There are many ways to preserve language. We trace the story of Australia’s first Indigenous emoji project, which is bringing Indigenous culture and the Arrernte language onto your smartphone. In the process we encounter emoji’s bosses and find out why it is so hard to add a new emoji to the set.

Disconnect is a podcast about the internet in remote Australian Aboriginal communities. Produced by RMIT University, led by Ellie Rennie, Indigo Holcombe-James and Tyson Yunkaporta, with producer James Milsom and production assistance from Campbell McNolty. Additional research assistance for this episode was provided by Sam Kininmonth. Disconnect was funded by Telstra as an action within their Reconciliation Action Plan 2018-2021.

In this episode you heard from:

Joel Liddle Perrurle, Indigemoji

Caddie Brain, Indigemoji

Dr Kate Miltner, University of Edinburgh

Graham Wilfred Jr, inDigiMOB

Music prior to credits: Blackfellas by Nooky, licensed courtesy of Australian Broadcasting Corporation

The full transcript for this episode is available as a Word document or PDF.

You can download the Indigemoji sticker set now for iOS and Android

The inDigiMOB program worked with us on this episode. inDigiMOB is a partnership between First Nations Media Australia and Telstra.

First Nations Media Australia is the national peak body for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander media industry.

There is a Māori emoji set too. Check out Emotiki developed by Te Puia in Rotorua, NZ.

Soft sculpture of tin can telephone by Rhonda Sharpe, Yarrenyty Arltere Artists. Image design by Pam Koger.