Titles tagged with ‘Indigenous knowledge’
42 titles - sorted alphabetically or by year
1890s
Fanny Cochrane Smith’s Tasmanian Aboriginal Songs music – 1899
These are the earliest recordings of traditional Tasmanian Aboriginal songs and language.
1950s
Bitter Springs feature film – 1950
A family of white farmers fight to take possession of land and water that is home to a well-established Aboriginal clan.
The Phantom Stockman feature film – 1953
A bushman known as ‘the Sundowner’ helps cattle station heiress Kim Marsden investigate the death of her father.
1960s
A Changing Race documentary – 1964
An insightful portrait of Aboriginal people in Central Australia in the 1960s, highlighting their experience of racial discrimination and their integration in non-Aboriginal society.
The Magic Boomerang – The Discovery television program – 1965
Tom uses a magic boomerang to find treasure, foil his greedy cousin’s plans and save the family farm.
A Big Country – Peninsula People television program – 1968
An early episode of this iconic series. A Big Country aimed to bring country Australia into the lives of urban Australians.
Skippy – Be Our Guest television program – 1968
Clancy wants to make a good impression on her visiting mother. Instead, she gets lost in the bush where she is rescued by a group of Aboriginal men (played by visiting members of the Aboriginal Theatre from Yirrkala, Arnhem Land).
1970s
In the Wild with Harry Butler – Scars on the Landscape television program – 1976
Harry Butler seems the archetypal bushie, with his khaki shorts and battered bushman’s hat. He doesn’t work to a script, but moves around the bush with a keen eye.
My Survival as an Aboriginal documentary – 1978
The first documentary directed by an Indigenous woman offers a solution by way of continuing cultural practice.
1980s
Two Laws documentary – 1981
The concept of two laws – colonial and Indigenous law – can also be spoken about as two ways of storytelling or filmmaking.
Dreamtime, Machinetime documentary – 1987
There are strict rules about who can and can’t tell certain stories in indigenous culture, these distinguished artists reveal.
Nice Coloured Girls short film – 1987
The tongue-in-cheek title of Tracey Moffatt’s first film positions Aboriginal women as naïve and 'nice’ but these are merely roles played by the women.
1990s
Blackout – Malangi: A Day in the Life of a Bark Painter television program – 1991
A portrait of the internationally acclaimed Arnhem Land artist David Malangi, highly regarded in both Yolngu and western cultural traditions.
Land of the Apocalypse documentary – 1991
The traditional custodians of Kakadu National Park battle to protect an important sacred site from mining exploitation.
Keating Speech: The Redfern Address spoken word – 1992
In his famous ‘Redfern Address’, Prime Minister Paul Keating articulates injustices suffered by Australia’s Indigenous peoples and how society can redress them.
My Life as I Live It documentary – 1993
In this follow-up to My Survival as an Aboriginal (1978), also set in the Brewarrina Aboriginal community, 'Bush Queen’ Essie Coffey has nominated for the local council elections.
Warlpiri documentary – 1993
Elders teach children how to collect and prepare bush potato – a bush tucker favourite.
Message Stick – Blacktracker television program – 1996
A tribute to Aboriginal tracker Alexander Riley, a sergeant in the NSW Police Force and a recipient of the King’s Medal in 1943.
The Last of the Nomads documentary – 1997
A feature-length documentary about an expedition to find the last suriving nomadic couple, who broke tribal marriage laws and fled into the Gibson desert.
Vanish documentary – 1998
Ivan Sen’s Vanish explores the history of the Gamilaroi people being moved onto Toomelah Reserve.
2000s
Dog Dreaming documentary – 2001
Dog Dreaming is a documentary about the journey of two ancestral dogs that became a Dreaming story.
Message Stick – Bill’s Wake television program – 2001
Bill Neidjie, a traditional owner of Kakadu, had a wake while he was alive, rather than waiting until his death, to hear what people wanted to say about him.
Message Stick – Kurtal: Snake Spirit television program – 2002
A beautiful story about Kurtal, an ancestor and Dreaming song, and the Elder Spider, whose responsibility it is to perform the dance as well as pass it on.
The Dream and the Dreaming documentary – 2003
When Lutheran missionaries arrived in Central Australia, the strength of the existing culture made it challenging to make converts.
Message Stick – Arafura Pearl television program – 2003
This is a snapshot of the Mills family, a respected family in the Darwin area. Kathleen is an Indigenous Elder, mother of eight, musician and singer.
Message Stick – Wathaurong Glass television program – 2003
Wathaurong Glass is an initiative that not only creates a new way of expressing Aboriginal art, but also provides a service to the community from which it comes.
Mparntwe Sacred Sites documentary – 2004
This documentary about Mparntwe (Alice Springs) provides a history of the region and the journey of the ancestral beings that gave Mparntwe its form.
Warren H Williams, the stories, the songs documentary – 2004
Inspired by his musical family, Arrernte musician Warren H Williams became a singer-songwriter himself.
Message Stick – Black Olive television program – 2005
As a chef, Mark Olive has developed dishes that use Indigenous knowledge of fauna and flora and food preparation that complements the Australian landscape.
Message Stick – Scotty Martin, Rodeo Boy, Don’t Say Sorry television program – 2005
A story about songman Scotty Martin, who inherited the role of composer of songs, a repository of knowledge passed from generation to generation.
Message Stick – Wayne’s World television program – 2005
Indigenous actor and filmmaker Wayne Blair offers insights into his craft and recounts experiences from his career.
Crocodile Dreaming short film – 2006
A short film highlighting the role of traditional custodians in maintaining balance between the natural and spiritual worlds.
Ten Canoes feature film – 2006
The jumping-off point for Ten Canoes was a 1930s photo of Indigenous people taken by anthropologist Donald Thomson.
Bit of Black Business – Nana short film – 2007
This short film from Warwick Thornton is a humorous portrait of an all-rounder told from the perspective of her adoring granddaughter.
Bit of Black Business – The Turtle short film – 2007
Jason’s mother sends him to a small coastal town to keep him out of trouble. But it takes a turtle hunt with his grandfather to bring Jason out of his shell.
Deadly Yarns 3 – Who Paintin’ Dis Wandjina? short film – 2007
When a Perth artist uses traditional iconography as graffiti, the traditional owners are not impressed.
Double Trouble – Episode 4 television program – 2007
Double Trouble allows a cultural exchange to happen for the audience as well as the characters, as we follow the adventures of twin sisters who are both 'fish out of water’.
Double Trouble – Episode 7 television program – 2007
Double Trouble has entertaining and likeable characters and boasts an experienced cast. It also wonderfully captures an Indigenous sensibility and humour.
Message Stick – The Convincing Ground television program – 2007
The Kilcarer clan rally against a commercial development on a heritage-listed massacre site in Victoria known as the Convincing Ground.
Bush Toys documentary – 2008
A group of boys from the Titjikala community maintain the desert tradition of making miniatures or ‘bush toys’ from materials found in the environment.
First Australians – Episode 1, They Have Come to Stay documentary – 2008
The opening episode of this landmark television series explores the first contact, meetings and relationships between the British and the first Australians.
River of No Return documentary – 2008
A thought-provoking film that explores the issues involved in living a traditional lifestyle while trying to gain access to the larger, dominant society.
