Jimmy Little - Outreach and Recognition

Outreach and Recognition

From 1985 Little taught and mentored indigenous music students at the Eora Centre in Redfern and from 2002 he was an ambassador for literacy and numeracy for the Department of Education. Since 2000 Little was a guest lecturer at the University of Sydney's Koori Centre.

At the 1997 Mo Awards, Little was awarded the John Campbell Fellowship for "an outstanding contribution to the community beyond his normal career in the entertainment industry".

On Australia Day (26 January) 2004, Little was made an Officer of the Order of Australia with the citation, "For service to the entertainment industry as a singer, recording artist and songwriter and to the community through reconciliation and as an ambassador for Indigenous culture". Also that year he was named a Living National Treasure. In June 2005, on the last day of National Reconciliation Week, Little and composer Peter Sculthorpe were awarded honorary doctorates in music by the University of Sydney in recognition of "their joint contribution to reconciliation between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians". Other honorary doctorates have been awarded to Little by Queensland University of Technology and Australian Catholic University.

Little was diagnosed with kidney failure and, in 2004, after two years of self-administered dialysis he received a life saving kidney transplant. The experience led him to launch the Jimmy Little Foundation in 2006 to help the many other indigenous Australians who are succumbing to kidney disease. The foundation works with patients in regional and remote Australia and partnered with the Fred Hollows Foundation in 2009 to develop a nutrition and education program for indigenous children to reduce the cycle of bad nutrition leading to diabetes which can lead to kidney failure.

At the APRA Awards of 2010 Little was awarded the Ted Albert Award for 'Outstanding Services to Australian Music'. "Royal Telephone" was featured on the SBS documentary, Buried Country: The Story of Aboriginal Country Music (2000) and its accompanying CD.