Resources for Reconciliation

The following selection of resources is by no means exhaustive, but merely a sampling of what is out there about Australian Aboriginal culture, political experience, artistic self-expression and wider public opinion. This information has been supplied to us by a whole range of people who are interested in, and who care deeply about reconciliation in Australia.

Please help us continue to add to this collection of resources, by emailing president (at) umpa.unimelb.edu.au with your ideas and things you have come across which relate, however broadly, to Indigenous history and culture, contemporary issues, and to reconciliation. We’d love to hear from you!

Cultural Experiences

Aborignal Heritage Walk at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Melbourne www.rbg.vic.gov.au/rbg_melbourne/visitorinfo/whats_on#Heritage
Bunjilaka: The Aboriginal Cultural Centre at the Melbourne Museum http://museumvictoria.com.au/Bunjilaka
Ilbijerri Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Theatre Cooperative www.ilbijerri.org.au
Koori Heritage Trust: This cultural centre includes exhibitions, guided cultural tours, a library and a shop www.kooriheritagetrust.com
Tarerer: An Indigenous music, dance, art, food and community festival held annually in South-West Victoria (Port Fairy area) www.tarerer.com.au

Social Justice and Reconciliation

ANTAR: Australians for Native Title and Reconciliation www.antar.org.au
Australian Government: Department of Housing, Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs www.fahcsia.gov.au/internet/facsinternet.nsf/indigenous/nav.htm
Friends of the Earth www.foe.org.au/indigenous (The Melbourne Friends of the Earth branch is working with the Yorta Yorta people to gain protection of the Barmah–Millewa forest on the Murray River. Find out more at www.melbourne.foe.org.au/campaigns/barmah/index.htm)
Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice www.humanrights.gov.au/social_justice/index.htm
Reconciliation Australia www.reconciliation.org.au/i-cms.isp This independent, not-for-profit organisation was established in 2000 by the former Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation, and is the peak national organisation building and promoting reconciliation between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians for the well-being of the nation.
The Long Walk www.thelongwalk.com.au

Audiovisual

Films

TV Programs

Rabbit Proof Fence
Ten Canoes
The Tracker

Bush Mechanics: ABC TV series (DVDs)

Literature & The Written Word

Books

Grossman, Michelle (ed). Blacklines: Contemporary critical writing by Indigenous Australians. Carlton: Melbourne University Press, 2003.
Gelder, Ken & Jacobs, Jane. Uncanny Australia: Sacredness and identity in a postcolonial nation. Melbourne: Melbourne University Press, 1998.
Landon, Carolyn & Daryl Tonkin. Jackson’s Track: Memoir of a Dreamtime. London: Routledge, 1999.
Markus, Andrew. Race: John Howard and the remaking of Australia. NSW: Allen & Unwin, 2001.
Michaels, Eric. Bad Aboriginal Art: Tradition, Media, and Technological Horizons. Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press, 1994.
(An account of Eric Michael's period of residence and work with the Warlpiri Aborigines of western central Australia, where he studied the impact of television on remote Aboriginal communities.)
Mudrooroo (Colin Johnson). Wild Cat Falling. Sydney: Harper Collins, 2001 (originally published 1965).
Muecke, Stephen. Ancient and Modern: Time, culture, and Indigenous philosophy. Sydney: UNSW Press, 2004.
Pedersen, Howard & Banjo Woorunmurra. Jandamarra and the Bunuba Resistance. Broome: Magabala Books, 1999.
Pilger, John. A Secret Country. London: Vintage, 1989.
Purcell, Leah (ed). Black Chicks Talking. Sydney: Bungaburra Productions, 2002.
Reynolds, Henry. Why Weren’t We Told? A personal search for the truth about our history. Ringwood: Penguin, 1999.
Scott, Kim. True Country. WA: Fremantle Arts Centre Press, 1993.

Poetry

Fogarty, Lionel. New and Selected Poems, Munaldjali, Mutuerjaraera. Melbourne: Hyland House, 1995.
Fogarty, Lionel. Minyung Woolah Binnung: What Saying Says. Southport, Queensland: Keeaira Press, 2004.
Gilbert, Kevin (ed). Inside Black Australia. USA: Penguin, 1989.
Gilbert, Kevin. People are Legends. St. Lucia: University of Queensland Press, 1978.
Ngarla Songs. Collected by Alexander Brown, & translated by Brown & Brian Geytenbeek. Fremantle: FACP, 2003[20th century songs about station life].
Watson, Samuel Wagan. Smoke Encrypted Whispers. Queensland: University of Queensland Press, 2004.

Journals / Magazines / Articles

Hirst, John.‘A Story of Australia’. The Monthly. www.themonthly.com.au/tm/files/John-Hirst_Story-of-Australia.pdf
Hirst, John. ‘The Official History’. The Monthly. www.themonthly.com.au/tm/node/781
Morris, Meaghan. ‘“Please explain?” ignorance, poverty and the past’. Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 1 (2000): 219-232.
The Koori Mail: a national fortnightly paper ($2 per copy) www.koorimail.com