Cultural resilience and resistance

“We pay our respects and dedicate the Unsettled exhibition to the people and other Beings who keep the law of this land; to the Elders and Traditional Owners of all the knowledges, places, and stories in this exhibition; and to the Ancestors and Old People for their resilience and guidance.

We advise that there are some confronting topics addressed in this exhibition, including massacres and genocide. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be advised that there may be images of people who have passed away.”

Laura McBride and Dr Mariko Smith, 2021.

Colonisation in Australia was a concerted attempt at erasing First Nations cultures. Sustaining culture through the waves of disease, violence, family removals, and discriminative government policies epitomises First Nations resilience and ingenuity. When necessary, Aboriginal cultural practices went underground, were rested, or taught in secret until such time that it was safe to use them again.

This display is a dedication to honour the Old People, men and women, who kept the knowledges and passed them down through times of incredible disruption and risk. Their resilience and guidance have allowed future generations to maintain their sovereignty, lore (law) and connections to Country and culture. Despite ongoing challenges to First Nations peoples, cultural practices are being revitalised and maintained.

From the Australian Museum’s collections, these “clubs” signify the complexity of Aboriginal culture that colonisers chose to ignore. When objects enter museums, they can become decontextualised and given new meanings according to Western scientific classification systems.

Categorising these intricate designed “clubs” as “hunting tools and weapons” simplifies their purpose and the complexity of the cultures from which they come. Working with Aboriginal peoples can help us better understand the meaning ad purpose of such objects.

In this same way, Aboriginal knowledges can better help us work with one another and importantly help Australians move towards a more balanced relationship with the environment.