Our Stories
Sara Bergmann on Language, Culture and Identity
Country Road would like to acknowledge the Traditional Owners and Custodians of the lands on which this story was created, Noongar Boodja and the
Gadigal People of the Eora Nation. We pay our respect to their Elders past and present, and acknowledge their ongoing custodianship of Country.
Nyikina and Nyul Nyul woman Sara Bergmann is a passionate advocate for Aboriginal language revival and preservation.
As the former manager of the Kimberley Language Resource Centre (an Aboriginal community-controlled organisation in Halls Creek, Western Australia), Sara has always spoken passionately about the critical links between language, culture and identity.
Sara’s professional experience has spanned many sectors and roles, but she has remained motivated by social justice, self-determination and strengthening identity. She has worked at Rio Tinto and is currently on the Board of Directors at the National Indigenous Times.
Sara is driven to bring an Aboriginal lens to organisational thinking to ensure that language and culture are invested in for future generations. With this year’s National Reconciliation Week theme being ‘Be a Voice for Generations’ Sara speaks to guest contributor Yatu Widders Hunt, on what this means for our future.
You have created some beautiful content for Country Road on what Country means to you. Tell us a bit about the Country you are from and what it was like growing up there?
I am a very proud Nyikina and Nyul Nyul person and I was lucky that I got to grow up immersed in my Kimberley culture. I was so fortunate to be connected in that way, as I know not everyone is. Because of my Dad’s work (former chief executive of the Kimberley Land Council, Wayne Bergmann), we got to go to events and see our old people regularly. I am very privileged to feel so connected to my culture.
The Kimberley region is expansive, it takes almost a day to drive from one side to the other. It is also home to around 44 unique Indigenous languages. Much of the region is also covered by Native Title because of the work of some of our fierce land rights activists.
It’s a really unique place which is very different from one part of Country to the next. People in the Kimberley usually identify as either saltwater, freshwater or desert people. I like to think I connect to all three because the Country I am from connects to all types of Country.
One of your more recent roles has been as the manager of the Kimberley Language Resource Centre. Why is language revival and preservation so important to you?
My passion for languages really starts with my identity. As a young Indigenous person, I was away from Country and culture while I was studying. I went to boarding school and university in Perth. So many people have to leave Country for education or jobs, and sometimes, when you’re away from community, people question who you are. I encountered lots of questions about my Aboriginality, and I didn’t always feel that I fit the stereotype of an Aboriginal person, from a non-Indigenous lens.
But whatever people say, the one thing they can’t take away, is my ability to speak my language. That language, for me, reinforces my own identity for myself, as a Nyikina person.
Language is the vehicle in which we pass down our culture; it can hold so much of the richness we want to share. We really have to invest in our languages now, before they are gone. It’s so important to support Elders and young people to communicate.
You’ve spoken a lot about the importance of strengthening cultural identity in young people. How can we best support this?
I think the opportunity we have now, and particularly organisations have, is to be more holistic in the way we invest. Across all sectors, we need to recognise that the first building blocks are around the wholeness of self.
A lot of that comes from a connection and a strength in cultural identity. We know there is always a big focus on education and employment—probably because these things are measurable and linked to our reconciliation action plans and the like. But what is often missed, is investment in culture, especially for young people.
For many industries, such as mining for example, the work they do often prevents people from accessing Country. So, there is an opportunity for these industries to consider how to balance that by investing in cultural maintenance and supporting people to participate, to pass down and to protect cultural knowledge.
I think organisations should ask themselves ‘How are we creating spaces for people to connect to culture?’ That is the next horizon for us as Australians. This culture and history is not just for Indigenous peoples. If Indigenous people lose it, everyone loses it. Culture is important and central to Aboriginal identity. But language is central to culture.
Speaking of future leaders, this year’s National Reconciliation Week theme is ‘Be a voice for generations’—what does that mean to you?
The theme this year leans into the core value of leaving something better than you found it. It’s all about ensuring that the people who come after us can grab opportunities with both hands.
Our parents and grandparents fought for rights that they never got to experience themselves.
And our generation will do the same. It’s really about using your voice to set up the opportunities that are yet to come.
You’ve had such an amazing and varied career, but social justice has always been at the heart. Tell us about what drives you in the roles you take on?
I actually studied management at university and looked at organisational design and culture. I find it fascinating to bring an Aboriginal cultural lens to it.
I have always been very intentional about where I work and the teams I work in. There are always four key things I look for. First and foremost is cultural safety, and I have a pretty high standard for what this should look like. Secondly, the work has to be meaningful, underpinned by the core value of making people the best versions of themselves and setting them up to thrive. Next, the work has to be interesting and finally, I prefer to work in places where things happen quickly. I need to have pace and momentum and to see things happen quickly.
What makes you hopeful for the future?
I think the thing that makes me hopeful is the people I have come across in the industries and sectors I have worked in. I have been lucky to work on the frontline in community and in the skyscrapers of the city.
I have seen a shift over the years of people aspiring for more and being motivated to make things better for everyone. There is still a lot of work to do and it is always going to be an uphill battle changing systems that have been there for a long, long time.
The hope I see people hold for a better future is contagious, and it makes it feel like it’s not out of reach. It’s not something we can do alone—it’s something we all must do together.
