Tangentyere Council

Tangentyere Council is a major service delivery agency in Alice Springs which offers a wide range of services and programs for Aboriginal people in Central Australia.

Tangentyere Council was originally created around tenure, services and essential services for Town Camps, and their residents, in the 1970s (they were first incorporated in 1979) but quickly developed to incorporate family, community and social services.[1][2]

Background

Town camps, initially established on the fringe of Alice Springs, have long being a feature of the town. They are the direct result of the dispossession of Aboriginal people from their traditional lands and there is a strong history of opposition to them. Despite this opposition the camps survived, avoiding measures to remove or assimilate them, and from the 1970s have campaigned to actively assert their rights; demanding land tenure, shelter, services and self-determination. In order to do this Tangentyere Council, was established; tangentyere is a derivative of tunkatjira an Arrernte word meaning all speaking together and it aimed to unite Aboriginal people in Central Australia from all of the language and people groups including, but not limited to, Warlpiri, Anmatyerre, Kaytetye, Pitjantjatjara, Luritja, Alyawarre and Pintupi.[3]

Tangentyere Council was initially established in 1974, referred to as Tunkatjira, and it was officially recognised in 1977 before finally being incorporated as Tangentyere Council on 6 February 1979.[4] It is unknown why the spelling was changed at this time.[5]

Despite significant steps forward is housing services to town camps, from humpies and bits of tins to houses the living standards of their residents remain unacceptably low[2] and, it is partially for this reason, that Tangentyere Council now offers a wide range of social services and runs not-for-profit enterprises:

Services:

  • Housing[6]
    • Central Australia Affordable Housing Company
    • Municipal and Essential Services
  • Social Services[7]
    • Social Justice; Aboriginal Community Patrols & Community Safety
    • Emergency Relief and ID Card Service
    • Research Hub
    • Aged and Community Services
    • Tangentyere Artists[8]
    • Chronic Disease Coordination
  • Family and Youth Services[9]
    • Safe families
    • Early Childhood Development Services
    • Family Wellbeing
    • Tangentyere Youth Activity Service
    • Town Camp Centres
    • Drum Atweme
    • Life Skills Program
    • Land and Learning Program
  • CDEP and Employment Services[10]
  • Finance[11]
  • Corporate Services[12]

Enterprises:[13]

  • Tangentyere Constructions
  • Tangentyere Design
  • Alice Springs Employment and Training Services
  • Indigenous Landscapes

Tangentyere Council employs more than 200 staff, of which approximately 70% are aboriginal.[13]

References
  1. "Tangentyere Council". AADANT. 4 October 2019. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  2. "Tangentyere Council - About Us". www.tangentyere.org.au. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  3. Coughlan, Frances (1991). "Aboriginal town camps and Tangentyere Council: the battle for self-determination in Alice Springs" (PDF). Tangentyere Council.
  4. "Tangentyere Council - History". www.tangentyere.org.au. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  5. Rolls, Mitchell; Johnson, Murray (1 January 2011). Historical dictionary of Australian Aborigines. Scarecrow Press.
  6. "Tangentyere Council - Housing and Municipal Services". www.tangentyere.org.au. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  7. "Tangentyere Council - Social Services". www.tangentyere.org.au. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  8. "Tangentyere Artists". Tangentyere Artists. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  9. "Tangentyere Council - Family and Youth Services". www.tangentyere.org.au. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  10. "Tangentyere Council - CDEP and Employment Services". www.tangentyere.org.au. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  11. "Tangentyere Council - Finance Department". www.tangentyere.org.au. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  12. "Tangentyere Council - Corporate Services". www.tangentyere.org.au. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  13. "Tangentyere Council - Structure". www.tangentyere.org.au. Retrieved 30 December 2019.

Further reading
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