The Festival of Indigenous Studies and a Happy Christmas

Autonomedia inspired. We had some incredible content at last month's Practitioners Forum which we will disseminate in an Autonomedia style publication titled Same but Different; and what a privilege to share the podium with so many gifted, intact, Aboriginal men and women.  Same but Different will be on the streets in July 2014.

The Festival of Indigenous Studies. For the AIS team, and our constituency, 2014 will be a year long celebration of Indigenous Studies. in the first part of the year we'll be presenting symposiums on Whiteness, and the fiction of B. Wongar, as well as launching two more film productions. On 2&3 October we'll be convening a major symposium  Reading the Country: After 30 years to mark the 30th anniversary of Reading the Country's publication.  Stephen Muecke and some of the leading scholars of that generation will be in attendance. As well as giving papers they'll interact with emerging, young, and unincorporated scholars addressing the multi-facted themes of Reading the Country: Introduction to Nomadology. We'll conclude the year with a major film launch in early December.

Baraka, spiritual radiance, whatever - Nile Rogers was in town last week emphasising the importance of affirming, seeking, and doing - now, before what is written comes to pass. And what is written? Nobody knows.*

A happy Christmas from Australian Indigenous Studies.

*Conrad, The Rescue

The Swan Book

The Swan Book. An inspiring celebration of Alexis Wright  and her latest novel  The Swan Book at the Ginger Garlic restaurant in Eltham. Meera Govill, proprietor of The Eltham Bookstore MC'd the event. Ivor Indyk, Giramondo publisher and Alexis' editor spoke of working with Alexis on  Carpentaria  and The Swan Book, Alexis spoke of her writing method and philosophy and the inspiration she derived from Italo Calvino's, Six Memos for the Next Millenium, i.e., the qualities of lightness, quickness, exactitude, visibility and multiplicity. Finally, our students Jon Ricketson and Kate Rendell delivered succinct lectures that combined appreciation with critique of Alexis' work. All this with delicious Indian food and a Southern twilight.

Healing Cards. I've just seen these fabulous cards produced by the Boorndawan Willam Women's Art Therapy group. Each card features their original artwork and inspirational quotes.

Christmas presents? Purchase them from Boorndawan Willam Aboriginal Healing Service

Mosley vs Mundine. Noteworthy points: i) the playing of national anthems was dispensed with. (The playing of anthems at prize fights is a late 20th century innovation now sacrosanct for many.) ii) The crowd was largely Lebanese Muslim or Aboriginal: it was suggested that Team Mundine had given away a lot free tickets to the fight. iii)Aboriginal dancers entered the ring before the fight and appeared to sweep it clean for both fighters.  iv)This was one of those rare occasions when Anthony was cheered into the ring  and his opponent booed.)

Diversity. Finally, the work of diversity never ends and for the selfless workers there is no rest but here's an uplifting story about a brother who found his place in a corporation. 

2013 Golden Bilbys. A Thousand Plateaus scooped the Bilby's with Sam Taylor and Meredith Hinze taking out awards  for production and educational design respectively, and Justin Clemens scoring Best Actor and Lauren Bliss Best Actress. (The film was developed for Australian Indigenous Studies students but will be available for general use by anyone with an interest in Deleuze and Guattari.) Edward Morrissey took the Frog D'or for the design and engineering of an app that allows Australian Indigenous studies students to view course readers on an iOS device with the benefits of speedy navigation and easy access to citations. Works on iPad or iPhone, and an Android version is now in production. No excuses for not getting the reading done for tutorial!



 And this week:

Australian Indigenous Studies 2013 Practitioner’s Forum

Friday 15th November

“Same but Different: Indigeneity and Diversity in the Corporate University”

9:30am – 4:30pm, Friday 15th November Yasuko Hiraoka Room, Sidney Myer Asia Centre

Australian Indigenous Studies Practitioner’s Forum 2013: “Same but Different: Indigeneity and Diversity in the Corporate University” – a practical forum for people working within Indigenous Studies, developing Indigenous content or working with Indigenous Australian students.

