Rita holds her 2015 ACT NAIDOC Award featuring Jennie Kemarre Martiniello's glasswork.
Rita Metzenrath, Senior Collections Officer at the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), was honoured at the 2015 ACT NAIDOC Awards night Saturday 4 July, winning the Non-Indigenous Person of the Year Award for contribution to the Indigenous Community.
Ms Metzenrath was nominated in part for her work with the AIATSIS collections, assisting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples from across the country connect with the vast amount of material held, but perhaps more notably for the extra steps she is always willing to take to facilitate these connections.
AIATSIS Principal Russell Taylor said the award was well deserved recognition of Ms Metzenrath’s dedication to her work and for the volunteer work she does for communities.
“Rita’s passion for the AIATSIS collections is evident to anyone who speaks to her, she is a wonderful advocate for the Institute,” Mr Taylor said.
“Rita’s desire to share the collection with communities and then ensure those communities get the most from their experience with the material held is to be commended. We are very proud to have her as part of our team at AIATSIS.”
Ms Metzenrath described the award win as a humbling experience which in many ways means more to her than other accolades.
“It’s particularly special because it is recognition and acknowledgement by community,” Ms Metzenrath said.
“I enjoy taking the collections beyond the four walls of the library, being an activist librarian, going out to communities sharing and promoting the materials and services here at AIATSIS.
“Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have sometimes had a difficult relationship with collections in the past, as the collections can represent institutions which have objectified Indigenous people with little agency for their point of view.
“I believe strongly in the protocols and respect we apply here at AIATSIS, to see ourselves as custodians of the material for the communities, with our role to facilitate access to the items. It is so important for the material to go back to the communities when possible.
“We hold an amazing collection and there are still those that don’t know we exist. I’m passionate about getting that knowledge out there.”
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