Introduction
The following glossary was developed by Nathan ‘Mudyi’ Sentance for the Deadly Learning education resource. Nathan is a Wiradjuri man who grew up on Darkinjung Country, NSW. He works to ensure that First Nations stories being told in cultural and memory institutions, such as galleries, libraries, archives and museums are being told and controlled by First Nations people.
It is important to note that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples hold multiple views and perspectives on these definitions and MUMA encourages readers to investigate them.
Country
Country describes a culturally defined area of land, sea and sky connected to a particular Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, clan or nation. For example, Wurundjeri Country is the Country of the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation. However, Country is much more than a physical place, as our languages, sciences and laws are derived from and connected to our particular Country. We often say Country holds our knowledges. This is why Aboriginal knowledge is localised to a specific area and part of why we have a deep connection to our Country.
Country is also a set of responsibilities as you have to care for Country as Country cares for your family and you. Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people would even say the many things that make up Country, like the plants and animals, are your family as well. This is why Country is a prominent part of our different artistic expressions because it is a prominent part of us; it is us.
Considering this, you can see why we experience trauma by being forcibly disconnected from Country or when Country is being harmed from pollution or destructive industries like mining.
In thinking about and living on Country, we must be mindful that we are visitors on someone else’s land and learn the laws of the Country so we can best follow them. We can do this by listening to the Traditional Owners of the land we are on and are visiting. We also have the responsibility to do as little harm as possible to the plants, animals, land, sea, sky and each other while we are on Country.
Country should always be capitalised when writing about it in terms of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander land, sea or sky.
Culture
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are a way of being and a way of seeing the world and are comprised of many interconnected elements such as languages, sciences, verbal storytelling, visual storytelling (like dance and rock carvings), land management practices (like fire burning to sustain the land and seed planting) and family and community customs (like marriage ceremonies). Our cultures are land-centred and are specific to a particular area’s sites, waterways, plants and animals. That is why there is not just one Aboriginal culture in Australia, but a great diversity of cultures. For example, there were more than three hundred different Aboriginal languages spoken before colonisation (see ‘Colonisation’ in this glossary).
Culture is essential to our identity as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. It is essential to our wellbeing—our mental and physical health. Culture is also essential to the wellbeing of the environment as our cultures have ensured the land was sustained for over sixty thousand years. That is why we fight for our culture as our languages hold the key information to particular plant life and to who we are, and our fire burning practices are crucial in preventing out-of-control bushfires.
Our contemporary art is a continuation of our cultures—our storytelling. Contemporary art practices are an expression of our identity as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members and express how culture influences us. They are a way to preserve and transfer our knowledge to future Aboriginal generations. They also can communicate our cultures to non-Indigenous people.
Because there is not just one Aboriginal and Torres Strait culture, it is often better to pluralise the word culture when discussing it: cultures. Same with languages and knowledges. However, if speaking about a specific Aboriginal culture, for example Wurundjeri culture, it is appropriate to use the singular form. Similarly, when quoting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists, if they use culture in the singular form, you should too.
More on Culture (Colonisation and Loss) (If you are under the age of 15, speak with your parents, teachers or guardians before clicking this link. This section is suitable for mature audiences.)
Cultural Sustainability
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures were negatively impacted when England sent people to live in and govern Australia without the permission of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. This made it incredibly difficult for some knowledges to be passed down to future generations. (For students aged 15 and over, see ‘Culture (Colonisation and Loss)’.) Because of this, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members are doing the important work to preserve, strengthen and revive our cultures and cultural practices. This is known as cultural sustainability. It is also known as cultural revitalisation or cultural maintenance. This includes activities like recording Elders’ stories or recovering fragments of culture in historical records or sharing culture with younger Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Part of cultural sustainability is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures adapting and evolving. This is something cultures that are living do and is something Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures have always done. Our cultures have never been static. For instance, our cultures would be different pre–Ice Age to post–Ice Age as the environment around us would have changed. Today, many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community members are adapting their cultural practices such as by developing new words in their language to describe objects like mobile phones or using materials not used traditionally, such as metal, due to some materials no longer being available.
