Rebecca Bateman
Rebecca is a Weilwan and Gamilaroi woman with family from Warren in North West NSW and connections to the Gunnedah region of NSW and Charleville in QLD. I worked at AIATSIS for 12 years – 10 of them in the Family History Unit at AIATSIS. I loved being able to reconnect people with their ancestors, their culture and language and, ultimately their identity. It was a privilege to be a part of that journey for so many people. Since 2012, I worked at the National Archives of Australia as an Indigenous Project officer and then Manager of Indigenous services. During my time there, I created the Archives’ first RAP, worked on the development of an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander strategy, wrote an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander protocol for the organisation and provided advice on a range of areas such as exhibition content, permissions, identifying and using sensitive material and providing services to Indigenous Australians. I joined the National Library in 2018 as Indigenous Curator and in 2019 took up the position of Assistant Director of Indigenous Engagement. I am passionate about connecting First Nations people up with records that hold their stories, histories, culture and language and for the libraries and other organisations that are custodians of that material inviting and welcoming places for our mob to visit.