge[10] where present. Izak played the Didgeridoo at every location they visited. "It was a great delight to go with Izak on our school's music tour of the UK last year and see him play the didgeridoo in front of Prince Harry and Megan at the Anzac Day ceremony," Dr Collier said. (Principle of St Andrew’s Cathedral School)
Izak's Inspiration[edit]
Being the great great Grandson of David Uniapon[11] (the man featured on the Australian 50$ note), Izak is inspired by his Great-Great-Grand fathers’ dedication to his work for his inventions and ability to break the very well know stereotypes of indigenous Australians. This inspiration sparked Izak to want to become a Cardio-thoracic surgeon to support his indigenous community when he graduates from University. "I want to follow in his footsteps in a different field."- Izak stated in a Sydney Morning Herald Interview. Izak is the first graduating Gawura student to have entered at kindergarten, and plans to study Medicine at UNSW, to support the health of his Indigenous community after graduating this year. Izak is planning to move to Raukkan, about three hours from Adelaide, where his extended family lives to practice medicine once he graduates from university. "I've known I wanted to do medicine since I was about 10 and my aunt died from cardiovascular disease and I saw a pattern of a spike in cardiovascular problems in Indigenous communities," - Izak stated in a Sydney Morning Herald Interview. Izak Rigney-Sebastian’s name changed from Uniapon due to a variety of different aspects e.g. Stolen Generation, non-indigenous marriage, burning of genealogy tree etc. This made it very hard to track some of his other relatives and other extended Family.
Gawura[12][edit]
Gawura was established in 2007 by St Andrew’s Cathedral School to help close the educational gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. From K-6 Gawura is its own individual school where the students learn a culturally relevant curriculum. However from 7-12 the Gawura students merge with St Andrew’s Cathedral school and learn the mainstream curriculum with indigenous and non-indigenous Australians. “With up to 28 students, Gawura is a highly-acclaimed, highly-regarded ‘lighthouse’ model for Indigenous education, offering students a supportive, nurturing space where they feel secure and learn at their own skill level, participating in individual numeracy and literacy programs. They achieve academic milestones daily and grow in their abilities in academic subjects, sport and the arts.”- Gawura school website. “There is a high student-teacher ratio in K-6 Gawura, so students receive more one-on-one instruction, “said principal John Collier. Izak joined Gawura when it was established in 2007 and was one of the first to join. Izak is the first K-12 Gawura student to graduate this year. “Izak is in year 12 this year at St Andrew’s Cathedral School. A generous family have paid his school fees right through high school. He will graduate in four short months.”-Gawura School Website. There are compulsory homework clubs, high expectations and a school bus to encourage attendance. Dr Collier wants governments to support more schools like Gawura. "Now is the time to work together to open more Indigenous-only primary schools in urban areas. And help close the gap once and for all," he said. -Sydney Morning Herald interview. Izak has helped raise over 200,00$ for the school this year and has help raise over an estimate of $1,000,000 dollars while he was at the school from K-12.
References[edit]
- ↑ "Indigenous Australians", Wikipedia, 2019-07-07, retrieved 2019-07-10
- ↑ "Ngarrindjeri", Wikipedia, 2019-05-10, retrieved 2019-07-10
- ↑ Gawura. "Home". Gawura. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
- ↑ Singhal, Pallavi (2019-06-30). "Great, great, grandson of man on $50 note wants to 'follow in footsteps'". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
- ↑ "Ngarrindjeri", Wikipedia, 2019-05-10, retrieved 2019-07-10
- ↑ School, St Andrew's Cathedral. "Home". St Andrew's Cathedral School. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
- ↑ "British royal family", Wikipedia, 2019-07-07, retrieved 2019-07-10
- ↑ "Meghan, Duchess of Sussex", Wikipedia, 2019-07-09, retrieved 2019-07-10
- ↑ "Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex", Wikipedia, 2019-07-09, retrieved 2019-07-10
- ↑ "Prince William, Duke of Cambridge", Wikipedia, 2019-07-09, retrieved 2019-07-10
- ↑ "David Unaipon", Wikipedia, 2019-07-07, retrieved 2019-07-10
- ↑ Gawura. "Home". Gawura. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
Kuberek, D. (2019). Hymnfest raises $6k for Indigenous ministry. [online] Record.adventistchurch.com. Available at: https://record.adventistchurch.com/2019/06/20/hymnfest-raises-6k-for-indigenous-ministry/ [Accessed 10 Jul. 2019].
Singhal, P. (2019). Great, great, grandson of man on $50 note wants to 'follow in footsteps'. [online] The Sydney Morning Herald. Available at: https://www.smh.com.au/education/great-great-grandson-of-man-on-50-note-wants-to-follow-in-footsteps-20190627-p521vz.html
Gawura. (2019). Our Story. [online] Available at: https://gawura.nsw.edu.au/our-story/ [Accessed 10 Jul. 2019].
Internationaltowers.com. (2019). St Andrew’s Cathedral School United Kingdom music tour. [online] Available at: https://www.internationaltowers.com/hubfs/2018%20Music%20Tour%20Brochure%2007A%20RW%20EDIT%205%20(1).pdf [Accessed 10 Jul. 2019].
Gawura, L. (2019). Lending a hand for Gawura - Origin Energy. [online] Originenergy.com.au. Available at: https://www.originenergy.com.au/blog/community/lending-a-hand-for-gawura.html [Accessed 10 Jul. 2019].
Gawura. (2019). Izak’s Story. [online] Available at: https://gawura.nsw.edu.au/izaks-story/ [Accessed 10 Jul. 2019].
ABC Religion & Ethics. (2019). Giving Kids a Voice: NAIDOC Week. [online] Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/religion/watch/compass/gawura-naidoc-week/11279284 [Accessed 10 Jul. 2019].
Izak Rigney[edit]
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