Stories from the Great Sandy Desert STUDY GUIDE FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF COUNTRY Bangarra Dance Theatre pays respect and acknowledges the traditional custodians of the land on which we meet, create, and perform. We also wish to acknowledge the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples whose customs and cultures inspire our work. INDIGENOUS CULTURAL AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY (ICIP) Bangarra acknowledges the industry standards and protocols set by the Australia Council Protocols for Working with Indigenous Artists. Those protocols have been widely adopted in the Australian arts to respect ICIP and to develop practices and processes for working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and cultural heritage. Bangarra incorporates ICIP into the very heart of our projects, from storytelling, to dance, to set design, language and music. © Bangarra Dance Theatre 2021 Last updated June 2021 WARNING Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people should be aware that this Study Guide contains images, names, and writings by deceased persons. Front Cover: Bangarra ensemble, photo by Daniel Boud 2 INTRODUCTION The purpose of this Study Guide is to provide contextual background and information about the themes and stories that have inspired Bangarra Dance Theatre’s production of SandSong: Stories from the Great Sandy Desert. Experiencing a live performance of SandSong offers teachers and students the opportunity to engage intellectually and emotionally with stories that have come to the stage through a rigorous process of cultural immersion and creative practices. The experience also provides the chance to explore a broad range of cross curricula topics and themes related to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures. For full details about the performance, please visit bangarra.com.au and download the program We hope you enjoy SandSong. CONTENTS Using this guide 04 Contemporary Indigenous Dance Theatre 05 Bangarra Dance Theatre 08 1/ VAST, DIVERSE AND VERY OLD 10 JILA 11 2 / PEOPLE BEFORE PEOPLE 12 ON NAMING RIGHTS 14 3 / POLICY AFTER POLICY 15 THE WA ABORIGINES ACT OF 1905 16 4 / SURVIVAL 18 6 / SANDSONG – A PRODUCTION IN FOUR ACTS 20 7 / THE CREATIVE TEAM 21 4 / REFERENCES 22 8 / MORE PRE AND POST SHOW ACTIVITIES 23 3 USING THIS STUDY GUIDE photo by Daniel Boud Dear teachers and students, CROSS CURRICULUM PRIORITY TOPICS/THEMES We hope you find this guide Aboriginal and Torres Strait Indigenous perspectives valuable and we encourage you to Islander histories and cultures use the discussion starters and the Australian Cultures list of references and links to further Australian Society resources to learn more about the GENERAL CAPABILITIES Place, the People and the Histories History (Ancient and Modern) that have inspired the creation of Critical and creative thinking Human Rights SandSong. Intercultural understanding Native Title As you read about the contextual Ethical understanding background and historical relevance Sovereignty of the work, you might like to Environmental science consider the contrast between LEARNING AREAS western epistemologies and the Contemporary dance theatre knowledge systems of Indigenous The Arts (Dance, Music, Visual practice Arts, Media Arts Peoples. Contemporary design practice Humanities and Social Science Literature/Storytelling Finally, we invite you to consider (History, Geography, Civics and the role of the Arts in shaping our Citizenship) understandings of the world, and be inspired to contribute to the Science ongoing dialogue that continually questions who we are and where we are going. 4 CONTEMPORARY INDIGENOUS DANCE THEATRE PERSPECTIVES, The growth in availability of FORM, ACTIVATION technical resources, an increasing VOICES & CULTURES number of performance venues, & PROCESS and the proliferation of new arts The evolution of Indigenous One way of exploring the festivals and digital platforms, has contemporary dance can be development of Indigenous dance greatly supported the development explored as a continuum – a theatre over the last three or four of new Indigenous dance theatre, shifting and growing field of decades is to trace the journeys of as well as the careers of the many cultural exchange, art, storytelling, some of the artists who have been creative artists involved. As more and shared experiences. Bearing significant contributors to that new work is created, support for witness to the physical expression development. It should be noted the infrastructure and training that of traditional and contemporary that while many opportunities have underpins these forms has also modes of storytelling can both been opened up for Aboriginal and grown, resulting in a critical mass challenge and unite us, but