Speakers: Celeste Liddle (Arrernte), Jason Mifsud (Gunditjmara), Philip Morrissey (Kalkadoon), Heidi Norman (Gamilaroi), Sandra Philips (Waka Waka, Goreng Goreng), Chelsea Bond (Munanjahli, South Sea Islands).

Discussion themes will include: 

- ‘Things must go both ways’ 

- Activism within Corporate Institutions 

 - Practical strategies for change 

 - The Larissa Behrendt report on Higher Education Access and

Outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander People

For catering purposes please RSVP: Kate Rendell rendellk@unimelb.edu.au

The Golden Bilby Awards. 

The winners of the Australian Indigenous Studies teaching and learning community’s 2013 Golden Bilby Awards will be announced at a gala event this Friday 

The evening will include the debut screening of A Thousand Plateaus the new AIS teaching film, starring Justin Clemens and Lauren Bliss. We will also be presenting the coveted Golden Bilby Award for the motion picture that best represents the aims and philosophies of the Australian Indigenous Studies program and the inaugural Frog D’or  for a technological innovation that most enhances the learning outcomes of Australian Indigenous Studies students.

No Bilbys were harmed in the Awarding of this Award.
Music provided by Wale, Nancy Sinatra, and Kamahl,  and includes occasional coarse language.

Flashmob - No Bystanders

The Election

Indigenous commentators: perspectives on Aboriginal policies and the Federal election

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/03/indigenous-vote-australian-election#start-of-comments

Martinis in Hell

This Sunday is the first time in 10 years, or more, that I won't be giving a lecture, or speaking to, prospective students about Indigenous Studies at the University of Melbourne.

2. NTEU Melbourne Branch members unanimously voted not to participate in Open Day 2013. It's non-participation rather than a strike. In a system that encourages individualism and self-interest I've never been paid for my attendance, nor has it ever translated into anything remotely like personal benefit in an institutional sense.

3. For the record, I reject almost every aspect of the Left's agenda but they'll be serving martinis in hell before I cross a picket line.

Gurrumul-His life and Music.

 

ELTHAMbookshop, Nillumbik Reconciliation Group, Monstalvat and ABC Books

present

Robert Hillman, author of Gurrumul His Life and Music

From concert halls to recording studios and into Aboriginal heartlands, this is the story of Australia’s Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu. This unique Indigenous man is one of the most inspiring music stories of our generation. Part road trip, part biography, Robert Hillman’s account of Gurrumul’s life and music offers rare insights into the sources of his inspiration. The book includes interviews with family and friends, song lyrics and exclusive photographs. His story is one of a great talent revealed and of an astonishing musical gift that has left audiences all over the world spellbound. The book includes an exclusive CD of remixed songs from his bestselling albums ‘Gurrumul’ and ‘Rrakala’ featuring rare remixes of the songs ‘Bäpa’ and ‘Gurrumul History (I was Born Blind)’ and ‘Warwu’. 

Robert Hillman is a Melbourne-based writer of fiction and biography. His autobiography THE BOY IN THE GREEN SUIT won the Australian National Biography Award for 2005. His critically acclaimed MY LIFE AS A TRAITOR (written with Zarah Ghahramani) was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Award for Non-Fiction in 2008 and was published widely overseas. He has co authored with Najaf Mazari, The Rugmaker of Mazar e Sharif and The Honey Thief.

This evening will be introduced by Philip John Morrissey,Academic Coordinator, Australian Indigenous Studies,The Faculty of Arts, University of Melbourne

Venue: The Barn, Montsalvat, Hillcrest Avenue, Eltham

Date: June 4th

Mundine vs Geale II

Fighters waiting for the bell for the opening round

Big time boxing came to Sydney as two intact Aboriginal family men fought for the world middleweight title. Daniel Geale's family and team showed laudable patience as Anthony Mundine became evermore outrageous in his attacks on Geale and remarks about 'Uncle Toms' past and
present. Poorly expressed - but the point he was making is deserving of consideration when reframed. For Aboriginal professionals being Aboriginal is an asset: 'A barrister and an Aboriginal!' 'The first Aboriginal Rhodes Scholar!' For grassroots Koories Aboriginality is the focus of exclusion, marginalisation and police harassment.

