Join us for a screening of One Mind, One Heart – the extraordinary story of the landmark Yirrkala Bark petitions that sparked the flame towards recognition of Aboriginal land rights.

Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO, writer and director of the film, will offer an introduction ahead of the screening as well as join Associate Professor Pauline Clague in conversation on First Nations storytelling, art and politics following the film.

Film description:

In August 1963, bark petitions – traditional documents prepared and signed by Yolngu people – were sent to the Australian parliament and became the first documentary recognition of Indigenous people in Australian law.

Two sit in Parliament House, one is in the National Museum of Australia. When a fourth bark petition is located in Derby, Western Australia in 2022, the community begin the ceremony of guiding its journey back to Yolngu Country. The repatriation provides the opportunity to track the long political campaign – through petition, song, dance, campaigning – to keep culture strong and to have a voice for country.

Produced by Pursekey Productions.

Speakers:

Distinguished Professor Larissa Behrendt AO is the Laureate Fellow at the Jumbunna Indigenous House of Learning at UTS. Larissa is an award-winning author, filmmaker and host of Speaking Out on ABC Radio. Larissa has a legal background with a strong track record in the areas of Indigenous law, policy, creative arts, education and research. She is a Native Title holder and member of the Yuwaalaraay Euahlayi Aboriginal Corporation and is also a member of the Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council. Larissa has received the Australian Human Rights Commission Human Rights Medal, an Order of Australia for distinguished service to Indigenous education and research, to the law, and to the visual and performing arts, and was NAIDOC Person of the Year in 2009 and NSW Australian of the Year in 2011.

Associate Professor Pauline Clague is a Yaegl woman from the North Coast of New South Wales and is currently Manager of the Cultural Resilience Hub, Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education & Research at UTS. She has been a driving force in the creation and sustainability of the Indigenous voice in Australian screen and television. She has worked as a storyteller and producer in film and TV for over 30 years. She is founder and Artistic Director of Winda Film Festival in Sydney, a programmer for imagineNATIVE media +arts festival in Toronto and is co-creator of NativeSLAM. As Associate Professor, Pauline has been an innovator and engaged to lead communities to strengthen their voice through the medium of screen and story.

This event is jointly hosted by UTS’s Jumbunna Institute for Indigenous Education and Research and Centre for Social Justice and Inclusion.