Dhiiyaan Indigenous Centre

Dhiiyaan, based in Moree and established in 1995, is part of the Northern Regional Library and Information Services.

It’s the first family history and photograph unit of its kind; encouraging Aboriginal participation within the library. By setting this precedent, it was hoped that what was being done at Dhiiyaan would be recognised and followed by other libraries throughout Australia to document Aboriginal history before it was all lost.

Family genealogies and photographs have been a major draw card in Aboriginal library usage, as knowing one`s family, people and origins are of paramount interest. The collection Dhiiyaan currently houses includes an enormous number of genealogies, photographs and resources to assist Aboriginal family trees. This collection has been built by the traditional way of bartering information.

Today, Dhiiyaan continues to help people with Aboriginal history and family history enquiries through their services, and through liaisons with other organisations. Dhiiyaan aims to document, preserve, and protect Aboriginal information and objects of significant importance to Aboriginal people for their people of today, and for future generations. All services are free.

There’s a saying that sums it up, `You have to know from whom and where you come from to know where you are going`.

 

Category: Galleries, Museums and Collections - Historical Sites and Heritage Locations