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Urban stories
Leane calls for more Indigenous Literature in Australian curriculum
Aboriginal students need to have access to literature which is written about them and by them, AIATSIS Indigenous Research Fellow and Queensland Premier’s Literary Award 2009 short-listed author, Jeanine Leane will say at the upcoming AIATSIS National Indigenous Studies Conference in Canberra.
“It would be good to see a more eclectic selection of Aboriginal literature embedded throughout the entire curriculum.” Ms Leane said, ahead of her presentation at the conference on Wednesday 30 September. “In the struggle to close the gap for Indigenous literacy we need to inspire young readers and they need to see themselves reflected in the literature they are studying.”
Ms Leane will be presenting a paper on Indigenous representations in 19th and 20th century Australian literature, entitled “The White Man’s ‘Aborigine : What are the dominant portrayals of Aboriginal people in Anglo-Western Australian Literature” at the National Indigenous Studies Conference.
Through her analysis of early Australian social realism texts, Ms Leane has revealed the experience of “Aboriginality” in a frontier landscape set amidst a dominant culture of colonisation. Her work progresses through various literary representation of Aboriginality - from the 'Romantic and Savage' stereotyped depictions of Patrick White, and Katharine Pritchard through to the 'Viable and Complex' depictions by David Malouf and other contemporary authors. She says that, “many of the Aboriginal characters depicted in these stories are stereotypical depictions lacking individuality and a sense of purpose, becoming like automations as they make their way through the cultural landscape.”
Urban ‘freedom’ enabled Aboriginal protest: Maynard
Urban spaces gave Aboriginal people the freedom to fight against racism and oppression and connect with international ‘blackfella’ ideologies, AIATSIS Deputy Chairperson Professor John Maynard will tell the AIATSIS National Indigenous Studies Conference next week.
Professor Maynard will be speaking on Fred Maynard and Marcus Garvey: storming the urban white space at Perspectives on Urban Life: Connections and Reconnections at the Australian National University in Canberra on Tuesday 29 September.
“Aboriginal people had the opportunity to be in a space of freedom – away from the confines of the Protection Boards. They were in the urban space and were able to meet, mobilise and talk up an agenda. That was the catalyst for that movement at that time,” Professor Maynard said.
“It was that movement of Aboriginal people to the city space that generated the first organised, united Aboriginal movement in the 1920s. But I have to say, it was the experience of what was happening in the country that was what they were fighting about.
“They were fighting for Aboriginal land. They were fighting to stop the practice of kids being taken away, the attacks against cultural identity. All of those things they were fighting for were connected to the rural areas and there was a great network that they set up. But it was in this city space that it was able to ferment and they were given the freedom to vent their wrath.”
In the paper, Professor Maynard also recognises the influences of African-Americans, West Indians and South Africans on early Aboriginal political mobilisation.
“You had Aboriginal people in Sydney prior to the 1930s – people were already living in Redfern, Woolloomooloo and Chullora – they were working in the railways, on the wharves, in areas of opportunity. It’s also the contacts they made there with trade unionists and those connections, particularly on the wharf, with visiting International blackfellas,” Professor Maynard said.
“Through discussion, they gained the mindset of an ideology that was already happening overseas – they realised they weren’t alone. So the racism and prejudice and oppression that was happening here was a global thing and they needed global manifestos if you like to tackle it.”
Photographing modern Indigenous Australia: Wayne Quilliam
Growing up as an Aboriginal boy in Tasmania in the 1970s, NAIDOC Artist of the Year, Wayne Quliiam knows what it means to wrestle with the ideas of image and indentity.
“Leaving Tasmania in the late 70s as a boy being told there were no Aborigines left then growing up in rural, remote and urban communities on the mainland who helped influence my development into an Aboriginal man gives me a unique insight into how we express identity,” Mr Quilliam said ahead of his exhibition and presentation at the AIATSIS National Indigenous Studies Conference 2009 in Canberra.
“The perception of who we are as Modern Aborigines is diverse and needs to be expressed as that.”
Mr Quilliam will speak about the power of the photographic image and the photographer’s responsibility to use that power fairly. His paper, Photography and Representation, will help to clarify how modern Aboriginal people see themselves and what images they want to project to the world.
“Modern Aboriginal identity is a perplexing issue for both Indigenous and Non-Indigenous people. Photography coupled with technology changes the way we create and view images. In particular the internet allows us to explore these issues in a more immediate way.”
Mr Quilliam's work continues to inspire and create iconic representations of modern Aboriginal Australians. His exhibition at the Manning Clarke Centre at the Australian National University in Canberra as part of the conference will show 20 photographic portraits from many communities, including rural, remote and urban.
2009 NAIDOC Photographer of the year, Wayne Quilliam has been recognised with the 2008 Human Rights Award and was a finalist for the Walkley Awards.
More Torres Strait Islander stories help promote culture: Faulkner
Torres Strait Islander people must find their literary voice in order to share understanding of their culture, AIATSIS Indigenous Researcher Samantha Faulkner will say at the upcoming AIATSIS National Indigenous Studies Conference in Canberra from 29th September – 1st October 2009.
“Indigenous storytellers need to find their voice to tell their stories and promote an understanding of our culture,” Ms Faulkner said.
“We need to encourage people to tell their stories and bring together their urban identity with their cultural responsibilities. Developing written work and collaborating with non-Indigenous authors to produce new work will further promote an understanding of Torres Strait Islander culture.”
Ms Faulkner will present Torres Strait Islander representation through literature on Wednesday 30 September, discussing current work by Martin Nakata, Ellie Gaffney and Terri Janke who have all expressed their dual commitment to culture and academic advancement.
“We need to develop a critical mass of literary works which have a broad connection with people across the entire community, from academic works to teaching aids. It’s important for students to return to their traditional homelands and explore their cultural heritage not only in the physical sense but also in a literary sense to connect with culture, hear the stories of our elders and to enable us to move forward,” Ms Faulkner said.
In her book, Life b'long Ali Drummond: A Life in the Torres Strait (Aboriginal Studies Press, 2007) Samantha writes about her grandfather’s experiences first hand.
“I wanted to record his experiences and unique insights into pearl shell diving, and the Indigenous perspective of the WWII bombing of Horn Island. It is an important way of knowledge sharing for our family’s heritage and also the wider community.”