IMBIR Quotes - Eng

"I was born a little Aboriginal kid."

• Dujuan

• Identity

• He is proud of his culture by stating that he is a little Aboriginal kid, rather than just a kid, and that he was born that way as though it is who he was meant to be.

“I want to go back to my homeland, take my grandchildren back there

• Carol Narration

• Impacts of Colonisation

• highlights the deep connection to the land that remains central to Indigenous identity despite colonial influences

But education is long way from them

• Carol

• Medium close up to her face

• Education

• Represents the difficult choices Indigenous families face, having to choose between staying connected to their culture or engage in western education

That’s the reason I choose to live in town…so they know the system when they grow up

Captures the complex decision made to prioritise white education over their culture

"History, in my blood it runs."

• Dujuan

• Intergenerational trauma
  Dujuan is aware of the mistreatment of his ancestors, even at such a young age, and it has an impact on him and society even years later. Injustice is still very much present in modern society.

"We want our ceremony. We want our language. We want
our stories told to our children."

• Protest Footage:

• Impacts of Colonisation

• The white colonisation led to the loss of Aboriginal culture as they want these things back. They want their stories told to children so that they understand their culture/identity, and what unjust treatment their ancestors face.

"Before the whole world was made, it was just Aboriginals on Australia."

• Dujuan

• Identity

• highlights the fact that the creation of life and how things came to be was due to the Dreaming, where all living things were either the ancestors themselves, or were made by the ancestors.

Nana Carol: "We don't have a school in our homeland."

Dispossession: the Aboriginal children are being deprived of an education. Also, without a school in their homeland, the Aboriginal people are forced to send their children to a school run by white people so they can force their culture onto the children.

"The white people teached the aboriginals to act like them to be like them."

• Dujuan

• Identity, impacts of colonisation

• the Aboriginals lost their culture, such as land and language, as they are forced to assimilate to white culture

Nana Carol: "I need them to speak their language so that they can carry on their language."

Identity: Nana Carol says that there is a need for the children to speak their native language because otherwise the language will be lost as the schools are not allowing the children to learn or speak their language.

Dujuan after receiving his school report: "is there something wrong with me or something?"

Dispossession: as the Aboriginal children are being deprived of learning their language and about their culture, Dujuan struggles with the other content and receives bad grades, making him feel inadequate

Auntie Alexis tells Dujuan that there are two places he'll end up if he doesn't go to school every day a "jail cell or a coffin".

Trauma: the trauma of the mistreatment of the Aboriginal ancestors still runs within younger generations as Auntie Alexis knows that the white people will not tolerate if Dujuan is uneducated, especially about white culture, and is worried that he will not be able to live his life to the fullest.

Megan: "Welfare don't treat your kids the right way."

Trauma: Aboriginal kids in welfare not getting treated well links back to how the Aboriginal people were treated and stripped of their human rights during colonisation.

Dujuan: "Me I don't want to get taken away by white people."

Trauma: Dujuan is aware that his ancestors were taken away from their land and split up from their families, and this threat still runs present in modern society.

Nana Carol: "If police see kids walking streets, they write a letter and give it to welfare."

Colonisation: police naturally assume that Aboriginal children are causing trouble - stems from unjust colonial beliefs and the whites having more power and control because of their "superiority"

News report: "Successive government policies that push and English only approach mean these language lessons are only 30 minutes a day."

Identity: Aboriginal children are unable to explore their culture or speak their language to carry on that culture as they are forced to speak English and learn about white culture - the children are seen learning about the colonisation of Australia.

Dujuan: "If you finish primary school and then you finish high school then you learn. But I'm a bush kid."

Trauma: Dujuan naturally assumes that he won't be able to learn when he is older because he is Aboriginal and he may not have the same opportunities as white children. He has been brainwashed into thinking that if he does not attend white school, he will not be educated

Megan talking about the threat of welfare payments being suspended because the kids won't stay at school: "A warning has come through. Makes me feel shame. Makes me feel like I'm a bad mother."

Trauma: Demonstrates a cycle where Dujuan rebels against the white education and as a result welfare ignorantly threaten to take away their means of living. Almost covert violence

School principal to Dujuan: "You haven't been very polite to me ... Been out of class nearly every day. You've run away almost every day."

