A First Nations community south of Alice Springs is trying to save the endangered Pertame language which has only thirty remaining fluent speakers in the world.
A campaign has begun to build a classroom hub for the Pertame School to host language classes.
Pertame, considered one of the most endangered languages in the world, is an ancient and rich language carrying more than 60,000 years of history.
The land on which the Pertame School will be built was returned to the community under the Aboriginal Land Rights Act.
Alongside classrooms, the land will also be used for accommodation, storage and to reintroduce native bush foods and medicines.
The Pertame School organisation launched in 2015 in an attempt to connect children back to Country through on-Country language camps to revive intergenerational language transmission.
Pertame Elder Christobel Swan said she recalls when they were not allowed to speak their language.
"I remember when I was about ten, we used to come in from the station. We'd be walking along the street and people would say 'don't talk that language'," she said.
"Even at school they used to give us a hiding on the playground. And I often used to think why should I speak English? That's not my language."
With Survival Day now approaching, the Pertame School are hoping to finally build a permanent home for their language classes to ensure its longevity.
Campaign lead and Pertame woman Vanessa Farrelly said they are seeing more support rise as January 26 approaches.
"Many non-Indigenous Australians feel deeply conflicted about the date, and the history it represents," she said.
"Australia has one of the worst records in the world for language extinction, and Pertame is at a tipping point with all living fluent speakers being in the grandparent and great grandparent generation.
"To save our language and the ancient culture, worldview and ecological knowledge it contains, we must act fast. We need a home for our language, on the land the language came from."
Donations can be made through the Pertame School website.