Torres Strait Islanders to develop of professional artists involved in fundamentally these experiences in their choreographic work and producing high quality productions illustrate the immutable importance their leadership roles, the true force that increase the demand we of identity, belonging and behind this development has been currently see from audiences in connectedness in all societies and the commitment and determination Australia and internationally. One cultures. Learning by experiencing of the individual artists themselves. of the most important outcomes of either a live performance, or a video Artists and leaders like Carole Y. these developments is the fact that recording of a live performance, Johnson, Stephen Page, Frances more Aboriginal and Torres Strait and being free to offer personal Rings, Raymond Blanco, Vicki van islander people are able to see their responses, enables students to be Hout, Gary Lang, and Marilyn Miller, cultures reflected in this unique participants in the creative process are some who have paved the way. form and are able to celebrate the as they engage with the work More recently Elma Kris, Deborah resilience of Australia’s First Nations through discussions that encourage Brown, Yolande Brown, Joel Bray, people and their ancestors through critical and creative thinking. Jasmin Sheppard, Katina Olsen, the sharing of works that depict Daniel Riley, Mariaa Randall, Sani Indigenous stories, cultures and The concept of contemporary Townsen, Jacob Boehme, Ghenoa perspectives. Indigenous dance theatre cannot Gela, Thomas E. S. Kelly, and Amrita be understood as a categorised Hepi are contributing to the ever- It is important to consider the genre or a particular form because growing critical mass of Indigenous language we use when talking it exists as part of a continuum that contemporary dance in Australia. and writing about Indigenous responds to a diversity of culture cultures in the context of art: when and developing perspectives. Any Building a skills base has been a it is made, how it is made and contemporary Indigenous dance significant contributor to Indigenous where the source material comes production that incorporates contemporary dance and dance from. The general application music/sound, design and other theatre to the point where there and understandings of the terms conventions of the theatre will is now a developing critical mass, ‘traditional’ and ‘contemporary’ inevitably have a deep purpose rich in diversity and quality. The can be problematic when critiquing and an essential spirit that is, and establishment of training institutions Indigenous dance theatre. By fixing will always be, about Aboriginal like National Aboriginal Islander the term ‘contemporary’ to the and Torres Strait Island culture. Skills Development Association form, it could be argued that we are While drawing on traditional (NAISDA) Dance College in implying ‘post-colonial’, ‘modern’ stories and cultural ways of being, Sydney, and Aboriginal Centre or ‘non-traditional’. Yet with many Indigenous dance theatre provides for Performing Arts (ACPA) in new works sourcing their inspiration an important platform to give voice Brisbane, have been fundamentally from the Indigenous cultures that to Indigenous people living in a important to increasing technical have existed since ancient times, modern world that experiences skills to support the creation of what is ‘traditional’ and what is constant change, and where new works. Market development ‘new’ can exist simultaneously. the threat to cultural identity initiatives, the growth of touring This is often expressed by saying is relentlessly present. networks, and a range of strategic Indigenous Australian cultures are programs to address identified gaps the oldest living, and continuous in the infrastructure, have been and cultures in the world. continue to be critical to the growth and sustainability of this work. 5 CONTEMPORARY INDIGENOUS DANCE THEATRE From the mid-20th Century, as new expressions are created by the protection of these interests contemporary forms of Aboriginal Indigenous artists. Navigating all by law, is the enduring assurance and Torres Strait Islander expression these considerations is complicated of the western capitalist system. emerged across all art forms and and takes time. However, the began to infiltrate mainstream arts ongoing development of Indigenous The concept of Country and Land programs that largely drew on dance (and other contemporary for Aboriginal and Torres Strait western cultures and/or western art forms) is dependent on these Islander people is extremely forms of presentation. By the protocols and practices being different! 1960s, young black theatre makers, observed and implemented to playwrights, writers and actors were ensure cultural