As a result of this, some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not like our art being categorised as either ‘traditional’ or ‘modern’ or that our art is not considered ‘real’ Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture if it is made with introduced materials. Whatever the materials being used, or whatever the art medium, our art is a continuation of our storytelling. A continuation that is not static, but living and evolving.
Dreaming
The Dreaming, also known as the Dreamtime, is a term often used to describe the time when the earth, humans and animals were created. It is from this creation that all our beliefs and our responsibilities as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to take care of Mother Earth (Country) and each other come from. The term also describes the power that assists to maintain the balance and health of the Country now. In addition, it also refers to where you go after you leave this earth—a place where you can continue to take care of Country and your community after the death of your physical body. Because of this, the Dreaming is the past, the present and the future.
It should be noted that this definition is what the term Dreaming generally refers to, however it means different things to different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and communities. Even the term ‘Dreaming’ or ‘Dreamtime’ is an English approximation of a complex concept and it can have different descriptions in the different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages that would be more accurate to that specific Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander community.
Site-specific installation
Country (see ‘Country’ in this glossary) has power, history and knowledges embedded in it. Any area on the lands now known as Australia could have hundreds of generations of our Ancestors’ footprints on them. They have had history take place on them, good and bad. A site-specific installation is art that responds to and harnesses a particular area’s power and history. This artwork usually is created on the area it is responding to, and in the case of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art often depicts a cultural practice that happened on this area, or a prominent cultural figure from this area, or an event that happened in the area. This art is sometimes done by using natural materials from that area.
Once completed, it is common for the artwork to remain in the area as its meaning is connected to the area it is on or surrounded by. It is rare for site-specific installations to move as they can lose some of their meaning when not being physically connected to the area.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists often engage in site-specific installations because it is art that is responding to Country and Country is important to us. Country, land, is a way we, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, connect to our Ancestors. We learn from Country and our cultures, knowledges and languages are derived from and co-created by Country. Site-specific installation is also a way we can tell the truth about the history of an area, particularly in regards to colonisation (see ‘Colonisation’ in this glossary).
Sovereignty
Sovereignty usually describes the power or authority that a ruler or government has over a territory, and the ability to make laws that govern that territory. However, sovereignty is also a term that expresses our right as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to govern and manage ourselves and our respective homelands (Country) as well as our right to follow our laws: the laws of Country. Sovereignty can also refer to our right to have representatives chosen by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples who can represent us in decision-making processes that affect us.
You may have heard the declaration, ‘sovereignty was never ceded’. This expresses that before colonisation, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander clans and nations were self-governing and that we have never entered into a treaty or any formal agreement in which we agreed to share our land and to be governed by Britain, the Commonwealth (an organisation mainly made up of countries that used to be ruled by the Britain) or the Australian Government. This means it can be argued that the sovereignty that the Commonwealth claims over Australia is not fair or correct .
Our continued presence as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples also shows that the Commonwealth’s sovereignty over the lands now known as Australia is not fair or correct. This is because sovereignty was claimed because Australia was called terra nullius, which is a Latin phrase meaning ‘nobody’s land’. This was false as we, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, have been on these lands, and governing ourselves, for over sixty thousand years and we are still here today. This claim was further rejected on 3 June 1992, as part of the court case Mabo v Queensland (No. 2), where the High Court of Australia decided that terra nullius should not have been applied to Australia.
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have used art to assert our sovereignty, our continued connection to Country and to start discussions around the fact that sovereignty was never ceded or given up. Contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art is also a reminder that we are still here, which in of itself reinforces our sovereignty over these lands now known as Australia and ourselves as sovereign peoples.
