167 Engaging with Archived Warlpiri Songs Georgia Curran Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney 1 Conservatorium Rd. Sydney NSW 2006 AUSTRALIA [georgia.curran@sydney.edu.au] Simon Japangardi Fisher Pintupi, Anmatyerr, Warlpiri Media and Communications Yuendumu Community via Alice Springs NT 0872 AUSTRALIA [simon@pawmedia.com.au] Linda Barwick Sydney Conservatorium of Music, University of Sydney 1 Conservatorium Rd. Sydney NSW 2006 AUSTRALIA [linda.barwick@sydney.edu.au] Abstract In the Central Australian Warlpiri community of Yuendumu, efforts to document and revitalise Warlpiri songs take place in an era where there are fewer contexts for the performance of associated ceremonies, consequently increasing the endangerment of this unique intellectual tradition. This paper outlines recent initiatives providing contexts for Warlpiri people to engage with archived recordings through repatriation based on-country at the Warlpiri Media Archive. We examine the community’s perspectives and responses to legacy recordings made in the 1950s and 1960s, which captured a particular way of singing that has undergone significant change over the last few decades, even though some of the people who were recorded are still alive today. The individuals who have so far engaged with these archived recordings have drawn out unique perspectives on their contents, including insights into language change, shifting musical structures and the markedly different performance contexts in which these songs were once performed. These examples illustrate that repatriation efforts are much more than a simple process of ‘return’ of cultural materials to their communities of origin—re-engagement with legacy recordings influences performance traditions in their contemporary contexts. Introduction In this paper, we discuss recent initiatives to repatriate legacy recordings of Warlpiri songs made in the 1950s and 1960s to people living in the community of Yuendumu. Just as the original contexts shaped the content and how these recordings were made, so too contemporary contexts, including contingencies of present-day social life and relationships between the intercultural teams of people who undertake this research, shape and influence the effects of repatriation activities on Warlpiri social, political and ceremonial life today. Archived recordings are often seen from a conservative community perspective as capturing a more ‘traditional’ version of songs and ceremonies. In this paper, we consider the effects this perception has on present-day understandings of cultural heritage, and consequently, on linguistic, musical and performance components of contemporary Warlpiri ceremonies. To begin this paper, we outline some of the history of academic research in Yuendumu, outlining a community-focused shift that saw Warlpiri people in the 1980s claiming the right to represent themselves in research contexts, to be the creators of their own records of cultural heritage and the initiators of research projects that drive cultural revival. Following this, we discuss our recent Australian Research Council Linkage project ‘Vitality and change in Warlpiri songs’ (2016–2019) and the central role of the Warlpiri Media Archive as the on-country base for repatriation initiatives. From here, we present some Warlpiri perspectives on recently repatriated recordings originally made in the 1950s and 1960s and brought back to Yuendumu from the Canberra-based audio collections of the Australian Institute for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS). Individual Warlpiri perspectives on language change, along with historical shifts in musical styles and performance contexts, are brought to bear to demonstrate that repatriation efforts always exist within