OnDusk

I could have written why some people didn’t like the SBS/NITV event  First Contact before I watched the three-part series, the talk shows, the news and read hours and hours of Twitter. I could have beaten every one to the punchline: when people think like racists, it is harmful and in the right circumstances people will educate themselves. What happens when Aboriginal people are removed from their lands? There are vast areas of land in the Western Australian inland that are classed as uninhabitable because there is no water. That’s not quite right. There is water, it’s just deep underground and you need to know where to look. How Aboriginal people survived in these places without access to rivers and regular rainfall was by maintaining soaks, the ‘native water wells’. Without the knowledge that has been passed down for generations, you would probably never find a soak.   They were covered over to protect them from contamination, and in that heat with ...

In case you weren’t aware, please know there’s a campaign to have Indigenous people recognized in the Australian Constitution.  It’s been going for a while now. It has a lot of support from people from all walks of life. If also has it’s detractors. They come in all shapes and sizes too. So there are two other campaigns. One is to throw out some alternative ideas to recognition. A Treaty is one idea.  The other is to derail the Constitutional Recognition campaign. This goal splinters again into even more objectives. Confused? If you think that is confusing, then you are some way to understanding why some Aboriginal people do not like #FirstContactSBS.   Politics. Conflict. Suspicion. Blackout. If you are not aware that a writer or a spokesperson or a media identity is opposed to the Constitutional Recognition campaign then you wouldn’t get that because First Contact has some links – be they ever so faint – to the governme...

The first episode of the three-part documentary series First Contact  was a profoundly challenging event for a number of viewers, both black and white. Some of the reasons for discomfiture were plain to see, if like me, you watched the first episode with one eye on Twitter. First, a recap of Tuesday night’s explosive first episode : The three-episode documentary series was ' inspired by statistics showing six of 10 Australians had no contact with Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people '. If we are to build better relationships between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians and non-Indigenous Australians we must first understand the underlying values and perceptions that shape this relationship. Australian Reconciliation Barometer 2012 So began the quest to find 6 participants to film over four weeks in situations that would expose them to a diversity of Indigenous Australia lifestyles and perspectives. The p...

Book cover design by De Greer-Yindimincarlie Website  Yindi Artz - Authentic Aboriginal Creations Winner, Fashion Professional Category (textile design) 2013 Deadly Awards   Nominee, Visual Artist of the Year Award 2011 Deadly Awards & 2013 Deadly Awards  Photographer Paul Tuthill Website Paul Tuthill Photography Abbottsford NSW Sydney Reading 5.30 – 6.00pm 8 November Reading: ‘Honey’ with illustrations from Sam Wallman. Drawings to accompany Siv Parker's reading of her excellent short story 'Honey' at the NSW Writer's Centre on the wkend just past. Siv's book 'On Dusk' will be out soon available thru Amazon. Storytelling in the Garden Unwind to some illustrated readings from up-and-coming writers in our Indigenous mentorship program. Held in the Writers’ Centre garden with visual accompanimen...