Sandra Harben has conducted numerous Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremonies for local events and state, national and international conferences in Perth. She is a Nyungar language speaker and showcases Nyungar language and stories specifically relating to the event or place of ceremony. Sandra has conducted numerous Nyungar research projects and published a number of papers in journal articles, chapters in books and other publications.
Whadjuk Wanjoo Yorga
(Whadjuk Welcome Women)
Sandra Harben for Welcome to Country
Sandra Harben has conducted numerous Welcome to Country and Smoking Ceremonies for local events and state, national and international conferences in Perth. She is a Nyungar language speaker and showcases Nyungar language and stories specifically relating to the event or place of ceremony. Sandra has conducted numerous Nyungar research projects and published a number of papers in journal articles, chapters in books and other publications.
Sandra Harben is a Whadjuk/Balardong Nyungar woman. She studied at UWA under a scholarship granted through the Public Service Commission Aboriginal Employment Career Strategy, graduating in 1994. In 1995 she undertook studies at the University of Illinois as a recipient of the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Overseas Study Award. In 2003 she was awarded Murdoch University’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Research Scholarship.
Sandra was a lecturer and principal research consultant at Murdoch University’s Kulbardi Aboriginal Education Centre. but resigned to pursue her own consultancy business, Richmond Consultancy. She has conducted numerous Cross Cultural Awareness Training Workshops (CCWTW) throughout the South West and metropolitan areas. Sandra recently completed CCATW with Legal Aid WA, Department for Sport and Recreation and Keystart WA.
She is currently employed by Curtin University as an associate researcher. Sandra Harben, in collaboration with Professor Leonard Collard, who is an expert in Nyungar culture, history and language, was successful in gaining an Australian Research Council grant to research and develop the ‘Nyungar Place names and Meanings’ in the South West of Western Australia.
Sandra Harben is embedding Noongar culture in the housing and supports sectors through cultural research and stakeholder consultation work (including lived experience consultation), and advocacy work. Sandra has worked with the Zero Project (Housing Coordination for WA) to explore how to identify and fill the gaps of the mainstream Housing First model, and as a result has developed a Noongar Cultural Framework and the Noongar Housing First Principles, and is in the process of developing a practice model and training module to bring Aboriginal voices to the forefront of service design and delivery for Aboriginal people.
