Dr. Shellie Morris AO - Singing For Our Little Ones
In a powerful celebration of First Nations languages, culture, and the voices of women, Dr. Shellie Morris AO proudly reveals ‘Singing For Our Little Ones’ — a ground-breaking new album created especially for early years education.
Released after Shellie was honoured with the prestigious 2025 Red Ochre Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cultural Advocacy and Leadership, the album marks the realisation of a long-held dream to create an album geared towards young people.
“Our little ones are our future and they take on different languages with so much joy and fun, we’ve had a blast creating this work around lots of tea, biscuits and laughter” Dr. Morris said.
The acclaimed singer-songwriter, language warrior and mentor came together with Warumungu language advocates and co-writers Rosemary Plummer from Tennant Creek, her sister Marlene Plummer and fellow grandmother Miriam Frank.
Completely female-led, the project was driven by Connected Beginnings Tennant Creek and is a joyful and educational resource designed to reconnect children and communities with the beauty and power of First Languages.
The album features nine uplifting, playful and nurturing songs in Warumungu and English, developed in collaboration with the Plummer sisters and Miriam who are part of only a small handful of fluent speakers left in the world.
UNESCO’s endangered language lists Warumungu as “severely endangered” meaning it is generally spoken by grandparents and older generations. While younger people may understand Warumungu, they don’t speak it to their kids.
This is something the three Warumungu women want to see change which is what has driven Rosemary’s 20-year desire to create a children’s album.
“We want our little ones to have a spark for Warumungu, for all Aboriginal languages,” Rosemary said.
“We want them to have fun and want to keep our language alive.”
“This album was created from the hearts of women: for children, for families, for the future,” said Shellie.
“It’s about honouring the voices of Elders, language custodians, and mothers who carry the strength of our cultures. We want children to grow up feeling strong in their identity and connected to Country, community and learning.”
Singing For Our Little Ones is more than just music — it’s a dynamic classroom and community resource. The album is accompanied by nine curriculum-aligned lesson plans for use in early primary classrooms, a beautifully illustrated children’s book and colouring sheets, and backing tracks and a teacher framework to support authentic local-language engagement in schools across the country.
Designed to empower teachers and schools to build respectful relationships with First Nations language holders in their own communities, the project provides a model of genuine two-way learning - fostering inclusion, curiosity, and pride.
The album and supporting materials are available through the official Singing For Our Little Ones website, offering a meaningful tool for educators, families and communities to start the day with song, language, and strong hearts.
This project is proudly supported by funding from the National Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Music Office (NATSIMO), APRA AMCOS and MusicAus
Dr Shellie Morris AO’s album ‘Singing For Our Little Ones’ is available to stream now.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO SINGING FOR OUR LITTLE ONES
CLICK HERE TO VISIT SITE TO LEARN
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