The artist keeping Indigenous language alive on Aussie coins

Gold coins with illustrations of native animals and their names in Gudanji/Wakaja language have been released this week.

Experts say visibility matters in language revitalisation as national efforts are underway to preserve and strengthen Indigenous languages for future generations.

Australians can keep an eye out for the new $2 coin featuring a Jurrgubadi (goanna) as it enters circulation, while all five $1 designs celebrate native Australian animals and their traditional names.

The next time you reach for a gold coin, artist Ryhia Dank hopes you'll discover something new about First Nations culture.

The Sunshine Coast-based Gudanji/Wakaja and Kalkadoon artist has illustrated a collection of $1 and $2 coins with six native animals and their names in language.

"I want the kids back home to pick up the coin and say, 'Oh, that's the crocodile that's floating down the river, or the brolgas that are dancing there'," Dank said.

Dank — who creates under the name nardurna meaning "woman" — is from Borroloola in the Gulf of Carpentaria region in the Northern Territory.

She said the collection offered an opportunity to share the Gudanji language, and encourage others to learn about the Country on which they live.

However, her greatest hope is keeping the language alive.

"There aren't many speakers of the Gudanji language left, like a lot of languages all around Australia that are unfortunately dying down."

First Languages Australia, the peak body for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island language communities, said of the more than 700 documented, unique languages, fewer than 100 were used today in "everyday context".

Senior program officer Ella Woods said language revitalisation must be led by the communities who own and speak the languages, alongside governments and institutions.

"Being able to have language custodians involved in those processes is really essential".

She said storytelling and art played an important role in strengthening languages.

"It's a beautiful way for not only communities to be able to reconnect … but also for non-Indigenous people to be able to see those languages represented through artwork and song and dance and storytelling."

University of Queensland linguistics professor Felicity Meakins said that visibility played an important role in encouraging younger generations to learn and use the traditional language.

She pointed to examples such as the translation of Bluey into Yolŋu Matha and children's books written in Gurindji.

"It's extremely important for those young lives because they're seeing that their language is important, their culture is important, and this has a really huge influence on their feeling of wellbeing."

Professor Meakins said initiatives that brought First Nations languages into everyday spaces, including currency, also played an important role.

"Because [coins are] such an everyday thing that all of us use, means that those languages have a public space that they wouldn't necessarily have."

The Our Animals, Our Country coins were released as a collection this week with some $2 coins already in circulation.

The project was a collaboration of the Australian Mint, Australia Post and the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (ILF), of which Ms Dank is an ambassador.

For almost 20 years, the foundation has supported literacy in remote communities, donating more than 150,000 books to approximately 508 communities.

"It's an amazing opportunity for us just to focus on language — the power of it, the visual storytelling that goes with the written word and to have this celebrated across the country on a coin is incredible for us," chief executive Ben Bowen said.

Mr Bowen said while a disconnect between Elders and youth could create barriers to passing language down, the artwork and language on the coins could help to change that.

"I think this is a beautiful way for us to start conversations and spark that curiosity and all be willing to learn more," he said.

Reflecting on her Northern Territory mob nearly 3,000 kilometres away from the Sunshine Coast, Dank became emotional as she recalled loved ones — living and passed — who had inspired her work.

"I wanted to make sure that these animals were relatable for my family back home and community."

And she's looking forward to sharing the coins with her grandmother when she's next back home.

"Like most grannies, mine loves playing cards, so I'll be taking a few for her to play with and she can see her animals on there."