JANE GAMIA
DOB:
Birth Site: York Island
Jane has been trained by her mum Doreen Gambia and performs a process of continuum with cultural families carrying unbroken living memory for cultural weaving patterns. Her mother was born on York Island in the Torres Straits and wove coconut leaf baskets all her life. When she arrived in Innisfail in the 80's from Weipa: she immediately started to visit the schools during Naidoc Week and demonstrate and teach children about her culture. As the founding member of our original Urub Trust idea she and Laura Savage, Mary Savage & Lima Robinson began to systematically teach in each of the Innisfail & surrounding schools + we would meet together for teaching/learning pattern workshops. We all performed at events such as the Warrina Lakes Kulture Carnival & in Noumea for the South Pacific Festival of Arts
Doreen continued to be a mentor for both Jane & Stuart & Kate. She consciously trained Jane to be a TI cultural educator
Jane is training as a teacher aid in Innisfail Central SS and has the support from the school to be a traditional cultural TI Artist and educator. Delta Macleod who over sees all the indigenous liaison persons in a school and empowers them with support: encourages Jane to travel to teach in other schools
Jane has 2 daughters who she is now mentoring as cultural custodians in the art of coconut leaf weaving
"Doreen Gamia with daughter Jane & grand daughter Flora with Mrs Laura Savage & Kate at one of the Kulture Karnivals"
"Jane Gamia TI Cultural Educator: custodian of her mother's basket weaving knowledge" ;
"East Palmerston SS gives okkawikka the chance to train trainee teachers how to teach students in weaving patterns";
"Jane has many skills in cultural education: she has her mothers passion and pride for sharing her TI Culture"
"The host school:East Palmerston has run this multi cultural festival day for 3-4 years"
"Stuart teaching Jane how to take a very big class using Peer Teaching as part of the process"
"Stuart and Jane teaching the pattern of the fish that is now a sculpture at the lagoon on the Esplanade in Cairns"
"Taking the older students from Sth Johnstone, Moresby, Mena Creek, Innifail central SS's into a new pattern"
"Jane is being encouraged by her school to become a Cultural Educator using her TI Heritage knowledge "
"Learning how to make cocont leaf animals/headbands/simple bags & hats "
"This was a large choreographed performance: it shows you just how big Jane's dance troupe is"
"Jane has brought this Innisfail SS dance troupe to the small schools multi-cultural festival for 3 years"
"Jane's A/TI dance students performing at the multi-cultural festival with 4 schools participating"
"Jane's A/TI dance students at the multi-cultural & save small schools day designed by Karen Spannagle-Nelson"
" Innisfail Central SS students learning how to make a fish"
"Stuart encouraging Jane to teach the whole class "