As for the fight - out of solidarity I had no intention of barracking for one against the other. Both fighters relied on Aboriginal motifs as they entered the ring. With most of the crowd against him Mundine drew on a small group of partisans for support, and most importantly, the women of his family. They sat directly behind his corner  and during course of the fight would rise from their seats to urge him on. For any Aboriginal who possessed the cultural knowledge to understand it the symbolism of this was potent. With his obdurate pride, and the support of his women, he pretty much demonstrated for an unknowing crowd the reality of the Aboriginal warrior.



Coming soon to Youtube. Under 25s in non-PC conversation with film maker Warwick Thornton.

Let's Make More Spear

 Make More Spear. We’ve now launched the first Aboriginal designed and built smart ‘phone app. The For us By Us aspect is the least important part of this achievement.  Some of the less obvious, but more far-reaching implications, will be explicated in a paper we’ll write on the project.  What it has done in the first instance is provide a real-world basis for critique of high profile social media projects relying on non-Indigenous technical expertise. Hence we’ve taken the Frank Yamma song to heart:   Let's Make More Spear – a further stage in community development requires that the technology, the spear, return to Aboriginal hands.

Geale vs Mundine. The fight’s set for the Sydney Entertainment Centre, 30 January next year and I’ve got a ticket. I expected Mundine would start sledging Geale about his Aboriginality (that’s only a reflection of the tensions within Aboriginal communities) but he went too far with his disrespectful objectification of Geale’s wife.  In doing that Mundine infringed the honour codes of boxing and ensured that there would be a personal edge to the contest. The only surprise is why, at this late stage of his career, is Anthony so bitter? In money terms he has been incredibly successful, and he’s chosen that path. Geale, like fellow Australians Robbie Peden and Michael Katsidis, has been a road warrior - Mundine has stayed  home and promoted his own fights against his own opponents. Once, according to oldtimers, promoters wouldn’t match Aboriginal fighters because it was expected they would take it easy on each other. Things have changed.

The Second AIS Biennial Practitioners Colloquium. Starting on the evening of the 27^th with special guest Tracey Bunda, and concluding with a full day on 28 November.  Looking good for more details, or to rsvp, contact Kate Rendell. 

Scott Lecture and Colloquium Photographs

and more on the Kim Scott Colloquium Facebook page...

Healing

Mobile 'Phone Apps. A nice end to NAIDOC Week celebrations when the first stage in the development of a mobile 'phone app for clients of the Boorndawan Willam Aboriginal Healing Service coincided with Melbourne's Outer Eastern Region NAIDOC Ball. Quite an achievement - the young Indigenous software engineer developed the app while completing an Honours degree and dealing with the potentially life-threatening illness of a close family member. After missing out on funding we invested our own time and money because of the urgency of the need. Maybe it was a bit like leading with your chin to commence our funding application with the following: ‘V. S. Naipaul famously said that the colonised were condemned to use the telephone never to invent it. This project contests the fatalism of Naipaul’s dictum in two ways: It builds mastery and capacity in Indigenous communities in relation to evolving information technologies and systems; and Indigenous leadership and knowledge are central to the methodology it uses.’

AIME (Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience). This organisation continues to set new benchmarks in achievement. A recent email:


'They say good things come in threes. Think Musketeers, happy birthday cheers and Origin deciders...

And now, for the third year running, AIME kids have finished school at almost the same rate as every Australian child. We've just released the 2011 AIME Annual Report, and the results are in. 
 

It's because of results like these that ABC told AIME's Australian Story. It's because of results like these that the Prime Minister of Australia donned an AIME Hoodie to celebrate Indigenous success. And it's because of people like you that we're seeing a generation of Indigenous kids, a generation of Indigenous and non-Indigenous university Mentors, and a whole nation, step up to believe in something bigger, something better.' 

Check out AIME 's annual report and also  the University of Melbourne's own Seamless Transition Education Pathway (STEPP) program.

