Conference Papers
Session CG.2.1. Honouring History
1. Jonathan Bogais: How word manipulation can change the face of history
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After George W Bush Junior’s election to the US presidency in 2000, the new administration’s priority was to manipulate public opinion in its favour. After the attacks of 11 September 2001 it became an obsession. Michael Deaver - a friend of Donald Rumsfeld (former US Defense Secretary), and a specialist in psychological warfare - advocated that military strategy should influence media coverage, especially television because, if the public supported a conflict, it was unstoppable. Without public support, the government was powerless. In an eerily similar scenario, former Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, used the media to justify his decision to launch the Northern Territory Intervention in 2007. This metamorphosis of the media raises fundamental questions: How are we to understand the world? How do we understand our culture? Until recently, we learned our history from the knowledge that our ancestors left us, from what archives contained, and what historians uncovered. Access to facts is difficult, and the versions of history circulated by the media are imposed without our being reasonably able to contest them. The confusion between seeing and knowing, and seeing and understanding, is used by the media to manipulate the public. A dictatorship uses censorship; in a democracy, manipulation is the chosen weapon. But the target of these assaults is always the same: the ordinary citizens, especially the young. When the media talk about themselves, they conceal the basic problem behind the form; they substitute technology for philosophy. They discuss how to cut, edit and print; but they do not concern themselves with the “content” that they are about to cut, edit and print. The messenger becomes the content of the message. Negative keywords and clichés are introduced to manipulate public opinion, and also out of laziness as this recent ABC TV report shows: “ABC Presenter (name withdrawn): “The history of Aboriginal funding in Australia is littered with stories of misspending and poorly-targeted schemes. Not so is a privately inspired Aboriginal Empl..” History is there for people to retrace where they are coming from, who were those who lead the way to create a better word, the procedures they followed, successes and failures. Without it, social scientists cannot help formulating policies introducing recommendations for change. Distorting history, willingly or unwillingly, breaks the connection between the young and older generations raising issues of identity. In this paper, Dr Bogais discusses those keywords and clichés as the first step towards better communication by understanding the different levels of misrepresentation when they occur. He quotes one of the last statements made by the late Aboriginal activist, Chicka Dixon: “Our intellectuals failed us.. We have no leadership.” Dr Bogais suggests that effective leadership is essential to addressing issues of misrepresentation and prejudice in how those issues are communicated by the media; thus protecting the integrity of history and the transmission of knowledge between generations. He looks at the relationship between negative communication and trauma.
Author bio: Investigative journalist, foreign correspondent, documentary-maker, activist, Jonathan Bogais is an advocate of indigenous movements in the Pacific and east Asian regions. Jonathan holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of the Sorbonne in Paris. His thesis and later works, exploring the cultural identity of Pacific and East Asian islanders, brought new perspectives on the struggles faced by the inhabitants of many islands and the inevitable changes to come. Eager to share knowledge and information, he chose journalism as a preferred means of expression. Fully bi-lingual (French/English), Jonathan worked as a foreign correspondent for international media organisations including the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio Canada (South-East Asia & Pacific correspondent) and Agence France Press (AFP). He has a considerable experience ranging from front-line investigating and reporting to background reports. His extensive experience with conflicts and crisis spans from Africa to South-East Asia, PNG and Timor. Jonathan was a regular correspondent to the London-based international edition of the Art Newspaper, Le Monde and National Geographic. He reported on the Aboriginal Deaths in Custody and Stolen Generation reports in the 1990s in Australia and was one of the first foreign journalists to bring the issue of Aboriginal copyrights to an international audience in 1996. He consults now as a News Editor for the international news agency, Agence France Press (AFP), also producing social, political, cultural documentaries mostly for National Geographic related projects. In 2009, the late Charles “Chicka” Dixon commissioned Jonathan to write his story: “Chicka Story”. The two spent many hours together before Uncle Chicka passed away in March 2010. In those last controversial interviews, which are the backbone of the story, Uncle Chicka told Jonathan his perspective about the past, the present and future for his people. “Chicka’s Story” is due for release in 2012. This project is supported by AIATSIS.