Colonisation
Colonisation is the act of seizing Indigenous peoples’ land for the purpose of establishing a colony, which is when a group of people leave their native country to form a new nation or territory that is subject to or connected with a parent nation. In Australia’s case, this is England. Colonising can also refer to imposing the parent nation’s culture onto the land’s Indigenous peoples. Colonisation has taken place in many countries such as Australia, the United States, Canada, Aotearoa/New Zealand, Brazil, Philippines and many more, and has always had devastating consequences for the Indigenous people who live in the places being colonised.
Although the lands now known as Australia were visited by several different European explorers, some with the intention of considering Australia as a place for a new colony, colonisation in Australia as we know it now started in 1770 when English navigator James Cook claimed the east coast of Australia for the British Crown. In the years that followed this event, Britain lost thirteen of its colonies after the American Revolutionary war. England needed a place to send prisoners as its prisons were overpopulated, as well as a place to send Americans who were loyal to Britain during the war and needed a new country. Additionally, seizing new land meant seizing new resources, which had economic benefits. As a result of this, Arthur Phillip brought 1,500 convicts on the eleven ships called the First Fleet in 1788 to start a penal colony on Gadigal Country (Sydney).
This led to violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as colonisers invaded more and more land, taking it by force in many instances. As colonisation continued, the violence the colony committed against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples was more in the form of the policing and managing of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and our affairs.
Because colonisation was the foundation of Australian society as we now know it, I would argue that colonisation is not a historical event and it is not over, but rather an ongoing process . Its contemporary effects are seen in how there are more Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in prisons in comparison to other places on the planet and in how Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are still removed from their homes.
That is why it is important we understand the history of colonisation, because it influences what happens today. And this is why many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists discuss colonisation in their art, because it impacts them, their families and community. Hopefully, by telling the truth of colonisation, the stories of their Ancestors, their family and themselves through their art, artists can inspire people to work to rectify current injustices and inequalities to make the future better for all.
Because a major part of colonisation was the invasion of these lands, the term invasion is often used interchangeably with colonisation by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to describe these events and structures.
Decolonisation
Decolonisation seeks to undo the negative effects of colonisation. Decolonisation can be in many forms, such as: Indigenous peoples retaking control of our land, Indigenous peoples putting our laws back into place so we can govern ourselves and ensure our responsibilities to the environment (see ‘Sovereignty’ in this glossary), and arranging for payments to be given to us Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to make amends for the damage caused, mentally and physically, by colonisation.
Decolonisation is also the questioning and challenging of what we have been taught about history and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and making the injustices that stem from colonisation more visible to everyone so we can work to rectify historical injustices and stop current injustices for a better shared future for all. Our contemporary art does that by telling the truth of Australian history, and at times by depicting the violence and racism that many of the artists’ families and communities face and have faced.
As well as this, a lot of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art challenges beliefs that come from colonisation, such as ideas around Aboriginal inferiority, the idea that Australia was ‘discovered’, or the stories around so-called heroes like James Cook, Governor Lachlan Macquarie or John Batman that don’t talk about the horrible violence against Indigenous people that they were involved in. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art can often make those who experience it question whose history they have previously been told and who has been telling it and why.
Because part of colonisation has been the imposing of the coloniser’s culture onto us as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and the suppressing of our cultures, decolonisation is also acts that maintain, revive and share Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, also known as cultural sustainability (see ‘Cultural Sustainability’ in this glossary). Our art is a major part of cultural sustainability. Furthermore, our art is a powerful act of decolonisation as it privileges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges and tells stories from our worldviews. This challenges the ‘default’ knowledge and worldviews in society, which is eurocentric (focusing on European culture or history to the exclusion of a wider view of the world).
Decolonisation is something everyone can take part in. It just requires you to privilege and listen to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander voices to understand the truth of Australian history, to better understand how to take care of this environment, and to gain knowledge to guide us going forward.
Ceremony
Ceremony refers to formal religious, sacred or state activities done to celebrate an event, like a wedding ceremony or a coronation ceremony when a person is made king or queen. All cultures have ceremonies for particular reasons and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are no different.