Honourable Mention. "A good night's drinking in the village. Sharrocks and I went to the local cinema to see  film about the aborigines of Australia - Bitter Springs. The aborigines were good.' John Fowles,  The Journals: Volume 1, 2003, 159.


Don't Forget. @ 7.00pm, on the 25th of July Australian Indigenous Studies hosts a major address by Professor Kim Scott at the Spot Basement Theatre, Business and Economics.  In a wide-ranging address Professor Scott will bring together his concerns with Indigenous cultural renewal though language revitalization, and the role of literature in an evolving vision of Australia in the twenty-first century. This event will be followed by a reception to honour Professor Scott.

http://www.facebook.com/TheKimScottColloquium

A New Generation

Congrats.  to John Morrissey, a son of the Kalkadoons, who received the Faculty of Arts Richard Gunter Prize for 3rd Year English in 2011.

 And Lilly Brown - currently an Honours student in the Australian Indigenous Studies program, Lilly will commence an MA at the University of Cambridge later this year.

The Kim Scott Colloquium 2012

Guest Post from Ruby Lowe, Co-Coordinator, The Kim Scott Colloquium

Australian Indigenous literature has played a major role in my literary education at The University of Melbourne.  I am currently completing my honours thesis on the political dimensions of John Milton’s early poetry, while taking course work subjects in English Literature and Australian Indigenous Studies. I am also co-convening the first national conference on an Australian Indigenous author with Philip Morrissey. 

The idea for the Kim Scott Colloquium 2012 began as a series of informal discussions by a dedicated group of Kim Scott’s readers. Interest within the university, combined with Kim Scott’s recent accumulation of literary accolades, made Philip and I realise that there should be a formal academic recognition and analysis of Kim Scott’s work.

Two major events will be held at The University of Melbourne to celebrate and discuss Kim Scott’s writing.  Kim Scott has agreed to give a public lecture at The University of Melbourne on 25 July. This will be followed by a colloquium on Kim Scott’s writings on 3-4 August this year.

The colloquium will survey Scott’s fiction and focus on True Country (1993), Benang (1999) and That Deadman Dance (2011). Emerging and established scholars from Australian Indigenous Studies, English Literary Studies, Creative Writing and Contemporary Art will engage with Scott’s representation of Australian history, politics and identity.

 

To register an expression of interest email Kate Rendell, rendellk@unimelb.edu.au.

 

That Chilling Moment

That chilling moment in the modern university when you realise that for a powerful class of people corporate speak/political correctness is the new ethics: the management of facades and surfaces with concomitant institutional rewards and group validation. On these social occasions I’ve wondered, ‘How could a real human being ever appear in this setting?’

In contrast I was at a recent event where toughness or the appearance of toughness was clearly a necessary component of male and female capital – most men were heavily tattooed (three had facial tattoos).  I was sitting beside an ex-biker who had suffered an incapacitating breakdown of health and now lived on an invalid pension. After we discussed the anti-oxidant effects of blueberries, and he informed me that frozen blueberries were a lot cheaper than fresh, he spoke of one of his sons visiting the Sioux Indians, and of his great love for Native American spirituality but then as if to emphasise that he wasn’t another disconnected New Ager, and to acknowledge me, he said, “It’s funny, I’ve never been interested in Koori spirituality."

24 Hours in Alice

A quick trip on Thursday to Alice Springs to do a presentation on our proposed Master of Indigenous Policy and Development at the Indigenous Forces at Work Conference being held there. The conference title sums up the practical and resolute tone of the conference.  It’s almost impossible to communicate the richness of such a conference to non-Indigenous outsiders – issues based politics and personalities provide more accessible and simpler ways of engaging with Aboriginal communities.

The response to the presentation was moving. I had particularly wanted to stress for the delegates the matter of validation as an aspect of our proposed Master of Indigenous Policy and Development. In the first instance, a validation of the skills and knowledges accrued by practitioners in the course their work; and following from this, a personal validation for them as individuals whose contribution and skills are usually not affirmed in any concrete and meaningful way.