2. Fay Nelson: Honouring history is honouring our past
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Our past contains many people, many concepts and ideas that either have come to fruition, or have not. By honouring history, we honour the leaders who have achieved so much for the advancement of Aboriginal people, together with also honouring those people who perhaps did not succeed in everything they wanted to achieve, but at least tried. By honouring history, we are ensuring the connection between generations, the young and the old. I submit that many people today do not know, or do not honour, the leaders who fought so hard to gain equality for Aboriginal people. We need to talk about those people who fought for the right to speak freely, to walk freely, to live where we want, to travel this land without requirement to show a ‘permit of freedom’, to vote and get employment. We need to talk about what they have done and how. We need to talk about Chicka Dixon, Charles Perkins and the others, and the many people who supported them; whose names are often unknown, but which support was instrumental in helping those leaders impact on so many issues important to our people. I submit that there is a lot of disappointment with older people today that Aboriginal people have forgotten the past, and often their culture and protocols. They forgot how their own people were; fascinated instead with foreign culture and believing that it is the way of the world. I also submit that many Aboriginal people in positions of influence are lying about the past to suit their own agenda, showing great disrespect for their elders.If we are Aboriginal people, we need to honour our culture and the people who have made it possible for us to say that we are Aboriginal and proud of it. I submit that assimilation policies are working, as we are becoming Australians forgetting our own culture. So what have our elders fought for?Honouring history is about honouring culture. It is about honouring your background, where you’re coming from, and who you are. It is about honouring your family, your ancestry. It is about the connection between the youths and their elders through knowledge. If you do not honour them or your traditional culture, who are you? Quite often, I say: “Why do you identify as Aboriginal? Many Aboriginal people never did until recently. Why? Was it too hard? Was it easier to say, “We are not Aboriginal” to escape the racism impacted on people then? I give talks about culture and I see many people coming to us from Centrelink who tick the box endorsing their Aboriginality. Yet, when asked about their family, the answer is only too often: “I don’t know.” Many of these people say they are Aboriginal, yet they are unconcerned about learning who they really are, and what is Aboriginal culture about. Honouring history is about creating a bridge between the past and the present, the old and the young, and showing respect about the past when talking about it. It is about honesty.
Author bio: Fay Nelson is an elder of the Banjin people whose homeland is Hinchinbrook Island off the coast of North Queensland. She grew up as part of a large family on the bank of the Black River, north of Townsville in Queensland. Fay started pioneering Aboriginal Art in the 1970s at a time when this art form was almost invisible. She never stopped since. In her many roles in what has now become a major art & craft industry, she has travelled overseas lecturing and managing exhibitions in America and the South Pacific, introducing Aboriginal Art to a wide international audience. She was a founding member of the National Aboriginal and Islander Skills Development Association (NAISDA), and was the chair of that organisation for the first 13 years. NAISDA soon became the leading force behind a number of important Aboriginal cultural organisations. One of its most outstanding successes was the now internationally renowned “Bangarra Dance Theatre”, which emerged through the NAISDA College. Fay worked closely with Chicka Dixon and Charles Perkins for many years. (She was Uncle Chicka’s tribal sister.) Among many other important organisations she has been involved with, she attended the first meeting marking the birth of the Aboriginal Medical Service. Being instrumental in establishing the successful promotion and marketing of Aboriginal art nationally and internationally, Fay pursued a new career within the public service 1986 joining the Department for Aboriginal Affairs. She was appointed Director of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Arts Board in 1996 holding the position until 2000. In 2002 she joined the NSW Department for Women in the NSW Public Service and headed up the Aboriginal Women’s Unit during the following two years. In 2008, she returned to the workforce as the Business Development Manager and Community Relations Manager in her daughter’s company, Yarn’n Aboriginal Employment Services in Redfern where she continues to work today. Fay’s work was acknowledged in 2000, when she received the Order of Australia Medal for her services to Dance, Art and Culture.