Many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and clans hold ceremonies for different reasons such as: marriage, birth, the welcoming of another Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander group onto their land, to celebrate the start of whale migration, to celebrate the change of seasons, or to initiate a child into adulthood, just to name a few examples. Like all aspects of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture, ceremonies are connected to our spiritualities and our sciences (which are not separate but are interconnected as well. See ‘Interconnectedness’ in this glossary). Art, as it is known in the Western sense, is also connected to ceremonies: songs, dances, stories, and painting our bodies in ochre can all be part of a ceremony. Because many ceremonies are sacred, the lands they take place on are often considered sacred sites (see ‘Sacred Sites’ in this glossary).
The reasons behind Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ceremonies as well as what takes place in a particular ceremony differs for different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. Ceremonies, being part of our culture, are tied to place and there is not one type of ceremony for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people (see ‘Culture’ in this glossary). Some ceremonies may be open to all to take part in. In some cases, only Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people from a particular community or people of a certain gender can take part in the ceremony and know its details.
Ochre
Ochre is a clay earth pigment used to paint our bodies, our cultural objects like our shields and different landscapes such as caves to express our knowledges, histories, community responsibilities and our identities as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples for millennia. Ochre continues to be used by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders peoples for our cultural practices, including contemporary art.
Ochre itself can be found all around Australia in different colours. The most common colours are white, yellow, orange, red and pink. There are other colours such as blue, green and purple, but they are rarer and harder to find. Ochre is important as it comes from Country (see ‘Country’ in this glossary). Painting yourself in ochre is placing Country on your skin.
Because of ochre’s role in different cultural practices (for example, red ochre in some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures is associated with funerary practices), there are rules about how the ochre can be used and by whom, and about who can collect the ochre. Some ochres can only be used for specific purposes and/or by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders. There can also be rules around the locations that you collect ochre from. Some of these locations could be deemed sacred sites (see ‘Sacred Sites’ in this glossary) and therefore cannot be accessed by everyone. These rules are different for the different Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, clans or nations, as their cultural practices are different (see ‘Culture’ in this glossary).
Ochre is used by crushing it up to a powdery form then mixing it with other substances. Generally, now, it is water that ochre is combined with, but honey or animal fat can also be used and can be more effective in keeping the ochre paint on the body for longer. While ochre is an important part of our storytelling, it is also used in different ways: for instance, mixed with animal fat to hide our scent when hunting so animals cannot smell us coming, as a form of protection from the sun, and to help exfoliate dry skin, among other things.
Interconnectedness
Interconnectedness refers to how all parts of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures are connected. For example, our spirituality is connected to our botanical knowledge which is connected to our medicine which is connected to our astronomy which is connected to our agriculture which is connected to our family roles and responsibilities which are connected to particular dances and songs, and so forth. This is different to, for instance, Western science, which has different disciplines for different sciences, such as physics and biology, and does not include arts and storytelling as part of those disciplines. In Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, all those knowledges are part of a whole—are part of one living, breathing system. Similarly, humans, plants, animals, stars, earth, stones and water are all equal parts of this system and therefore are interconnected.
Because of this, different parts of this system should not and cannot be focused on, privileged (this includes humans) or studied without considering all the things that part is connected to. This is to ensure that the system as a whole is healthy. This is one of reasons why Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have been able to help keep these lands sustainable for more than sixty thousand years.
Interconnectedness is also why our culture and our ways of doing things are not able to be separated, and why our spirituality is connected to the world. For instance, ochre is used to paint our bodies to express our clan or nation identity, our community role and our knowledges, but ochre also hides our scent when hunting so animals cannot smell us coming (see ‘Ochre’ in this glossary).
Because of the interconnectedness of our cultures, our art in whatever artform can be connected to so many different things, such as our history, our cultural practices, our sciences, our families, our different lands and waterways.
Activism
Activism has been part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander history since the start of colonisation (see ‘Colonisation’ in this glossary). It is a tool many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have used to fight for our liberation, justice and equality. Activism is many different actions, and is most commonly thought of as protests and marches.