While I thought it would be a case of airport - conference venue - hotel - airport, Alice still works its magic and strangeness. Where else but Alice Springs casino would you hear the murmur of Aboriginal languages mingled with the electronic chatter of poker machines?  (Provokes interesting reflections on gambling.) Finally the magic: 7.00 am by the hotel pool before flying out:

Master of Indigenous Policy and Development

 Where have we been? Pretty much submerged in the development of proposal for a Master of Indigenous Policy and Development targeted in the first instance at potential mature age students, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, employed in the multifarious branches of Indigenous affairs, community support, and development. If we manage to get the proposal through the various stages of evaluation we'll have a course that will enhance the capacity of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students to develop, manage and enact effective Indigenous policy in Australia. A Graduate Certificate will be built into it as well as flexible entry requirements. The vision thing revolves around the prospect of a dozen Indigenous students graduating with a Masters qualification from a sandstone university – an outcome that would really have an impact on the social and policy landscape.

Until now its been driven by will and exhausting work but we’ve picked up supporters and collaborators on the journey – to the point that we are quietly confident we can do it.

(Yes, the lettering is a different colour – the design of the blog will change, leaving the moody greys,  greens and blues behind. The older you get the less inclined you are to fake it.)

RAP. The University of Melbourne had its first Reconciliation Action Plan celebration the other day. Congrats. to everyone mentioned in despatches:

http://musse.unimelb.edu.au/march-12-82/celebrating-our-indigenous-community

Another Year and Some Photographs

Rushing to finish off various chores before Christmas but our end of year party was a chance to step back and relax with friends and supporters.

A Happy and Safe Christmas. See you in the Celtic New Year.

Aboriginal Women and Coloniality

Aboriginal Women and Coloniality. Surprised but pleased to learn that our second year subject Aboriginal Women and Coloniality has been selected as the subject that best aligns with the aims of the Association of Women on Campus at the University of Melbourne for 2011. One of our students will be awarded a prize as a result.

The Hunter. Daniel Nettheim's The Hunter has been nominated for fourteen Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards. (Formerly the AFI Awards.) The killing of the Tasmanian tiger at the end of the film is the most incredible act of hubris I've ever seen. I found it hard to believe that a filmmaker could even imagine a character doing such a thing, let alone present it in a film as a noble deed. (Otherwise it's an extravagantly beautiful film and worth seeing.)

Racism in Australian universities. The National Indigenous Unit of the National Tertiary Education Union has released a report detailing Indigenous academic and professional staff experiences of racism, and lateral violence (from other Indigenous employees), in Australian universities. Most of the testimony is grievance-based and I can imagine some universities responding by developing 'strategies' and offering 'cultural sensitivity' training provided by soi-disant experts. On a deeper level, if you want to address racism in universities, you need to be patient; in it for the long haul; be prepared to engage with senior people; and be alert for the instance when implicit racisms and racist discourses become objectified in the behaviour of an individual or individuals; then, if you've got the nerve, go for it.

https://www.nteu.org.au/anu/article/New-survey-reveals-racial-discrimination-is-alive-and-well-in-universities-12139

Sade. The first bi-racial superstar visited Australia for the first time in a quarter of a century. She still sets the bar impossibly high. YouTube footage from her Melbourne concert:

Where We've Been

Wrapping up. Teaching has finished and marks are being finalised. Some of our best students are off to join the Teach for Australia program. For me, the highlight of the university teaching year, was when six students spoke on their experience of Indigenous studies, life and communities in the final lecture of our first year course. Diversity, intellectual confidence, commitment - quite inspiring.

Aboriginal Time. The stereotype is that Aboriginal time meanders; meetings start whenever; people turn up whenever; outcomes take forever. The reality is that Aboriginal time is always constrained. Windows of opportunity are limited for Aboriginal individuals, communities or programs. We produced a poster display for a University of Melbourne colloquium, that summarised what we’ve done over the last few years. (Check out the link at the bottom of this post.) Getting there we've had to crash through a few barriers but sometimes you don't have any choice. (Read the late Hyllus Maris' 'The Concrete Box' as an example of an enduring parable of this structural reality.)

The AIS Poster