3. Juno Gemes: Honouring History through Images
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Understanding, acknowledging and honouring history is one of the most potent ways to connect younger and older generations. To achieve this, we must be faithful to that history and honour the legacy of those who made it. Although this is true for every culture, it is particularly essential to the empowerment of Aboriginal people because of the struggle attached to the recognition of the truth behind Aboriginal history both locally & nationally. Maintaining the integrity of the History of the Aboriginal Struggle is essential as the foundation of contemporary Aboriginal history and identity. Tampering with history can only cause long-term hindrance by distorting identity and challenging the notion of being. How can younger generations face the challenges of the present and the future without a true knowledge of the past? How can they ascertain their identity if the connection between old and young generations is broken? This question is also seminally important for the Australian National Narrative. We can only have a true history in acknowledging the truth of Aboriginal experience in our collective history. Teaching it in schools is essential for the young generations to understand who they are, respect their elders and bring their culture proudly into contemporary society. When I began my photographic practice in the early 1970’s, I understood that photography presented a new means of communication between two cultures fundamentally different at a time when Aboriginal people and culture were invisible to most Australians. Photography for me was an activist engagement, and a contribution to the Movement and to the struggle for justice, which included essentially an acknowledgement of this country’s true history. Over time, I have discovered that the evidentiality of my photographs cannot be contested. My Archives of 40-years work created in collaboration and consultation with Aboriginal people has become a visual history of the Movement during this vibrant period in contemporary Aboriginal history. It was made possible through relationships with many great leaders who taught me, advised me and commissioned me. History is not a movable feast that can be re-written by every new generation. The evidentiality of photographs can be used as proof attesting to this history. The actions of leaders including Chicka Dixon and Charles Perkins who fought for decades to establish the basis for Aboriginal Empowerment in our lifetime should be respected. How can we affirm and protect the truth of personal and political histories? In discussing my work for the period spanning between the 1970s to the 1990s, especially in relation to Chicka Dixon, I shall discuss ways in which photography can be used to communicate both historic and cultural truths about the Movement. I shall discuss how Chicka Dixon mentored and encouraged me; his understanding that images would never lie, protecting history instead so that younger generations continue to learn from it and remain connected to their past and old people.
Author bio: Juno Gemes is regarded as one of Australia’s most celebrated contemporary photographers. In words and images, she has spent 40 years documenting the changing social landscape of Australia, in particular the lives and struggles of Aboriginal Australians; a process that culminated in her being one of the ten photographers invited to document the National Apology in Canberra in 2008. In 1982, Juno was a major contributor to “After the Tent Embassy” a landmark publication and exhibition at The Australian Centre of Photography; and to the “Apmira Artists for Land Rights Exhibition” at Paddington Town Hall. That year, she coordinated the Koorie Photography Workshop at The University of Sydney’s Tin Sheds Gallery. In 1994, Juno received a Senior Fellowship from the Australian Institute of Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS) to document and create a database for her photographic archive titled” “In Our Time - Photographs & Texts from the Movement 1969-1994.” In 2003 her solo exhibition: “Proof – Portraits from the Movement 1978-2003" was exhibited at The National Portrait Gallery in Canberra. “Proof” toured Regional Galleries for five years with a final showing at The Museum of Sydney in 2008. "Proof” was also exhibited at The Kluge Rhue Museum at The University of Virginia, USA. Juno's work has been exhibited in many solo and group group exhibitions in Australia, UK, and Europe. She has maintains her archive for over 40 years, always working collaboratively with Community Organisations and Publications. First published in Koorie Binda and the National Times, her photographs on The Movement have been widely published in over 100 publications, including The Encyclopaedia Of Aboriginal Australia and in The Monthly (April 2011).