The point of a lot of activism activities is to draw attention to particular injustices or issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples with the goal of making change. To achieve this, a lot of activism is about disrupting and disturbing the regular activities of people that are affected by the issues by, for example, blocking roads or taking up space in public areas.
One of the continuing and well known marches is the Invasion Day march on January 26, which is organised to discuss land rights, continued racism, changing the date of Australia Day and police violence against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contemporary art can be a form of activism as it brings attention to all different issues affecting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. Because of this, our art is often called political art. This because there are many political issues that affect us on a personal level and that contribute to the injustices we face.
Oral history
Oral history or verbal storytelling is how we Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples have preserved and passed down our history, culture and sciences through the generations for tens of thousands of years. Telling our stories this way ensures that our Elders can control who can hear a story, where they can hear it, and when. It also requires the listener to practice deep listening to ensure they properly hear the story, thus instilling in them respect. It is part of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures that you are not entitled to access to knowledge just for existing, nor can you buy knowledge; you have to earn it and Elders decide when you are ready to hear it. Deep listening is part of that earning.
Our stories are usually told through narrative and contain lots of metaphors. The reason why narrative is used is because it helps the listener remember the story and because our stories contain complex, interconnected information. For example, one short story could contain information about botanical science, physics and family obligations. Metaphor is used to transmit the information in an understandable way and have all those elements connected. Since the knowledge in a story can be complex, the listener may not understand it fully until a later time after having more life experiences.
In the Western world, written records are considered the most legitimate way to preserve history and that oral stories are considered a less legitimate, less accurate way to preserve history. However, it has been proven that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stories are a legitimate way to preserve and transfer knowledge from generation to generation. For example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander oral stories from the north coast of New South Wales describe the time when the sea rose, and scientists have confirmed that these stories are talking about events that happened over twelve thousand years ago. This is just one example but it demonstrates how long we can preserve history through oral history.
It should be noted that our oral history or stories is only one way we transfer knowledge and tell stories. We also do this through songs, dances, and carving into trees or rock formations. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contemporary art, whether it be visual art or poetry, is a continuation of our storytelling and also works to express our cultural identities and pass on knowledges and histories.
Self-determination
Self-determination is a set of rights many Aboriginal and Strait Islander peoples fight for. The main focus of self-determination is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples being able to govern and manage ourselves and our respective homelands (Country) and our rights to follow our laws: the laws of Country. The other rights of self-determination are increased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander participation in governance institutions like parliament, increased roles in decision-making about our lives and the issues that affect us, and the right to maintain our cultural identity through the continuation of our cultural practices.
Resistance
We, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, have always resisted colonisation (see ‘Colonisation’ in this glossary) since its inception and will continue to resist in the future. We resist to stop injustices against ourselves and our loved ones and to protect our homelands (Country) from environmental degradation. This resistance has been done through warfare, protests and cultural maintenance (see ‘Cultural Sustainability’ in this glossary), among other activities.
Art, being part of cultural sustainability, is part of resistance as it resists the policies and practices of colonisation that tried to assimilate us into white society by destroying our cultures and our cultural identities. It instead keeps our cultures strong and helps teach our cultures to future generations.
A lot of our art also tells the truth about Australian history, talks about the importance of protecting Country, and discusses current and historical injustices we face. By doing so, it gets those who engage with our art to understand better. This in turn may inspire others to take action to stop the harm and injustice we, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, face, and the damage that is being done to the environment, our homelands (Country).
Our art also often tells the stories of our Ancestors many of whom, in different ways, were great resistance warriors. Telling their story is a way we can honour them.
Transgenerational trauma
Transgenerational trauma, also known as intergenerational trauma, refers to trauma that is passed down from generation to generation. Trauma is experienced by people as a response to harmful, shocking and stressful situations, and it can have physical and emotional effects that can last a long time. Because of the devastating violence of colonisation (see ‘Colonisation’ in this glossary), many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families are affected by transgenerational trauma as our family members may have poor physical and mental health due to the trauma associated with this violence. This can in turn affect the mental and physical health of the younger generation.
