HOW ARE WE BEING EDUCATED?

One of the highlights of the Adelaide trip was having the opportunity to meet up with Eddie Peters in Mitchell Park through a mutual friend Colleen-Ara Palka Raven Strangways. Immediately it became obvious that my jaw was going to hurt for the rest of the evening as Eddie continued to bring me to tears in laughter.

After dinner we spent the night looking over maps of Eddies homeland the Torres Strait. The stories of growing up on Thursday Island, learning the jobs that each island carried out as part of a wider community and being educated on sacred objects such as the bow and arrow, ceremonial drums and headdress meanings all drew me in to a culture I had previously never been exposed to. Which brought me to my questioning of the system.

Culturally how are we being educated?


A big part of this journey has been the re-education of myself coming from a standard Australian school learning nothing about Aboriginal history let alone knowing of the existence of the Torres Straight people, their identity and culture. Five years ago I was unaware of what the flag meant. Totally shameful to admit to this but it’s the truth.

We blindly swore elegance to the Queen not really understanding how they had come to this country, the violent colonisation techniques employed and the influx of brutality that followed we just had to make sure our uniforms were up to code to avoid retribution.

Eddie Peters travels around the country teaching his culture to other First Nations groups and wider Australia.

Eddie’s cheerful demeanour sets you at ease and the caring and non judgemental attitude exudes from every pore of his body, exemplifying an honest love for country and people, quite the opposite of the treatment that a lot of First Nations people deal with on a day to day basis.

A PHOTOGRAPHIC EXPLORATION SCREENS ON NITV

The film, commissioned by NITV, was produced by Wankangurru / Adnyamathanha woman Lavene McKenzie...

YURTU ARDLA PROJECT OPENS AT SAM

After two years of bush trips, wood collecting, workshops, museum visits and site specific...

Working Underground

One of the most challenging types of photography is architectural. Add to that the...

VOICE TREATY TRUTH

First Peoples sovereignty has never been ceded – not in 1788, not in 1967,...

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ABORIGINAL SPORTS FESTIVAL PORT AUGUSTA

Always a huge honour to be asked to travel around country to facilitate community....

GRENADIERS ALBUM SUMMER TO HIT STORES

The subject was considerably sick on the day which actually really helped to create...

FOOD PHOTOGRAPHY \ THE ULTIMATE PLAYGROUND

Over three months, three days a week and three tether cables later this series...

A MOMENT IN TIME WITH EILEEN

'It's from our grandmothers and our grandfathers that we've learned about the land. This...

A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE YOUNGS

I remember a friend of mine asking me what the problems were facing Aboriginal...

TJILPI PAMPA TJUTAKU \ UMUWA APY LANDS

This was a last minute opportunity to jump in with the passing 4WD’s once...

OUTBACK KARATE \ KEEPING THE INSTINCT STRONG

I find the mental challenge of photography just as challenging if not more than...

INTO THE APY LANDS

When simplicity is expected chaos and calamity is sure to follow

PORTRAIT OF A PORTRAIT ARTIST

The most recent collaboration was with tonal realist portrait artist Avril Thomas who to...

Language Films in the West

Being mobile is a huge advantage to my project work so when I was...

Streets of Coober Pedy Project Born

With everything I’ve ever done I’ve always gone about it in my own way....

Confident Cooking with Grace Love

Always enjoy a new challenge and this was no exception. Have never really shot...

Selective Collaboration with ‘The Ball of Light’

It is always great to meet up and hang out with other creatives who...

COBRA

Coober Pedy To Oodnadatta Bike Ride AdventureTwenty young men and accompanying adults tackled the...