Aboriginal Healing,
Sharing Culture |
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"The important stories of Indigenous Australia are simply not present, not in circulation, for many of us."
Ellie Rennie, Inside Story |
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Jandamurra is born on a cattle station in the Kimberley in 1870s. His hybrid life takes a bloody turn when he trades in his status as a police tracker for his own people. Gladys Gilligan is one of more than 50,000 half-caste children plucked from her family and sent to a mission. The Chief Protector of Aborigines, AO Neville, institutionalises her first son, orders her to be arrested, and denies her the right to marry three times, but she remains resolutely independent.
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You can see all seven parts of the wonderful TV series 'First Australians' by SBS on their website. It relates history from the perspective of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. This series will help you understand how trauma has been transmitted across the generations of Australia's First People.
I've included a clip from the beginning of Part 5 of the series, just to give you a flavour of the series. You can access the series on YouTube, although each episode is broken down into shorter parts. Also check out various aspects of the SBS website, although be aware that some of the links don't work. And you have to face annoying advertising! About the seriesFirst Australians chronicles the birth of contemporary Australia as never told before, from the perspective of its first people. First Australians explores what unfolds when the oldest living culture in the world is overrun by the world's greatest empire.
Over seven episodes, First Australians depicts the true stories of individuals - both black and white - caught in an epic drama of friendship, revenge, loss and victory in Australia's most transformative period of history. The story begins in 1788 in Sydney, with the friendship between an Englishmen (Governor Phillip) and a warrior (Bennelong) and ends in 1993 with Koiki Mabo's legal challenge to the foundation of Australia. First Australians chronicles the collision of two worlds and the genesis of a new nation. |
Producer's statement"When SBS first came to ask me if I were interested in doing a major documentary series on Indigenous history I enthusiastically agreed although I had no idea what it would be. I approached my business partner Darren Dale, and he also readily agreed. All we knew is that it would be bigger than anything we had done before.
In making First Australians it has been common for many to ask why hasn't this story been told? The truth is these stories have been told, at least in print, by the historians we feature in our series. There is more being written all the time and there is a substantial body of work to be found in good libraries if you have the interest. Although First Australians cannot hope to be as comprehensive as the work of these historians, it will provide the public (in the comfort of their own homes), a taste of the story that remains to be understood. Hopefully it will spark national interest in the people on whose lands we have made our homes." Rachel Perkins, Director, Writer & Producer |