To help our communities heal and prevent future injustices and future traumas, we need to tell and hear the truth of Australian history. This is something contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art does well, as much of it tells stories from our communities, which tells the truth about traumas we have experienced. Furthermore, artistic expression and connecting to your cultural identity are known to assist with improving mental health.
More on Transgenerational trauma (If you are under the age of 15, speak with your parents, teachers or guardians before clicking this link. This section is suitable for mature audiences.)
Stolen Generations
The Stolen Generations refers to the many thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, some as young as infants, who were forcibly removed from their families as a result of various government decisions and courses of action (often called policies, protection policies or acts). These children were taken to government and church-run missions and reserves. The purpose of these policies and missions was to assimilate or bring Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children into white society. This was also done by forbidding them to practice their culture or speak their languages and by forcing white culture onto them. In many cases children were adopted out to white families.
This removal of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children disrupted the children’s connection to their families and their identity, with many of the Stolen Generations never seeing their family again. In addition to that, children were often renamed when they went to live on missions, which further destroyed their connection to their identity.
These policies and practices had devastating consequences. Some of the children were hurt, mistreated, and taught that their culture and identity was inferior, therefore embedding shame into them about who they are. And families and communities were devastated by being separated. Parents could no longer hug or speak with their children. Siblings were no longer being able to speak, share and play with each other. Even after being allowed to leave the mission, those who were stolen would have to live with the trauma caused by the mission or reserve while living in a society that still discriminated against them.
It has been estimated that between one in ten and one in three Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children were removed from their families and communities when these policies were most actively enforced. This is why much of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander contemporary art discusses the Stolen Generations because many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists are members/survivors of the Stolen Generations or are direct descendants of members/survivors of the Stolen Generations and their art is telling their story. Art can be also a way to heal from the trauma caused by the policies and practices of the Stolen Generations
The Stolen Generations generally refers to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children removed from their families because of the various state policies during the period of 1910 to 1970, however children were being removed before and after that period. When writing about the Stolen Generations generations it should be pluralised, because there were multiple generations of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children who were stolen. The term should be capitalised.
The Healing Foundation is an organisation that was set up to help Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities heal from the effects of the forced removal of children from their families.
More on the Stolen Generations (If you are under the age of 15, speak with your parents, teachers or guardians before clicking this link. This section is suitable for mature audiences.)
Sacred Sites
All Country is important, but particular locations and areas are sacred because of the knowledge and history embedded in them and their essential role in different cultural practices, such as birthing or the initiation of children to adulthood. These sacred sites have different rules around who can access them, when people can access them, and who can talk about them. For example, some sacred sites can only be accessed at particular times of the year or can only be accessed by women or can only be accessed with permission from a senior Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elder. Therefore, some people, whether they are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander or non-Indigenous, can enter them. Some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples cannot speak of particular sites or know the specifics of exactly where particular sites are.
Because of their importance, the destruction of sacred sites devastates us as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as it means the destruction of our histories and knowledges. It can also impede our cultural practices as certain knowledges can only be shared in sacred sites, or certain practices can only be undertaken in sacred sites. For this reason, the destruction of sacred sites is considered cultural genocide as it a way of destroying Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Therefore, it is also a way of destroying our identities as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples (see ‘Cultural Sustainability’ in this glossary). This is why we fight to protect sacred sites and why much of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art focuses on protecting Country.
Traditional vs Contemporary
It should be noted that many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people do not like our art and our art practices being categorised as either ‘traditional’ or ‘contemporary’. This distinction can dismiss the fact that our art is part of a living culture, and it can imply that ‘contemporary art’ is not real Aboriginal art. These categories can extend to materials, as many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and cultural practitioners use introduced materials to create art or cultural objects. This is still Aboriginal art and to say it is not traditional is offensive, especially because in some cases, the materials used previously can no longer be used due to climate change and colonisation’s effect on the environment. Whatever the materials being used, or whatever the art medium, our art is a continuation of our storytelling. A continuation that is not static but living and evolving.