Injustice: Ironic that the principle who is in charge of a school that ignores Dujuan's culture expects to be treated politely

Dujuan on running from the police: "I just ranned away to get away. I'll be free."

Justice: The phrase "I'll be free" implies that he is not, which highlights the fact that Indigenous Australians are still dictated and governed by white authorities to the extent of feeling/being metaphorically trapped
- Alice Springs is like an "open air jail" (quote from the tall man)

Protest banner: "Kids and country. Not in custody."

Injustice: shows how so many Aboriginal kids are being put into juvenile detention, rather than being in school or living a normal life.

Dujuan: "Spring Creek our homeland is like a dream."

Country is like a paradise, however the word "dream" suggests that Spring Creek is out of reach, as dreams are just figures of our imagination

"I don't even know most of my language, that's why I sent them to their mother's side"

- Jim Jim
- Impacts of Colonisation:
- Demonstrates how colonisation has caused a loss of culture. The indigenous community has been white-washed and "led to think" as the white Australians do

Dujuan: "When I'm a man I'm gonna fight for rights for black people. I am going to speak to the Prime Minister. I'm gonna say stop killing aboriginal people."

Trauma: Dujuan knows that the injustice faced by his ancestors is still present and hasn't changed over time, and he knows that nothing will change unless something is done about it.

Dujuan: "What I want is a normal life of just being me. And what I mean by me is, I want to be an Aborigine."

- Dujuan
- Identity, Belonging
- Highlights Dujuan's deep desire for self-acceptance and the freedom to live authentically as an Aboriginal person. He wishes for a "normal life" where he can fully embrace his identity without having to conform to external expectations or pressures. It highlights the struggle for Indigenous people to maintain their cultural heritage in a society that often pushes them to assimilate into Western norms.

"I need them to speak their language so that they can carry on their language."

Carol
Identity, Impact of colonisation
Nana Carol emphasizes the importance of children speaking their native language to preserve it, as schools are not supporting or teaching it. She sees language as a key part of their cultural identity, and without it, there's a risk of losing a vital connection to their heritage. This reflects the broader struggle of Indigenous communities to maintain their culture in systems that prioritize Western values over their own traditions.

"The history that we're told at home is in language and it's about the Aborigines. But the one's back at school is for white people, not the Aboriginals"

Colonisation: The education system is trying to force a white education onto Indigenous children who are not interested in anything but their own culture. As a result, they are threatened by welfare (a cycle)

"The children are being gently led toward our culture...thinking as we do"

Colonisation: Suggests that Indigenous Australians are not thinking or acting in the "right" way. Further demonstrates whitewashing and suggests that the white way of life is the right way of life
- Juxtaposition of education now (Dujuan failing) and the archival footage of the past positions the reader to see that nothing has changed

Dujuan driving to Sandy Bore: "If you go out bush, you'll learn to control your anger... learn to control your life"

- If you don't go out bush and rely on a white society, you will lose control
- Dujuan driving the car symbolises him taking control of his life. Symbolises the desire of First Nations Peoples for self-determination
- Dujuan opening the gates symbolises access to Country and culture (language, traditions)

Nana Carol: "Answer in Arrernte"
Dujuan: "Can you say it in English"

• reflects the communities resileince and determination to pass down their cultural knowledge.

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Nana Carol: "White people educate our kids in the way they want them to be educated. But I need them to speak their language so they can carry on their language"

- Ignorance of white education system
- The children are critical to the future and survival of the culture. They must learn it to be able to carry it on

"But I must be doing something right to keep him happy, for him wanting to stay"

Family, identity
Conveys his internal conflict and the responsibility he feels to protect his son's happiness while also preserving their cultural identity

Megan after seeing Dujuan's school report: "That's so bad, all the E's"

Symbolic of the education system failing Dujuan and more broadly, Indigenous youth that end up incarcerated

"Welfare, they don't treat your kids the right way. They don't know their culture. They don't teach them their culture."

Demonstrates how ignorant the white education system is and their inability to understand or respect Indigenous ways of learning and living, instead imposing Western methods that leave these children disconnected

Jim Jim whilst Dujuan drives his car in Spring Creek Homeland: "If you want to drive you've got to drive from here all the way.. that's the hard way"

Symbolic of the fact that if Indigenous Australians want freedom, they have to do it themselves because the legal system provides little to no support for First Nations Peoples